Twenty Tennessee Educators Earn National Board Certification

NASHVILLE— Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen celebrated today the 20 Tennessee educators who have been designated as National Board Certified Teachers. These educators are part of a group of 5,470 new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) from around the nation.

“We know that teachers are the biggest factor in the success of our students, and it is an honor to celebrate educators who are helping their students grow, while serving as an example of what it means to be a lifelong learner,” McQueen said. “National Board Certified Teachers are highly accomplished educators with a proven track-record of success, and we are proud to have 20 more NBCT educators in Tennessee meet these high and rigorous standards.”

Nationally, there is a growing community of Board-certified teachers, now more than 118,000 strong across all 50 states. Each of these accomplished educators earned the profession’s highest mark of achievement through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-review process, demonstrating their proven impact on student learning and achievement.

“I’m so proud to celebrate our new National Board Certified Teachers. This is a great personal accomplishment, but it’s more than that – this accomplishment is reason to celebrate the impact Board-certified teachers have on millions of students nationwide and on the teaching profession at-large. School principals, superintendents and other system leaders from across the country regularly tell me that NBCTs are making a difference in their students’ learning, strengthening their schools and their communities,” said Peggy Brookins, NBCT, president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

National Board certification is one of the highest distinctions an educator could earn. It was created by teachers, for teachers, to incorporate the National Board’s professional teaching standards and the surrounding body of knowledge of what teachers should know and be able to do. Though this certification and the professional career continuum it provides, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards aims to set the expectation that educators should demonstrate accomplished teaching and become leaders in their schools and communities.

The 20 Tennessee educators who earned National Board certification are:

• John Bourn, Franklin Special School District
• Christy Brawner, Shelby County Schools
• James Campbell, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Kimberly Coyle, Sumner County Schools
• Suzanne Edwards, Williamson County Schools
• Anastasia Fredericksen, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Theresa Fuller, Kingsport City Schools
• Amber Hartzler, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
• Jennifer Helm, Williamson County Schools
• Deborah Higdon, Franklin Special School District
• Karen Hummer, Franklin Special School District
• Heather Meston, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Melissa Miller, Franklin Special School District
• Kelsey Peace, Sumner County Schools
• Lindsey Pellegrin, Franklin Special School District
• Andrea Reeder, Williamson County Schools
• Jordan Sims, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Susanna Singleton, Williamson County Schools
• Melissa Stugart, Metro Nashville Public Schools
• Drew Wilkerson, Franklin Special School District

For more information on the National Board Certification process, visit the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards website. For media inquiries, please contact Sara Gast, director of communications, at 615-532-6260 or Sara.Gast@tn.gov.