PORT TOWNSEND — Two Port Townsend School District teachers have earned National Board Certification while two others have renewed their certification.
Lisa Olsen, fourth-grade teacher at Salish Coast Elementary, and Cara Kasperson, Spanish teacher at Port Townsend High School earned certification this year.
Leslie Shively, social studies teacher at Blue Heron Middle School, and Thomas Gambill, English teacher at Port Townsend High School, have renewed their National Board Certification.
All four will be recognized at next Thursday’s School Board meeting, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Gael Stuart Building, 1610 Blaine St.
The new certifications means that the district now has 12 National Board Certified teachers, according to a press release.
National Board Certification is the highest professional distinction available in education, the release said.
To become board-certified, teachers voluntarily complete a rigorous certification program that consists of four components: assessment of content knowledge, reflection on student work samples, video and analysis of teaching practice, and documentation of the impact of assessment and collaboration on student learning.
“These components were designed by teachers, for teachers, to identify the essential knowledge and skills required to advance student learning and achievement,” the release said.
“This is a serious commitment of time and energy, but teachers who achieve certification describe the process as transformative.”
