Fifty Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) educators achieved certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in 2014. This brings the number of Board-certified teachers in MCPS to 709.

Montgomery County far surpasses all other districts in Maryland and ranks ninth among school districts in the nation in the number of new National Board Certified (NBC) educators. MCPS is ranked eighth among the top 30 districts for the total number of NBC educators.

“Congratulations to our newest National Board Certified teachers and to every educator that has gone through this rigorous process,” said MCPS Superintendent Joshua P. Starr. “These educators have shown a commitment to continuous improvement by aligning their teaching practices to a very high standard. The beneficiaries of this commitment are the students they teach and the colleagues they work with every day.”

National Board Certification, a voluntary program established by NBPTS, is achieved through a performance-based assessment that typically takes more than a year to complete. It is designed to measure what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. The process requires teachers to demonstrate how their activities, both inside and outside the classroom, strengthen student performance and contribute to student achievement.

Educators earn National Board Certification after completing a series of assessments that include teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes, and rigorous analyses of their classroom teaching and student learning. Candidates also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge and their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students.

Full-time, non-administrative MCPS educators receive an additional $2,000 in their MCPS salary each year as long as they retain valid certification. The state also provides a stipend to certified teachers that meet certain qualifications, pending annual funding.

MCPS uses the rigorous standards of NBPTS as part of the Professional Growth System for all teachers in the school system. The certification process is open to anyone with a baccalaureate degree and three years of classroom experience. The certificate is valid for 10 years, after which a teacher may seek renewal. In 2014, MCPS has 32 renewed National Board Certified Teachers. 

List of 2014 National Board Certified Teachers in MCPS

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards