Press Release: Maryland Gains New Nationally Board Certified Teachers

State Remains One Of Nation's Leaders

For Immediate Release                                                        Contact: William Reinhard, 410.767.0486

Baltimore, MD (December 4, 2014)

Maryland this week welcomed 162 new Nationally Board Certified Teachers.  The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has now certified 2,760 Maryland teachers with the profession’s top recognition.

This year’s total was 9th among states, and Maryland’s overall total ranks 13th in the nation.  Over the past five years, Maryland’s number of Nationally Board Certified Teachers has doubled, one of just a handful of states to grow at that rate.

“National Board Certificated Teachers are educators that have reached the very pinnacle of our profession,” said State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery.  “Completing this rigorous program spotlights a teacher’s commitment to their classrooms and their students.”

National Board Certification, a voluntary program established by NBPTS, is achieved through a performance-based assessment that typically takes more than a year to complete.  It is designed to measure what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.  The process requires teachers to demonstrate how their activities, both inside and outside the classroom, strengthen student performance and contribute to student achievement.

Maryland has long been supportive of NBPTS and its goals, working with the National Board since 1997. 

The certification process is open to anyone with a baccalaureate degree and three years of classroom experience.  The certificate is valid for 10 years, after which a teacher may seek renewal.  For more information on the program, see http://www.nbpts.org.

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