For Release: April 7, 2004

State Board Recognizes New National Board Certified Teachers

The New Jersey State Board of Education recognized the state's 2002-2003 National Board Certified teachers today. Sixteen public school teachers achieved certification, the teaching profession's highest honor, bringing the state's total to sixty-eight.

"The State Board honors the commitment to success exhibited by these teachers," State Board President Arnold G. Hyndman stated. "These sixteen individuals, working with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, uphold high standards for professional performance and have strengthened their educational expertise through those standards by demonstrating their deep content knowledge and effective teaching practices."

The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization governed by a board of directors, the majority of whom are classroom teachers. Their 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. The National Board believes that creating pathways to improved student learning is at the core of their philosophy.

"The department is proud of these teachers and proud of their commitment to excellence in the classroom," Commissioner of Education William L. Librera added. "The department will continue to provide the subsidies needed to support individual teachers participating in the program. Keeping in line with the goals of Governor James E. McGreevey's 21-Point Plan for Education, we will continue to increase the number of New Jersey Teachers who are National Board Certified, and to support teachers who seek that certification."

In June 2003, Governor McGreevey, the Department of Education, the Business Coalition for Educational Excellence and several New Jersey colleges announced a landmark professional development package to support candidates for the National Board Certification process through state subsidies and graduate credits.

For more information, please contact the Department of Education's Public Information Office at (609) 292-1126.