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*The below information is only applicable to those individuals who are
eligible for national certification through the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards, i.e., classroom teachers and school counselors. School
nurses, psychologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and music
therapists AS WELL AS school counselors holding or interested in certification
through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NOT the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards) should click here
for information on national certification.
CERTIFICATION THROUGH THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS
For Prospective First-time Applicants
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) provides a national,
voluntary system that certifies teachers who meet its high and
rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to
do. The Board currently offers certificates in twenty-four fields.
The NBPTS eligibility requirements are:
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Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution
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Three years of successful teaching experience at one or more early childhood,
elementary, middle, or secondary schools or three years successfully serving as
a school counselor for those applying for the school counseling certificate
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Valid state teaching license/certificate for each of those three years.
The Department of Education eligibility requirements for financial assistance
include:
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Delaware standard or professional status certificate, at the time of
application, in the area comparable to the NBPTS certificate sought
-
Three years of successful teaching experience in the last five years, with the
most recent year in a Delaware public school
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Working as a full-time classroom teacher, school coursework or library media
specialist in a Delaware public school
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Attendance at a National Board Certification information meeting. (For a list
of meetings, click here.)
The NBPTS two-part assessment process consists of a school or classroom-based
portfolio and six thirty-minute computer-delivered prompts that candidates take
at an assessment center. The portfolio has four entries that include videotapes
with commentary and analysis of student work. The assessment center prompts are
all constructed-response and focus on content knowledge.
The Department of Education currently has a loan program to assist eligible
applicants with the $2,300 assessment fee. DOE also provides candidates with a
National Board Certified facilitator (mentor) and the State Board of Education
provides a $100 stipend to offset expenses that candidates incur in completing
the portfolio or preparing for the assessment center.
Educators who are interested in DOE financial assistance must apply through the
Department and attend an information meeting during which a detailed overview
occurs as well as specifics of the application process. Specifics on the
information meetings can be found
here.
Educators who apply directly to the National Board and pay their own assessment
fee are eligible for DOE support services by calling the Department.
Those applicants who are not successful on their first attempt can retake parts
of the assessment process. The retake window is the two years immediately
following the first year of candidacy.
For detailed information, including certificate overviews, general information
about the NBPTS, the NBPTS standards, portfolio instructions, scoring guides,
and assessment center orientation, go to the Board’s website at
www.nbpts.org.
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Benefits of Certification through the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards
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An intense and rewarding professional development experience that improves
professional practice
-
A validation of one’s own accomplished teaching
-
Leadership and service opportunities
-
Receipt of the DOE Advanced License, valid for ten years, during which the
educator does not have to document 180 hours of professional development
-
A twelve percent salary supplement based on the base (state) portion of the
educator’s salary.
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Renewal of Certification through the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards
Holders of National Board Certification may renew their certification by
completing the National Board’s renewal process (see
NBPTS/renewal). Candidates who successfully renew their National Board
Certification will receive renewed advanced licenses through the State of
Delaware upon the expiration of their current Delaware advanced licenses. No
state funding is available for renewal.
Holders of National Board Certification who wish to do so must renew prior
to the expiration of their National Board Certification.
Educators have two years in which to complete the renewal process, and are
encouraged to submit their work during the first year of eligibility so as to
allow themselves two attempts to renew (should they not succeed in the first
attempt). Educators who fail to renew during the two year period may choose to
go through the National Board Certification process again. These educators will
be placed on continuing licenses (and have to meet the requirements of
continuing licensure—see clock hours) in the
interim.
Educators who opt not to renew their National Board certification will
also be placed on continuing licenses and begin their ninety clock hours (see
clock hours).
For Nationally Board Certified Teachers New to the State of Delaware
Provided that he or she meets all licensure requirements, an educator who holds
current National Board Certification will receive an advanced license (see
advanced) upon applying for licensure/certification in the State of
Delaware. This license will be valid for the duration of the educator’s
National Board Certification (up to ten years). Such educators should follow
the same process as other first-time applicants for Delaware
licensure/certification, the only exception being that they will submit copies
of their National Board Certificates with their other documentation (see
documentation guidelines).
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Contact Information
For first-time and retake applicants: Patricia Bigelow, (302) 739-4686.
For those interested in renewing their NBPTS certificate: Mary Ellen Kotz, (302)
739-4686.
For a list of upcoming meetings, click
here.
School nurses, psychologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and
music therapists AS WELL AS school counselors holding or interested in
certification through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NOT the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) should click
here.
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