NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION

National Board Certification Assessment Fee……… (North Carolina Funding)

Please make sure you meet the eligibility requirements for North Carolina funding as indicated below.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR STATE FUNDING

The state of North Carolina will pay, up front, the candidate assessment fee for eligible teachers. Teachers do not have to repay the fee as long as they complete the full National Board Certification process and teach the year following completion. Candidates are eligible for state funding if they:

  • are paid entirely from state funds
  • have completed three full years in North Carolina Public Schools (This includes DOC, DHHS, Office of Juvenile Justice, and public charter schools)
  • hold a valid, clear, continuing North Carolina teaching license
  • have not previously received State Funds for participating in the NBPTS assessment. (If a candidate received funding, withdrew from the process and fulfilled the repayment obligation, s/he can be funded again), and
  • engage in direct classroom instruction, library/media work, or school counseling 70% of the time over the course of the academic year.

1) You must first apply for the National Board Certification process at www.nbpts.org.

2) After applying at www.nbpts.org, please make sure you apply for the North Carolina National Board Certification assessment fee funding at http://nbpts.dpi.state.nc.us.

Applications for 2009-2010 candidates will be accepted March - October 31, 2009. All portfolios for 2009-2010 candidates must be postmarked on or before March 31st, 2010.

Please be Advised:
The deadline for requesting State funding is October 31, 2009. We will not allow any late requests for State funding - we will only work on the behalf of those who have applied for State funding by the deadline date of October 31st.

Please Note:
All teachers teaching in Charter Schools are encouraged to check with your school administration as to any salary differentials offered for National Board Certification. The state continues to provide funding to Charter School Teachers to cover the assessment costs, per meeting eligibility criteria. However, each charter school has discretion as to any salary adjustments.

NORTH CAROLINA

Ranks as the #1 State in the Nation for the overall number of National Board Certified Teachers - Over 14,200 NBCTs!

NOTE :: Various file formats are used on this page that may require download. If larger than 1mb, it will take longer to download. For instructions or more information, please visit our download page.

NBCT Renewals - October 2008
(pdf, 176kb)

NBCT Renewals as of October 2007
(pdf, 26kb)

North Carolina Continues National Board Certification Momentum

Gov. Easley Announces North Carolina Leads the Nation in National Board Certified Teachers for 12th Year
Wake County is No. 2 School District Nationally,
Charlotte-Mecklenburg is No. 4

National Board Certification, offered by the National Board For Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), is a way to recognize the accomplished teaching that is occurring in North Carolina's classrooms. The certification process is based on high and rigorous standards that evaluates teaching practice through performance-based assessments; the ultimate result is improved performance and achievement for North Carolina's students.

National Board Certification was first offered in 1994, when eight North Carolina teachers received this important professional credential. The number of North Carolina teachers receiving the certification has grown dramatically since then today equaling over 10 percent of North Carolina's teaching force. North Carolina has the highest number of National Board Certified Teachers in the nation.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards mission is to advance the quality of teaching and learning by:

  • maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do;
  • providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards; and
  • advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers.

At the core of the National Board certification process are standards that describe the highest level of teaching in different disciplines and with students at different developmental levels. These standards represent a consensus among accomplished teachers and other education experts about what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. NBPTS Standards can be found at www.nbpts.org.

Teachers who have participated in National Board Certification have overwhelmingly stated it is the most powerful professional development experience of their careers. They say the experience changes them as professionals and that through the process they deepen their content knowledge and develop, master, and reflect on new approaches to working with their students.

According to research conducted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, teachers who have achieved National Board Certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) significantly outperform their peers who are not Board Certified on 11 of 13 key dimensions of teaching expertise, according to a study released by the National Board. Based on student work samples, the study's authors declared that National Board Certification "is identifying and certifying teachers who are producing students who differ in profound and important ways from those taught by non-certified teachers."

HOW DO TEACHERS ACHIEVE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION?

The assessment process for National Board Certification requires candidates to complete two major components: a portfolio of classroom practice including samples of student work and videotapes of teacher instruction, and an assessment of content knowledge administered at a computer-based testing center. It is estimated that the process will take the better part of a school year and involve a total of 200-400 hours of work outside of the classroom.

SUPPORT FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

State legislation provides support to teachers seeking advanced certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, formerly chaired by Governor James B. Hunt Jr. For state-paid teachers with a clear and continuing license and a minimum of three years teaching experience in North Carolina, the state will:

  • pay the assessment fee
  • provide up to three days of paid release time to candidates
  • grant renewal credit for those teachers completing all components of the assessment within the funded assessment cycle; and
  • pay National Board Certified Teachers a salary differential (separate salary schedule) of 12% of their state salary for the life of the certificate (10 years).

Federal subsidy funds may also be available to pay for candidates to retake a portion of the National Board Certification process, if necessary. The North Carolina State Board of Education has adopted policy recommendations to:

  • adopt the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
  • grant a North Carolina teaching license to out-of-state teachers who possess National Board Certification
  • create staff development plans that incorporate the work of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in training programs, and
  • develop plans to incorporate the National Board's standards into higher education programs.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR STATE FUNDING

The state of North Carolina will pay, up front, the candidate assessment fee for eligible teachers. Teachers do not have to repay the fee as long as they complete the full National Board Certification process and teach the year following completion. Candidates are eligible for state funding if they:

  • are paid entirely from state funds
  • have completed three full years in North Carolina Public Schools (This includes DOC, DHHS, Office of Juvenile Justice, and public charter schools)
  • hold a valid, clear, continuing North Carolina teaching license
  • have not previously received State Funds for participating in the NBPTS assessment. (If a candidate received funding, withdrew from the process and fulfilled the repayment obligation, s/he can be funded again.), and
  • engage in direct classroom instruction, library/media work, or school counseling 70% of the time over the course of the academic year.

IMPORTANT: If you do not meet the criteria listed above, please contact your local school system to determine additional steps needed to qualify for State funding.

WHERE TO GO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NBPTS IN NORTH CAROLINA

  • For more information more about state assistance, completing the application, or candidate support contact the Program Coordinator for National Board Certification Activities at 919.807.3358.
  • For more information about the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards contact Karen Garr, NBPTS Regional Office; 919.828.1236 or visit www.nbpts.org.
  • North Carolina Association of Educators.
  • Elic Senter; Center for Teaching and Learning at 1.800.662.7924 x227.
  • NBC Coordinator in your school district.