California Educator

February / March 2018

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portfolio entries and a video of her classroom teaching, and to complete six essay questions at a testing center. "Each component focused on a particular aspect of literacy," she says. " Writing, reading, listening and speaking, and the fourth focused on professional development." "It's very personal," she adds, "because you are looking at your own practice. Motivation has to come from within. Most of my work was done between 9 p.m. and mid- night, when it was quiet and I could think deeply." Certification benefits students Celiz has seen how National Board Certification benefits students. "It greatly impacts student learning, because looking at teaching through a reflective lens helps us become better teachers. If we don't have a pos- itive impact, why do it?" She cites more than a decade of research that students taught by board-certified teachers learn more than students taught by other teachers, on the order of an additional one to two months of instruction. Studies point to an even more positive impact on minority and low-income students. (See research at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, nbpts.org.) Her Lodi Education Association (LEA) colleague Kristi Arre- dondo, who is going through the NBC process, agrees. "e more I reflect on my teaching, the better teacher I will be," she says. "I was teaching for 20 years, and instead of burning out, I said, 'What can I do?' Everyone should always be inter- ested in growing in their profession." Certification also benefits educators. Under LE A Presi- dent Michelle Orgon's leadership, LE A recently bargained a $2,000-a-year stipend for members who obtain certification. Lodi educators are not unique in bargaining such stipends. Several chapters around the state have contract language awarding board-certified members. "rough attrition and changes, we had only two NBC teachers left in our district," Orgon says. "We want to facilitate as much as we can toward getting more teachers board-certified." Ne ver th el e ss, b argainin g stip end s for c er ti- fication "was a hard-fought battle," Orgon says. At a time when districts might be considering buying an online or off-the-shelf professional development program, Orgon maintains it's important to recog- nize that teachers learn in different ways. Not only did the school board and LEA members have to be educated about the value of certification, the district had to give LEA more control over professional development. "I don't think they knew what [certification] was and what it takes," Celiz says. "Most of our teachers didn't even know what it meant." Jump Start to certification National Board Certification has become such a passion for Celiz that she is now a trainer in Jump Start, which CTA Jump Start Jump Start is CTA's program for teachers interested in becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT ). The 2½-day seminar is free to members and provides important information about the certification process in a supportive environment, facilitated by experienced NBCTs. You will leave with a clear understanding of the process and a plan of action for completion. 2018 dates: June 18-20 in the Sacramento area and June 25-27 in San Diego. Email jrobb@cta.org for details. Courtesy National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 43 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 018 Lori Celiz

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