As part of its commitment to provide continuing professional development for Washington’s teachers, the College of Education’s program supports National Board Certificate candidates through all aspects of the certification process in order to ensure candidates successfully reach their goals.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certificate attests that a teacher is accomplished, makes sound professional judgments about student learning and acts effectively on those judgments. The University of Washington NBPTS Support Program provides a support system for NBPTS certification.

About the UW Program

To demonstrate that teachers can meet the certificate’s high standards for teaching skills and knowledge, candidates complete a two-part assessment: a portfolio of videotaped classroom teaching, lesson plans, student work samples and reflections on teaching that show their impact on student learning; and a series of written prompts that measure knowledge of their subject area. Teachers report spending 200-400 hours on the certification process over the course of a school year. During this time, candidates will meet regularly with a collegial support group and be provided with mentoring from National Board Certified Teachers and other facilitators trained by the Initiative.

Program components:

• Pre-candidacy Support . . . for individuals who are considering applying for National Board but are not ready to begin the process. Experiences deepen understanding of the standards and the preparation needed for the candidacy year.

• Take One… high-quality professional development that provides a job-embedded and sustained staff development experience, helps build learning communities in schools, strengthens professional collaboration among educators and informs teachers who are thinking about pursuing National Board Certification. Take One participants will complete one predetermined video portfolio entry to demonstrate evidence of teaching or school counseling (e.g., video excerpts of teaching or counseling sessions) as well as commentary describing, analyzing and reflecting on this evidence.

• Orientation . . .candidates attend a one-day session to get a head start by planning lessons, becoming familiar with the standards, and the portfolio requirements.

• Small Group Meetings . . .candidates meet in small groups facilitated by National Board Certified Teachers and UW faculty.

• Online Modules . . .self-paced online modules guide the candidates through the NBPTS certification process. Topics for the modules include: anatomy of an entry, classroom discussions, big ideas in science, entry 4 and diversity.

• Large group sessions . . .offer opportunities for candidates to meet in certificate groups. Sessions focus on common certification requirements and the assessment center.

• Renewal Support . . . available for NBCTs who wish to renew certification during his/her 8th or 9th year. Support group is facilitated by NBCTs who successfully completed renewal in 2008 and have been providing support to renewal candidates.

Who Should Participate?

NBPTS candidates must . . .

Scholarship Application Process

Applications for the second round of t he OSPI National Board Conditional Loan is June 1 – 15, 2011. Please check the OSPI website for more information.

Credit/Clock Hour Option

Participants who wish to earn clocks for their work in the program may select the clock hour option for an additional fee of $60. Those wishing to earn six University of Washington credits upon satisfactory completion of the program may select the credit option and instead pay the credit tuition.  Please indicate your preference on the registration form.

Connections to M.Ed.

UW – Seattle: Candidates may use a completed National Board portfolio for partial completion of the final project. Candidates must enroll for the credit option and have graduate status or graduate non-matriculated status when earning the credits.
UW – Bothell: Candidates may use a completed National Board portfolio as a culminating project for the M.Ed. degree at the University of Washington, Bothell campus. Candidates must have completed all coursework for the degree before starting their NBPTS portfolio and must participate in a 6 credit NBPTS portfolio support group in order to pursue this option.

How to Register

Register for the UW NBPTS support program by completing the registration form

Register for the UW NBPTS Take One by completing the registration form.

Register for the UW NBPTS Support for Renewal of Certification by completing the registration form.

• By telephone: Register using VISA or MasterCard by calling 206-897-8939 or 1-800-506-1325, Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
• By mail or fax: Print and mail or fax to 206-685-9359 the appropriate form indicated above.
• In person:
• UW Professional & Continuing Education, University District, Seattle
  (Administrative offices for UW Educational Outreach)
  4311 - 11th Ave. NE

Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Parking: Metered parking is available on the street and in the building garage (entrance on 11th Ave. NE).

• UW Professional & Continuing Education Downtown, Seattle
  1325 Fourth Ave. at Union St., Suite 400

Hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–5 p.m.

Questions

For additional information about UW’s National Board Candidate Support program, send your questions to nbpts@u.washington.edu. For information about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), visit their website at www.nbpts.org. For information about the Washington Initiative scholarships, visit the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) website at www.k12.wa.us/cert/nbpts.