Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

How to Interpret Your Scores

The National Board has announced that scores will be available on December 16th!

Here are screen shots of their scoring guide to help us understand the new system:









Tuesday, November 28, 2017


Agenda for November Cohort Meeting

There are still two meetings available to you this semester, if you'd like to attend.  Choose either Lincoln High School this evening at 3:30, or Mountaineer Middle School at 3:00 Thursday.

Here is the agenda:

Harrison County NBCT Cohort Support 

November 28, 2017                               November 30, 2017
Lincoln High School Library                     MMS Computer Lab 
3:30-5:30                                                3:00-5:00 

Purpose:  To build a cohort of accomplished teachers committed to further development of their teaching skills through the medium of reflective practice. 
Agenda 

3:30   Sign-in and Announcements 

3:45   Discussion of Component 3 Videos and Student Engagement 

4:45   Develop a checklist for Component 4 

5:25   Exit Tickets on Colored Notecards 



"Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude."  
--A.A. Milne 

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

What Are Strategies?

Here is an article that discusses a strategy for helping students appreciate their own growth.  It might be useful as an example for answering questions that ask, "What strategies..."  I will tell you right now that I am not the poster child for remembering and using many different strategies.

Your components 2&3 ask for strategies for differentiation and engagement.  Can you point to concrete methods similar to this one which you use to get the desired outcomes for your students?

What are some strategies YOU have used, heard of, or seen in other classrooms that you would like to try?  They don't have to be for differentiation or engagement, but they could be.  I'd love to see us brainstorming in the COMMENTS section.  

Monday, November 6, 2017

Calling for Guest Posts!

There you are!  Do you have ideas for differentiation or engagement strategies for our NBCT candidates? Would you be willing to share your expertise?  What other amazing resources have you found for teachers?

Send me your guest blog posts in a Word file and I'll share your post right here on Harco NBCT.

Include a short bio and profile picture, please.


Thursday, October 26, 2017

Celebrate!

Scores will be returned soon... our renewal NBCTs received theirs last week.  Three of them passed!  That’s important because they don’t redo just a section like first timers do.  My experience is that renewal is also easier than the first certification because we’ve done it before, but just as much a reason to celebrate!

If you or a teacher you know achieves NBCT status, please let me know so we can honor them at the dinner in April.

What if you are too modest or don’t want to be honored?  I would ask you to do it for the team...for me and the mentors as well as your peers who’ve invested as well as hoped for the best for you; for the cause of increasing NBCT awareness. If you can fit it into your busy schedule.  If you just can’t, it’s okay, of course, we can honor you in absentia.

If you are a first time submitter who has to resubmit a Component, congratulations on what you’ve accomplished so far!  If you had us read for you and you were WAY off track we would have told you.  Be brave and persevering just like you want YOUR star students to be.  Set your cap.  Utilize chat boards, discussion boards, and mentors.  Realize it’s not you, there are many reasons you might need to re-do... the difficulty of getting the right video, etc.  I can and will tell you a million reasons you might not achieve this first time.  How about, “They rolled out Component 4 in November!”  You could have had three more months on Component 4 if you’d waited till this year to start it.  But no, brave souls, you jumped in to test the waters!  Thank you.

So we celebrate all your success— privately.  Passed most of it? Awesome.  Passed any of it? Good job.  It’s a developmental process— stay open to it.  Some of us learned to walk a few months later than others, but we walk just as well as they do now.  Same thing; if you need a few more months to achieve, take it.  Your final efforts will probably be a higher total score than someone who achieved the first year, because the more times you do it, the better you get.  I loved our very first ever meeting when I started.  We went around the room telling National Board stories and one NBCT said she hadn’t made it on her first try.  I thought, “How important it was for her to say that!”  With a first time pass rate of 30-40%, wasn’t that important for potential candidates to hear?

Enough encouragement?  Call if you need anything!    I’ll be sending out an anonymous survey monkey for scores and feedback in January so we can fine tune our support.  



Monday, October 9, 2017

Component 4 Support is Online!

Announcing the new online cohort for Component 4!  You need a Schoology account.  Once you have created your free Schoology account, use the access code, WCT2B-PXFDR, to join the course. Search for "NBCT Component 4." If you have any trouble, let me know!  We will officially begin the cohort work on October 30th, so try to sign up before then.  



Monday, October 2, 2017

Of Halloween and Being Afraid...




The NBCT Journey is a process.

Speaking of our process-- we've had our first cohort meeting at each of our 5 settings.  We have 9 candidates who have completed the process and are awaiting results, 11 candidates finishing their process this year, and 19 new candidates just starting.

The first meeting was about getting started with Component 2.  Thanks to Taya Trent and Lesley Morgan, two of our advanced candidates, for their presentation:  "Getting Started."

Our October meeting will be about planning for Component 3, and an online cohort support for Component 4 will begin before the end of October.

My philosophy is to allow you glimpses of each component before January 31st when you need to commit and pay for any components you want to attempt.  Please feel free to pursue your candidacy in any way that suits you.  Please ask for any support you need.

Another thing-- one candidate mentioned that she knows some teachers who are thinking of National Board candidacy but aren't sure they are ready.  Consider suggesting they come to some of the meetings as a non-candidate.  It's a great forum for discussing good teaching and having a growth mindset.  It's heterogenous grouping, with those of you who are actual candidates as the models.

Thank you for all you do to improve your teaching and impact your students and communities. :-)




Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Finalized Dates for September Cohort Meetings

These meetings have exactly the same agendas, so just choose one!

  • BMS September 12th, 3:30-5
  • Lincoln HS September 19th, 3-4:30
  • RCB September 21st, 3:30-5-- Note: after September the RCB attendance area meetings MIGHT be at NFP... we will let you know.
  • MMS September 28th, 3-4:30

Note the different starting times at different sites.  There is a South Harrison cohort, but at this time it is already full.

Email Joetta if you need more information or use the comment box, below.
jschneid@k12...


An NBCT in Action


Thanks to Jenny Santilli for submitting this link featuring some work by Candice Phipps, from Adamston Elementary: A Harrison County NBCT in Action





Nice work, Candice!

Thursday, August 17, 2017

New Cohort Sessions Starting Soon!



Cohort meetings will begin meeting the week of September 11th!  This year the actual meetings will be unpaid, but more locations will be offered for your convenience.  There should be cohort meetings in each attendance area, and I'll get those exact dates, times, and locations out to you by the end of the month.

What can you be doing now to prepare?

1- Familiarize yourself the NEW site, nbpts.org --this became live on Friday, July 28th.

2- Send home a cover letter and a permission slip to each student in all your classes now because it's easier to get parents to returned signed papers right now and it won't hurt anything if you don't need them.  Here's the link to the permission slip.
Note*  There is a form letter available on the website, but many teachers revise it.  Then, they attach the National Board's Student Release Form to their more personalized and family friendly letter.
3- Follow Lesley's suggestions for choosing your certificate area--this can be changed later so just make your best choice now and get started.

4- Print your certificate area standards; hopefully you can print them in your school's computer lab!

5- Plan to attend a meeting from 3:30- 5:00 somewhere in the county the week of September 11th or on September 18th.

Onward!


Friday, August 11, 2017


Lesley Morgan was one of our first NBCT candidates in our Harrison County cohort.  She began the process with us when the National Board hadn't even finished developing the new process, so she's seen this new process from the beginning!  Lesley is one of our cohort members who has experience with all Components 1-4, and she's started a website for teachers!

Here's a link to her awesomeness!  Let us know if you have resources you want to offer to our teachers, and we'll be glad to post them for you.






Monday, May 22, 2017

Information for New Candidates--Cohort 3

If you have friends or colleagues who are curious about the process, there will be an informational meeting on Thursday, May 25th, at the new BOE board room from 3:45-4:45.

If any school would like to offer this same presentation at their school for their faculty, please have them contact Joetta at extension 7262.

Thank you!

Thursday, May 11, 2017

You Can Do It!

It's the home stretch!  All of us as mentors have been privileged to see your thoughts become more polished and refined; your reasoning and thinking about your practice becoming more laser-focused!

What a gratifying process for you!  You are growing by leaps and bounds!

Congratulations on your completion of this year's work--both in the classroom and your National Board journey.

Persevere.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is our last Cohort Support Meeting for the year--those are May 9th and 11th.

For those who need to know, we will be showing you how to upload your entries.  There is no need to submit your work until May 17th!  It takes only a couple minutes.  You can upload your files and then hit the actual "Submit" button later.

Your work must be uploaded by May 17th.

Friday, April 7, 2017

Have You Had Your "A-Ha" Moment?


We made a big deal of this idea at the beginning of this journey--that it was a developmental process.  Just as your students will understand a concept in their own time, so will you--understand the National Board certification process.

We asked you to be patient with yourself and allow your understanding to build as you read your standards, began your tasks, analyzed your data...

You will have an "a-ha" moment.  Some people have their moment in February or March of the first year.  Some people have theirs about the time they are submitting their work.  That's why I like the 1-3 year window for completing this process.  If you haven't had your moment, then you are not halted in the middle of it--you have another year to think and plan and grow.  I've heard about a concept sort of like this in elementary education.  Maybe looping or maybe multi-age classrooms.  Or maybe it's just being learner-centered.

So, I was talking with a candidate who said, "I think I've had my a-ha moment."  I remember when I was in my cohort for my first certification.  One of my cohort members had her moment in late February.  We could tell she understood the process in a way we didn't.  We were sort of jealous.  There was nothing she could do to hurry us along.  But I'm thinking it's kind of like when the other first graders start losing their baby teeth--you'll be cutting adult teeth soon, too!  When the first leaf changes color, the rest rapidly follow.  And then, there's that Young.  Green.  Leaf.  still on the tree at the beginning of December.

Who cares?  Just enjoy your own journey.  Try to enjoy your process.  Enjoy your time to invest in your kids and your teaching.  Don't pull out your own teeth-- or your hair!
 ;-)

Thursday, March 23, 2017

TED Talks for Inspiration

Check out this link to We Are Teachers.  It has links to 12 Must-See TED Talks for Teachers!

And, while we're at it, here's a great video about children with ADHD.  (If you can't see it in this window, try the link below.)






Monday, March 20, 2017

a little NBCT humor from Amy Hinkle...

How many NB candidates does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just 1 but all the others must watch so they can describe, analyze, and reflect on the process.

Monday, March 13, 2017

Compassion

I think National Board Certified teachers are concerned about the "whole child."  Here's an article about what that might mean.

In other news, now you have committed to a certain number of components and you're eyeing your upload date, May 18th or so...

Mentors are available  on March 21st at BMS and March 23rd at RCB from 3:30-4:30 for one-to-one meetings.  Or, spend your time working through ideas with a cohort member.  And call or email if you need anything.

The payment for Spring graduate classes through Concord for your component are due at the April meetings, which will be held on the 4th and the 6th.


Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Payment Due by January 31st

Good morning!  Many of you have double-checked with me that all payments for components are due by the 31st to the National Board.

Print your receipts from your profile on the website and bring them with you to the next meeting.  If you bring a completed Form 37, I will help you file for reimbursement-- I can take your forms to Susan Steadman the next day.  You can also take them yourself or pony them, if you wish.

You will be reimbursed after you've paid for your first two components now, and for two more when you complete the process.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Welcome, 2017!




A new year and a new you.  :-)
You, who are investing in your classroom teaching and your students now more than ever.
You, who are investing in yourself, too!

Before January 31st, you will decide which Components to pay for.  Even if you are taking the test (Component 1) in May or June, you have to pay for it by January 31st.

Here are some important dates and deadlines from the Guide to NB Certification: