Today’s Bristol Herald Courier has a pair of stories by Brian O’Connor on the national teacher certification program and local teachers who have attained the honor.
Certification is tough–“Each year, less than 30 percent of the first-try teachers earn certification. Just 40 percent pass before the three-year mark.” Tracey Dingus, one of the profiled teachers, “reckons she put more than 800 hours of work into the certification in the past year.”
To get the certificate, Dingus built a portfolio of her students’ work and videotaped herself in front of her class. Then, she took a written examination.
Finally, her portfolio and examination were evaluated by a board of nationally certified teachers.
Locally, teachers who attain certification get an $1875 stipend. The Virginia Department of Education pays a teacher who obtains certification $5000 in the first year and $2500 annually for the next nine years.
Does the extra compensation matter? Virginia has 905 certified teachers. Tennessee, with no extra financial compensation offered to certified teachers, has only 173.
Tip of the hat to Becky Dale for pointing out these stories.
