Tennessee Teachers Earn National Board Certification

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education is pleased to announce 51 Tennessee teachers have completed the requirements for National Board Certification as defined by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Meeting these standards requires teachers to demonstrate acumen beyond the basic requirements for a teaching license. To date, 232 Tennessee teachers earned National Board Certification.

“These teachers have voluntarily set a higher bar for their professional growth, which serves as a positive model to both students and colleagues,” Education Commissioner Lana Seivers said. “I commend teachers who strive to continually advance their knowledge of the profession and find new ways to reach every student they encounter.”

Candidates undergo a 10-part evaluation process specific to the teacher’s discipline, including performance assessments of teaching strategies and written exercises to assess subject knowledge. Certification typically takes between 200 and 400 hours over a one- to three-year period. College graduates who have been teaching and held a valid teaching license for three years are eligible to pursue National Board Certification.

All applicants must submit the following items as part of the evaluation portfolio:

• two video recordings of classroom teaching with a self-analysis and reflection
• one written analysis and reflection of a collection of student work
• documentation of work completed outside the classroom and evidence of how it has impacted student learning
• six online constructed response questions demonstrating subject-matter expertise, 30 minutes each

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent organization formed in 1987 in response to the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching Report, A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century. The board is governed by teachers, school board members, higher education officials, legislators, business leaders, and community members. More than 50,000 teachers have to date have earned the distinction of National Board Certification.

The following teachers earned National Board Certification in 2006:

TEACHER	SCHOOL NAME	SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME
Ellen Anderson	Moore Elementary School	Franklin Special School District
Jennifer Arblaster	Washington Elementary School	Kingsport City Schools
Sarah Armstrong	Fox Meadows Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Elisa Bennett	Downtown Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Monica Bergin	White Station Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Henry Blazer	Cocke County High School	Cocke County Schools
Christin Casebolt	Fox Meadows Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Elona Charbonnet	Craigmont Middle School	Memphis City Schools
Allyson Chick	Fox Meadows Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Robin Couts	Greenbrier High School	Robertson County Schools
Loren Craddock	White Station Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Yolanda Crawford	John P. Freeman Optional School	Memphis City Schools
Kathleen Crawford	Science Hill High School	Johnson City Schools
Leslie Creutzinger	Science Hill High School	Johnson City Schools
Rebecca Drinnon	Cocke County High School	Cocke County Schools
Matthew Drinnon	Alpha Elementary School	Hamblen County Schools
Lori Enos	Richland Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Christa Fitzgibbon	Willow Oaks Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Patricia Forkum	Warner Elementary School	Metro Nashville Public Schools
Mary Francis	Fairmont Elementary School	Johnson City Schools
Leigh Gary	Idlewild Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Joann Graham	White Station High School	Memphis City Schools
Lori Guilliams	White Station Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Sharon Hicks	Winridge Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Wanda Horton	Whitney Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Vicki Houlihan	Avon Lenox School	Memphis City Schools
Jennifer Jackson	Shelby Oaks Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Kim Jessee	Oak Forest Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Tressa Jones	Oak Forest Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Kathryn Jordan	Double Tree Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Leigh Justus	Franklin High School	Williamson County Schools
Virginia Dawn Lafon	White Station High School	Memphis City Schools
Denise Matthew	Science Hill High School	Johnson City Schools
Shannon Mcolgan	Magnolia Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Alice Quantance	Hermitage Elementary School	Metro Nashville Public Schools
Kelly Scheetz	Franklin High School	Williamson County Schools
Sherry Simmons	Raleigh-Egypt High School	Memphis City Schools
Judy Stephenson	Oak Forest Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Wendi Sutton	Oak Forest Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Lisa Tamboli	Germanshire El./ Memphis City Schools	Memphis City Schools
Latonya Taylor	Manassas High School	Memphis City Schools
Lafrederick Thirkill	Battle Academy For Teaching Learning	Hamilton County Schools
Tessa Trimm	Martin Primary School	Weakley County School District
Debra Vaughn	Castle Heights Upper Elementary School	Lebanon Special School District
Maria Warren	Eaton Elementary School	Loudon County Schools
Aliya Washington	Alex Green Elementary School	Metro Nashville Public Schools
Anne Whirley	White Station Elementary	Memphis City Schools
Sonya Williams	Raleigh-Egypt High School	Memphis City Schools
Debra Woods	Balmoral Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Fleacia Wright	Peabody Elementary School	Memphis City Schools
Salli Young	Ida B. Wells Academy	Memphis City Schools

For more information, please contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@state.tn.us.