SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today that 1,200 teachers will receive a total of $5.4 million in National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Incentive Awards. 

The awards are a partial payment of a $20,000 incentive available to National Board Certified Teachers. The payments are made possible through a district grant award process. The list of 174 school districts that received funds to make payments to these top teachers is attached. For the complete list of grantees, please visit Funding Results: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Incentive Award.

"We have long known that being taught by a great teacher is one key to student success," said O'Connell.  "Congratulations to all 1,200 educators who have dedicated themselves to excellence in their profession. They deserve these grants, especially for committing to four years of teaching students truly in need of the best educators."

The school districts are responsible for verifying that the teachers meet the requirements of the program. The educators must be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and are assigned to teach at least 50 percent of a full-time position in a high-priority school for four consecutive years.  The teachers will receive the $20,000 incentive award over that same time period.  A high-priority school is one that is ranked in the bottom half of the state accountability model called the Academic Performance Index. 

Funding for the program is provided through the state budget that allocated a total of $7.5 million for the noncompetitive incentive award program.

For more information on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Incentive Awards, please visit Past Funding Profile (ID 684): National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Incentive Award. For information about how to become a National Board Certified Teacher or to view a directory of all National Board Certified Teachers, please visit National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards [www.nbpts.org] (Outside Source).