Harding University a leader for National Board Certification

SEARCY — The Harding University Cannon-Clary College of Education boasts a 100 percent achievement rate for National Board Certified teachers seeking to renew certification.

The National Board Certification Program at Harding — led by Clara Carroll, associate dean of the College of Education and NBCT — is nationally recognized as a leader in supporting National Board Certification and educators pursuing board certification.

Nat iona l Board Certification is available for 25 certificate areas from pre-K through 12th grade. It is performance-based and peer-reviewed with a strong emphasis on content knowledge and effects on student learning. The process takes from one to three years to complete.

Certification enables teachers to demonstrate that their teaching meets the profession’s standards for accomplished practice and proves their ability to advance student learning and achievement. Board certified teachers are recognized across the nation because they’ve met the highest standards set by the profession.

Jamie Burris, NBCT and Dardanelle School District instructional supervisor and federal programs director, has conducted extensive research of Arkansas NBCTs.

“The conclusions from my research study showed that regardless of certification level or years of experience, Arkansas NBCTs credit the certification process with enhancing their professional growth, increasing student achievement, enhancing skills necessary to better differentiate instruction, increasing the ability to analyze and utilize assessment data to make instructional decisions, developing the skills necessary to better know their students and increasing parental involvement.”

Arkansas currently has a total of 2,903 National Board Certified teachers. To date, nearly 113,000 teachers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have achieved National Board Certification.

For more information regarding the support system offered for National Board candidates, contact Carroll at nationalboard@harding. edu. To learn more about the programs and services offered by the Canon-Clary College of Education, visit www.harding. edu/education.