Haysville Online

Haysville City Council approved the funds for a 9 hole disc golf course to be installed in Riggs Park. The course could be expanded to 18 holes in the future.

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Marilyn Shaw

Last year Haysville Middle School teacher Marilyn Shaw was one of 14 Kansas educators deciding if she wanted to go through a rigorous journey – again.

Within the last ten years, Shaw went through the rigorous year-long process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT). A year ago, she decided she wanted to go through the process to renew her certificate, as the life of her original 10-year certificate was about to expire.

This week Shaw found out her work had measured up again when she received notice her national board certification was renewed.

Shaw teaches math and is nationally board certified in mathematics / early adolescence.

“This process of board certification is very much like how a doctor becomes certified in a special area,” said Dr. Roger Caswell, director of ESU’s program which assists teachers working toward national certification. “This is voluntary – no state, school district, or program is demanding them to go through this process. That’s why – a decade after earning their certification the first time – it’s a huge commitment to say, ‘Yes, I want to do it again.’”

While the process is often misunderstood to mean that a teacher passed a test or was nominated for the award, Caswell explained National Board certification is a different kind of honor. Teachers must submit extensive documentation of their instruction, including videos of their students at work in the classroom.

The accomplishment of national board certification benefits the teachers, the schools they work in, and studies have shown NBCTs improves student learning. And the program hosted at ESU, Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification, benefits as it maintains an 100% renewal rate (since the beginning in 2004) with candidates achieving recertification on their first attempt. More information about ESU’s program can be found at www.emporia.edu/jones/nbpts/.

Kansas currently has a total of 323 national board certified teachers. Of those, 27 will have to be deciding soon if they want to go through the process again. More information about NBCT renewal can be found at: http://www.nbpts.org/for_nbcts/certification_renewal.

National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. A voluntary process established by NBPTS, certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and school counselors should know and be able to do. The program for providing professional support for the certification has been available at ESU since 1993.

Nationwide, the total number of national board certified teachers is more than 82,000.

Available through the Haysville Chamber of Commerce for $10.

The cover features local photographs. Inside you will find a bit of history of our community and our Chamber, plus 248 favorite recipes submitted by current and former members of our community. Cookbooks can be purchased at the Chamber Office at The Learning Center.