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.

Dear Cathy, I Quit

Lesley Morgan sent this link for your reading pleasure. Thanks, Lesley.

If you are considering candidacy or if you are a current candidate, read this. :-)

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:

Scores are In!

Get ready for a somewhat technical and analytical blog post!

First of all, congratulations! Saturday our Cohort 1 group received their first set of scores.  Many have emailed me to tell me how it went, and others haven't yet, but I did put up an anonymous survey through SurveyMonkey so they can report their scores without having to talk about this very personal experience at this time.  I hope to get the basic data out to you once I've received all the replies.

So far the scores I've seen are encouraging.  The reported scores on Component 1 indicate to me that teachers who've been teaching their content for awhile might find this to be the easiest for them.  (I'm not sure if that will hold for CTE teachers; we'll know more after the first CTE candidates take their test this Spring.)

Don't we all appreciate Cohort 1 who were our "guinea pigs!"  They are the first teachers I know of who submitted entries under the new process.

What should you do now if you are a Cohort 1 member?  Well, as long as you achieved a 1.75 or higher, you don't need to redo your component(s).

40% of your total score comes from Component 1 (yellow area on pie graph.)
60% of your total score comes from the three portfolio-based Components (2,3, and 4.)

There is also an easier, online score calculator linked to your score reports if you received scores. 

If your scores aren't as high as you wanted them to be, take heart!  There was an old program called "Take One" with the National Board.  However, it was unpopular because the first scores were often low!  It discouraged candidates.  You may remember us as mentors emphasizing the developmental nature of the National Board process--you generally get better at understanding what to do with each completed component.  For example, I heard two Cohort 1 candidates discussing how to reflect on Component 4 the other night.  They haven't even begun it yet, but already they can anticipate what they need to do.  Do you know more than you did six months ago?

Good teachers can be hard on themselves.   Those of us who've previously achieved certification would have felt the same as you do if we'd gotten back only our lowest score... but this new process allows for formative assessment.  You don't have to just do the whole kit-n-caboodle wrong and then get smashed flat with a "failure."  Remember that this is potentially a three-year process and you are probably learning a lot.  If you made higher than a 1.75, you are fine.  Can you commit to your guinea-pig-ism and forge the way for those following you?  Ask for help from any mentor if needed.  Talk to trusted cohort members.  You won't be able to seriously assess your potential to pass this thing till this time next year.  Sorry, but get a little rest and then, "Onward!"  Cohort 1, we love you.  And we thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for what you are doing.

Component 4

Component 4 varies a little by certificate area, but overall, you are demonstrating that you can reach out to a community, be a leader, and a learner... as needed to make data-driven decisions about teaching and assessing your students.  For example, here are some questions for AYA Science about the teacher's role as a learner:

0. 3. Participation in Learning Communities (Suggested length: 2 pages) In this section, address the following questions:
   
•   How did you identify the area of need for professional learning? What factors or information did you consider in determining how to meet that need? What impact did addressing the professional learning need have on student learning?
  
•   How did you identify the student need requiring advocacy, collaboration, and/or your leadership? Whom did you work with and what was your role? What factors or information did you consider in determining how to meet the student need? Was the need schoolwide or content-specific? What impact did addressing the student need have on student learning? 
  

This isn't really as different from the "old" documented accomplishments as we may have originally thought, but it does sharpen the focus of your professional development and learning so that it pinpoints your needs in the classroom--teaching your students.

If you need professional development resources for Component 4, maybe there would be opportunities through wvlearns.  Check here to see if there might be PD opportunities to help you with your NBCT goal!

Jenny's PowerPoint

Some of you have asked for Jenny's PowerPoint, so here it is!  To see Stephanie's PowerPoint, click here!

Still Waiting For Scores...

Well, so far I haven't heard that your scores have been released.  They often had them ready during Thanksgiving Break, but I guess they don't this year.   I see on the website that you are due to receive them by December 31st.  I'm sorry you have to wait longer.  🙁

Here is the agenda for our next meeting (December 6th or 8th):


3:30-3:45     Sign in and check grad credit assignments with Joetta

3:45-4:15     Helen Roberts-- Self-editing Your Rough Draft

4:25-5:30     Work Sessions and meetings with mentors; Component 4 Candidates will work to compile a checklist for the component

Concord University Fees and Applications Due for Fall

If you haven't submitted your $99 and Concord University application to me for the graduate credit for Component 2 work, please email or call me.  I need to get that from you by Friday.  I think I have most of them.  Thank you!

Homework and Assignments

You should have been collecting data or work from students as you teach your first attempt at Component 2.  You may end up giving this another shot in the Spring, but until then, just go through the process with whatever you have going on right now.  You will develop clarity as you go through the motions--you know, "wax on; wax off."

You may have videotaped a class to get used to the idea and the equipment.  The only reason to bring the video to class on the 15th is to get credit for that on my graduate class spread sheet.  Even if you aren't taking the grad class, please check in with me about the spread sheet so we can touch base and I can be a sounding board to whatever you've got going on.

You should begin to write answers to the questions posed for you in Component 2.  You are supposed to have a rough, rough draft by Thanksgiving Break.  I would like to see what you have done so I can help keep you accountable.  Over Thanksgiving Break you should revise it so you and a mentor can discuss it at the December Meeting.

Agenda for November 15th or November 17th

3:30 Sign In and Submit Concord University Applications and Payment 

         (I will mail these in on November 20th)

3:45-4:15 "Writing Clearly and Concisely" Activity--Jenny Santilli, Ed.D, NBCT, 2008

4:20-4:30 Video Analysis Worksheet Activity--Joetta Schneider, NBCT 2006, 2016

4:30-5:30  Cohort Collaboration and work; check in with Joetta re: assignments for grade book; work with mentors who are available

Let's Talk About Money

© Andrey Andreev | Dreamstime Stock Photos

 

How will you pay for the components you want to complete this year?  And WHO, at the National Board, decided this bill should come due a month after Christmas?  

Here are some thoughts about financing this journey:

1- There is up to $500 in seed money available from our county to Harrison County NBCT candidates.  The intent of the seed money is to remove barriers teachers might have in beginning this process.  You could use this money to pay for one of your components.  Tip:  file for the money, receive it, and pay immediately for the component you are sure you will complete by June.  You can pay for a component now.  You don't have to wait until January.  Some caveats:  You must have a candidate ID# which you can get by paying $75 here when you sign up to become a National Board Candidate.  Don't worry, this $75 is reimbursable by the state of WV.  Another thing, if you don't complete the entire process, you will have to return the $500 to the county.

Now you have one component paid for, and if you pay for two components, you can get reimbursed by the state very quickly after you've paid for both of them.  The state calls paying for two components your commitment to enrollment.  Can you find $500 additional dollars?  What about the medical allotment on December 5th?  After you buy both components, you can file immediately for reimbursement of both components and the $75 registration fee.  You can also file for reimbursement of graduate class fees, like the $99 grad credit you can get from Concord for our work this semester.  It typically takes a few weeks to get that money back.  In fact, the state of WV will reimburse up to $600 in other expenses you have in materials and graduate work you have while you are a candidate (keep your receipts.)  It's like money in the bank.  

2-  You are receiving stipends for attending the cohort meetings if you are a Harrison County teacher. During the first semester, you were paid for five 2-hour meetings.  That's up to $350 this semester.  Unfortunately, we are only paying for one hour meetings second semester, but that is still an additional $175 if you attend those meetings.  

3- You don't have to pass to be reimbursed.  You do have to try to grow as a teacher, to reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses, and to do the best you can do this year to teach your students with the ideas of the National Board in mind.

4-  Keep the end in mind:  You are going to be reimbursed for the work of professional growth you are doing, and you will make $4000 more per year with ultimately no cost to you.  This is a better deal than a Master's Degree.

If you have any questions about this post, you can call me at extension 7262 or email me.  And you can try my cell.  But, as my husband is fond of telling me, I am not great about paying attention to my phone!  I am very passionate about this opportunity for you, but please don't be afraid of that.  If you aren't ready, I totally get it.  I thought about it and attended the informational meeting three times before I was ready.  But if it's only the money thing, my advice is to get a running start and jump that stinkin' hurdle!  

And...on a more professional note, let's be thankful for the leadership in Harrison County and in our state who have made this process financially possible for us as teachers.  :-)