National Certification for Teachers
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
The California Department of Education
(CDE) actively supports teachers in their efforts to achieve advanced
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
. The NBPTS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental agency governed by a 29-member board of directors, the majority of whom are classroom teachers.
National Board Certification is the most respected professional certification available in education and provides numerous benefits to teachers, students and schools. It was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide.
In California, Alissa Fong and Geetha Lakshminarayanan serve as Directors of the National Board Resource Center at Stanford University. Fong and Lakshminarayanan also provide candidate support to teachers pursuing National Board Certification, help build candidate support programs across the state, and help run the Stanford National Board Resource Center, which includes a list of the National Board Networks
across the state. Fong and Lakshminarayanan can be reached at alissafong@stanford.edu and slakshmi@stanford.edu, respectively.
National Board Certification
Following the development of certificate standards, the National Board collaborated with a skilled team of psychometricians to create the process by which a teacher could be fairly and reliably assessed as meeting those standards.
This new certification was the first of its kind in education. Built and overseen by the profession, the process of becoming National Board Certified was performance-based, multiple-measure, peer-reviewed, anonymously submitted and built on the highest standards of measurement to assure the results were valid and reliable. There was now a process for asserting when teachers had successfully moved through their novice years and had reached a level of accomplishment, similar to what had existed in other major professions.
In addition, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) issues a clear credential to the holder of a preliminary teaching or services credential who attains certification from the NBPTS. This credential authorizes the holder to teach or provide services in the area that the CTC determines is equivalent to the certificate field in which the teacher or services provider received certification from the NBPTS.
For more information on becoming a candidate for National Board Certification, visit the Candidate Center
. You may contact the NBPTS via their online web form
or by calling the NBPTS at 1-800-22TEACH.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be eligible for National Board certification, teachers must meet the following education, employment and licensure requirements prior to starting the certification process:
- Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. (Candidates for the Career and Technical Education certificate are excluded from this requirement in California).
- Have completed three years of successful teaching in one or more early childhood, elementary, middle, or secondary school.
- Hold a valid state teaching license (or meet the Pupil Personnel Services Credential if applying for the ECYA/School Counseling certificate) for each of the three years of employment you verify.
- Provide official American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) certified ratings of Advanced Low or higher from ACTFL speaking and writing proficiency assessments if registering as a World Languages candidate.
Assessment Process
The NBPTS has issued a set of teaching standards
that describe the accomplished level of teaching for different subject areas and grade-levels. The assessment process for each area is guided by these standards. An important first step in the process is to study the standards for the particular certificate you choose to pursue. These can be found in the NBPTS Candidate Resources web page
.
To become a Board-certified teacher, eligible candidates must demonstrate advanced knowledge, skills, and practice in their individual certificate area. The certification process is designed to collect standards-based evidence of accomplished practice. In all 25 certificate areas, candidates are required to complete an assessment that includes four components. The content knowledge component is a computer-based assessment taken at a testing center; the other three are portfolio-based and submitted through an electronic portfolio system.
Support for National Board Candidacy in California
While there is no requirement that candidates attend a support program, most teachers find it helpful to work with others throughout the process. Up to date information about the major support programs in California is located on the Stanford National Board Resource Center website
. Key contacts from across California can be found listed below:
Candidate Support in California
| Network | Support Offered | Contact Information |
|---|---|---|
| Beverly Hills Unified School District | Candidate support to participate in Stanford National Board Resource Center
|
Dr. Michael Sherman Dustin Seemann |
| CSU - Northridge | Support program for candidates. Master of Arts in Education: English introduces candidates to NBPTS certificate activities. | Virginia Kennedy virginia.kennedy@csun.edu |
| California Teachers Association (CTA) National Board Support Network
|
Works in collaboration with the Stanford National Board Resource Center
and San Diego County Office of Education to provide candidate support and opportunities for NBCTs. |
Stacey Begin sbegin@cta.org |
| Corona-Norco Unified School District | Contact for more information | Dr. Lara Gruebel |
| Folsom-Cordova National Board Network
|
Candidate support program | Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez, NBCT SKirby@fcusd.org |
| Fresno Unified National Board Certification Program
|
Candidate support program | Deborah Friesen Deborah.Friesen@fresnounified.org |
| Lodi Unified School District Network | Network operates a candidate support program independent of Lodi USD. | Lori Celiz, NBCT |
| Long Beach Unified School District National Board
|
District-sponsored Candidate Preparation Program. | Ryan Ung |
| Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) The Support Network, A Collaboration of UTLA & LAUSD
|
Candidate Support Provider (CSP) organization that provides a comprehensive program of professional practice support for National Board Certification, offering a full menu of services for first-time candidates, retake candidates, & renewal candidates |
Michael de la Torre, NBCT |
| Monterey Peninsula Unified School District | Candidate financial support to participate in Stanford National Board Resource Center | Christine Kieffer |
| San Bernardino City Unified School District
|
Candidate Fee Support: $1900 ($1000 up-front and $900 over three years after certification) Other Support: Virtual Support (through CTA Jumpstart and Springboard) NBCT Incentives: Renewal/Maintenance of Certification fees, $500 annual stipend |
Morgan Pellettera, NBCT |
| San Francisco Unified National Board Support Program
|
Contact for more information | Nia Ross, NBCT and Maria Hunt, NBCT nationalboard@sfusd.edu |
| Stanford National Board Resource Center
|
2-year online candidate support program with optional continuing education units. Cost is $400 each year per candidate. Serves teacher candidates state-wide, also offers private cohorts for individual districts. |
Geetha Lakshminarayanan, NBCT Alissa Fong, NBCT |
| Twin Rivers Unified School District | Contact for more information | Beverly Weber, NBCT |
| UC Los Angeles (UCLA) - Center X
|
Yearly candidate support for individual components, an annual summer institute, and one-on-one support all available to new and continuing candidates. | Erin Powers, NBCT 310-794-7968 empowersedu@gmail.com |
| West Contra Costa
Unified School District |
Candidate support program with mentoring and Saturday sessions. Serves teacher candidates who work in Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Hercules, Kensington, El Sobrante and Pinole. |
Cinda Rapp, NBCT crapp@wccusd.net |
Sources of Financial Support
Commencing July 1, 2021, any teacher who initiates the process of pursuing a certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards when teaching at a high priority school is eligible to receive a Candidate Subsidy Program (CSP) award of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) subsidy for teachers at high-priority schools who initiate and complete the process of pursuing National Board certification to cover the costs of the program. Candidates must apply for the subsidy upon registering with NBPTS. The subsidy application is due January 31, 2022.
For more information, visit the CA NBPTS Certification Incentive Program 2021-26 web page.
Finding National Board Certified Teachers in California
More than 7,000 California teachers have earned National Board Certification. To learn who these accomplished teachers are, please visit the NBCT Directory
where you can search by name, certificate, state, district, and year.
Resources
National Board Resource Center at Stanford University
Candidate Support by School District
Teacher and Leader Policy Office | NBCT@cde.ca.gov | 916-445-7331
