Four New Jersey Teachers Receive National Credential for Excellence in Teaching
June 26, 2003 (Parsippany, NJ) –Four New Jersey teachers were recently honored at a ceremony on June 12 at State Farm Operations Center in Parsippany, New Jersey, for attaining National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a certification that is considered the hallmark of excellence for accomplished teachers. Kathleen Prisbell from Barnegat; Michelle Kowalsky from Whippany; Gail Hooker from Flemington; and Holly Beckford Williams from Newark, were all awarded crystal apples at the ceremony which was sponsored by The Business Coalition for Education Excellence (BCEE), at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. New Jersey State Department of Education Commissioner William Librera, representatives from the National Board, and New Jersey business leaders from the BCEE were in attendance.
The recognition event took place only hours after Governor James E. McGreevey announced a landmark professional development incentive package for New Jersey teachers seeking National Board Certification. These incentives include a full subsidy of the $2,300 application fee for National Board Certification applicants and up to six graduate course credits to all teachers who complete the certification process. Teachers can use these credits to obtain a higher salary, or apply them toward a master’s degree. McGreevey also noted that all teachers with National Board Certification coming from other states to teach in New Jersey would only need a background check to get certification licensing. This historic package was made possible through a partnership between the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, several New Jersey-based colleges and universities, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
In order to achieve National Board Certification, teachers must undergo a qualification process that takes approximately 200 to 400 hours, over the course of one or more years, to complete. Currently, in the state of New Jersey, only 18% of teachers who apply for the National Board Certification actually attain the credential, as opposed to the national average of 50%.
“One of the best ways to improve schools and student learning is to strengthen teaching,” said Dana Egreczky, Vice President of Workforce Development at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and Business Coalition for Educational Excellence representative. “By completing this rigorous assessment program, these four teachers have attained one of the highest trademarks of excellence in teaching and helped to raise the bar for teaching standards.”
To help more New Jersey teachers attain National Board Certification, The Business Coalition for Education Excellence, with support from Washington Mutual; Prudential Financial, Inc; the Merck Institute for Science Education; Johnson & Johnson; Fleet Bank; State Farm; and Infineum, has formed a teacher mentoring and training program called the National Board Support Network. National Board Certification is voluntary and obtainable for all teachers with a baccalaureate degree and three years of either public or private classroom experience.
The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is an association of business people, educators, and policy makers who are deeply committed to ensuring that all children in our schools achieve at high levels, become productive citizens, and are well-prepared to function successfully in the workforce. The BCEE focuses on four main areas of interest: standards and assessments, accountability, teacher quality, and technology. More than 1,000 businesses have been or are currently engaged in BCEE programs and policy efforts. For more information, visit www.bcee.org.
Press contact RobertSunga
Top of Page | Back to Headlines
New Jersey Teachers to Receive Landmark Professional Development Incentive Package
MEDIA ADVISORY
First U.S. program to combine fully subsidized application fee, graduate credit and mentor support
WHAT: Governor James E. McGreevey will announce an historic
professional development incentive package for New Jersey teachers created through a partnership between the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, several New Jersey-based colleges and universities and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The package will cover all costs related to applying for National Board Certification through a combination of state and federal assistance, offer graduate course credit (which can help teachers receive salary increases), provide preparatory mentoring and training through the newly formed National Board Support Network and allow teachers with National Board Certification coming from other states to obtain immediate licensing.
WHO: The Honorable James E. McGreevey, Governor, State of New Jersey
Donna Wilson, President, Eastern Region, Washington Mutual, Inc.
Joseph A. Aguerrebere, Jr., President, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
William Seaton, Vice President and Provost, Thomas Edison State College
Jaymie Reeber Kosa, National Board Certified Teacher, West Windsor/Plainsboro School District
WHEN: Thursday, June 12, 2003 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: The State House
Outer Office of the Governor
125 West State Street
Trenton, New Jersey
BACKGROUND:
The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) is an association of New Jersey business leaders, educators, and policymakers committed to ensuring that all children achieve at high levels, become productive citizens and are well-prepared to function successfully in the workplace. The BCEE promotes policies and implements programs that support the business agenda in K-16 educational reform and has greatly impacted the course of education reform in the state. To date, more than 900 New Jersey businesses have been engaged in one or more of the BCEE programs or policy efforts. The BCEE has four areas of interest: standards and assessments, teacher quality, accountability and technology. For more information on the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, please visit www.bcee.org.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and nongovernmental organization governed by a 63-member board of directors, the majority of whom are classroom teachers. Created in 1987, the National Board's mission is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by: maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; and advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers. For more information about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, please visit www.nbpts.org.
Press contact RobertSunga
Top of Page | Back to Headlines
New Jersey Teachers Receive Landmark Professional Development Incentive Package
June 12, 2003 (Trenton, N.J.) -- Governor James E. McGreevey today announced a landmark professional development incentive package, the first of its kind in the United States, for New Jersey teachers pursuing National Board Certification, the most prestigious credential in the teaching profession.
Flanked by members of the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the Commissioner of Education, the president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and representatives from New Jersey-based colleges and universities, McGreevey announced that all costs related to National Board Certification applications will be fully subsidized through a combination of state and federal assistance. McGreevey also added that all teachers with National Board Certification coming from other states to teach in New Jersey would only need a background check to get certification licensing.
Adding to the no-cost application, this incentive package will award up to six graduate course credits from Thomas Edison State College to all teachers who complete National Board Certification. Teachers can use these credits to help obtain an increase in salary, apply them toward a master’s degree at Thomas Edison, or transfer them to another college or university. Currently, at least four other New Jersey institutions of higher education -- The College of New Jersey, Georgian Court College, Montclair State University and Rowan University -- are in the process of designing master's degree programs built on the NBPTS principles and certification process. It is anticipated that these degree programs will begin operating in 2004.
To help more New Jersey teachers attain this distinction, the BCEE, with the support of Washington Mutual; Prudential Financial, Inc; the Merck Institute for Science Education; Johnson & Johnson; Fleet Bank; and Infineum, has created a recruitment and mentoring program for teachers interested in working toward National Board Certification. The program, called the National Board Support Network, is a service that links mentor teachers who have already achieved National Board Certification with teachers seeking certification, www.nbsupportnetwork.org.
National Board Certification is a symbol of commitment to excellence in teaching. A voluntary process, Board Certification targets teachers with at least three years experience, and can take 200 to 400 hours over the course of one or more years to complete. Teachers who have earned the certificate state that it is the best professional development experience of their careers.
“The National Board Certification process has proved to be the best professional development experience of my career,” said Jaymie Reeber-Kosa, a New Jersey teacher from the West Windsor-Plainsboro School District and National Board Certified Teacher. “It has made me a much better teacher. Now I constantly assess my own performance with my students in relation to their learning, which is something I did not do previously.”
“Life-long learning is critical to every profession, but most especially for teachers,” said Arthur F. Ryan, chairman and CEO, Prudential Financial, Inc. “Providing them with opportunities for rewarding professional development will be a key component in the success of our standards-based public education system. The results of the partnership of the business community, the Department of Education and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will provide excellent support for New Jersey's educators -- and will hopefully encourage more teachers to undertake this challenging program.”
During the National Board certification process, teachers are required to complete an extensive series of performance-based assessments that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge and their ability to manage, measure, and improve student learning.
“The recent partnership between educators, the corporate community, and policymakers in New Jersey exemplifies the continuing national support and commitment to the National Board Certification process and the belief that the single most important action this country can take for our children is to improve our schools and student learning by strengthening teaching,” said Joseph A. Aguerrebere, Jr., president, NBPTS.
There are nearly 24,000 National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) throughout the United States, including 50 in New Jersey. The process is so rigorous that nationally, only about 50% of the teachers who apply achieve the certificate on the first attempt.
“Some states have certified thousands of teachers to the National Board,” said Dana Egreczky, vice president, Business Coalition for Educational Excellence at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “Through our recruitment efforts and the National Board Support Network, we hope to increase applications by 50% per year, for the first two years, while also increasing New Jersey’s current applicant success rate of 18% to mirror that of the national average of 50%.”
The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) is an association of New Jersey business leaders, educators, and policymakers committed to ensuring that all children achieve at high levels, become productive citizens, and are well-prepared to function successfully in the workplace. The BCEE promotes policies and implements programs that support the business agenda in K-16 educational reform and has greatly impacted the course of education reform in the state. To date, more than 900 New Jersey businesses have been engaged in one or more of the BCEE programs or policy efforts. The BCEE has four areas of interest: standards and assessments, teacher quality, accountability, and technology. For more information on the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, please visit www.bcee.org.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental organization governed by a 63-member board of directors, the majority of whom are classroom teachers. Created in 1987, the National Board's mission is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by: maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; and advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers. For more information about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, please visit www.nbpts.org.
Press contact RobertSunga
Top of Page | Back to Headlines