Three dreams come true
Local teachers earn National Certification
By Erin Willett
February 01, 2005
Three elementary school teachers, Nancy Musselman, Julie Ross, and Georgia Ransone, acquired their National Board Certification.
Musselman and Ross both teach second grade and are satisfied with their success.
“It feels great! The achievement brought about a huge feeling of satisfaction,” said Musselman and Ross.
Ransone, who teaches sixth grade, felt reassured to accomplish certification.
“I felt relieved to achieve certification as the process involved strenuous research and hours of collaboration with my teaching colleagues,” said Ransone.
According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, board certification is obtained through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
“The only way to prepare was to be knowledgeable about the teaching standards in all subjects, including those that I don’t teach, such as science, art, and health,” stated Ransone.
They were all anxious about the several months of the process in which they had to wait for the results.
“It was a long, exhaustive process that was both stimulating and rewarding. It was difficult to not have feedback or reinforcements through the process. It was also hard to wait eight months after we had completed the requirements to receive results,” said Musselman and Ross.
Ransone explained the most difficult part of the process for her.
“The most stressful part of the process was going to Sylvan to test in all subject areas. As each question was revealed, we had 30 minutes to write responses,” said Ransone.
The three instructors mentioned how their achievement made them more reflective.
“Our students benefit daily, as we have learned to reevaluate our teaching methods that enable us to reach each individual child,” stated Musselman and Ross.
“The process acquainted me with recent research on child development and learning styles and provided a range of teaching methods,” said Ransone.
Both Musselman and Ross said that they had gained affirmation of their teaching strategies and were challenged to continue to grow professionally.
Out of over 36,000 educators in Kansas today, only 177 are National Board Certified.
Three instructors from Silver Lake earned certification last year: Lori VandeVelde, sixth grade teacher; Jamie Manhart, high school journalism teacher; and Kristi Marshall, sixth grade teacher.
Musselman and Ross explained why they think teachers should strive to obtain their National Board.
“Teachers should always be willing to increase their professional knowledge and methods. The National Board Certification procedure forces you to analyze and strengthen the learning processes in daily interactions with your students. Students and teachers benefit!” said Musselman and Ross.
Three dreams come true
Post your feedback on this topic here
| Date | Subject | Posted by: |
|---|---|---|
| 02/04/2005 | Swilly you ROCK!!!! | Rachelle |
| 03/03/2006 | You go Mrs. Ransone! | Emily |
