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By NATHAN HOWELL | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Pelham City Schools is seeking to increase the potential of their teachers by providing support and scholarships to have them earn National Board Certification.

To earn this certification teachers must go through a rigorous process which involves a significant amount of time dedicated to learning and completing modules.

The certification is earned through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards organization and provides this training and certification to generate improvement in schools nationwide.

PCS Director of Curriculum and Instruction Shannon Bogert helps to facilitate the initiative from the district to ensure that there is a smooth process for teachers who are interested in earning the certification.

“Through this program we wanted to increase the nationally certified teachers in our district. When we started we had around two and we really wanted to grow that,” Bogert said. “Dr. Scott Coefield and our school board were committed to facilitating financial support to ensure that we were able to provide funding for this.”

As part of the Great Educators initiative the system has provided funding to offer scholarships to 20 teachers that will pay for all four components of the certification process. PCS is also providing instructional support and local training to help ensure the success of teachers going through the program.

“We have been able to grow from two teachers to seven with the certification,” Bogert said. “Currently we have 31 teachers going through the process. It usually takes most teachers around two years to complete the program, so it is very intensive.”

The process asks teachers to complete modules which focus on training the teachers to become more reflective about their teaching process. Once they have completed a module they are scored by professionals from the organization who provide feedback whether the teachers pass or not.

“Our teachers have always been incredible and devoted a lot of their time through their craft for the students in our schools,” Bogert said. “They spend time away from their families, which can be tough. They have put in a lot of hard work especially this year and have risen to the occasion to better themselves as educators.”