My NBPTS Certification Results

I received a reminder last Thursday night that the results of the National Board Certification are coming out Friday. Was I able to sleep well? Yes. Was I anxious? No.

I already talked to my new principal (read: not my principal last year) last Monday about this during my conference with her on my unstructured observations. I let her know that the results of the National Board was coming out very soon and that I was 95% sure that I was not going to make it. Things were very difficult for me last year with working conditions and my pregnancy that it was difficult for me to focus for my National Board completion. The inschool support from anybody was totally absent; thanks to my wonderful husband and my energetic NBC mentor, Debbie, who kept me going. I was expecting that my scores from last year (which was not bad at all) would go down as a result of the unfavorable conditions I was in.

I checked the NBPTS website early morning at 6:00 AM, it was not yet available due to high traffic. When I came to my classroom, I wrote a reminder on top of my desk to check my scores during lunch, which is usually working lunch for me. I still remember the feeling when I saw my scores last year, it was just "I did not make it (sigh). That's ok, I will retake it and do better. It's a three year process and I still have 2 chances".

And there it was on my computer screen in front of me...my scores unexpectedly went up...and I missed by 2 points! The feeling was worse that last year, I felt dizzy. I missed by just 2 points!...just 2 points!

And I remembered I was hungry, went out to microwave my food. I saw my benevolent principal in the hallway. As level-headed as she is, I sensed that she was not in in her best mood, the 8th graders had a food fight in the cafeteria. Well, our school is just like some schools with discipline problems. But the administrators and the teachers are real Trojan Warriors (The Iliad by Homer) who will stand together to fight and overcome discipline problems in the school as a team.

She mentioned something that I barely heard, I replied something that made no sense. And I found myself hugging her and crying. I said "I got the scores and I missed by 2 points". We already talked about it and we were expecting that I will not pass this year, so what's the matter? I almost made it and did not, I could have been a NBCT now. She talked to me in my classroom like none of my supervisors talked to me before. I am not going to blog about my past grievances anymore, because I'm going to need more time for that (they're countless), and I decided to move on now (new andministration, new beginning).

My principal told me: "Ms. Angala, why did you take the National Board? Is it because of the title? You don't pass the National Board just for the sake of passing it and having the title. If you passed the National Board and people see that you were not ready then that is a problem."

I expressed my reasons for taking the national board here. After three years, I said the same things to my principal: "I took the national board because I believe that I am doing the right things for my students and I want to be validated; I wanted to know how to implement the teaching standards and the best practices that I read in the books." In addition, I want to see how effective teaching looks like. I want to be an accomplished teacher.

She replied, "Ms. Angala, you have gone this far on your own, just missing 2 points from the goal, without anybody there to support you. You are going to retake the national board and you are going to pass. Why? Because I am here to support you, we will go over your entry before you submit it.

You will pass because now I see a teacher who is worthy of being called a National Board Certified Teacher. I see a teacher in front of me who is working hard to be able to pull the scores of her special ed students out of below basic in the benchmark assessments. I see a teacher who is helping her colleagues create an inviting classroom environment and a better lesson plan for their students. I see a teacher who is able to pull together resources and grants, and community help for her students to achieve. I see a teacher who is open to suggestions, receptive, and is willing to learn and make things better for her students. You will retake the National Board, and I know you will pass because you are now ready."

She was right. I know I was still missing some skills needed of an accomplished special education teacher in the beginning of the school year. She stepped in, mentored me, and gave me some strategies on classroom management (some students made it difficult for me to teach in the beginning) and lesson planning. I can't believe how it all transformed everything in just three months of implementation! I am still having some behavior issues from time to time, but my students respect me now, and I can make them work not because they are scared of the consequences but because they want to get better grades, to achieve and to be successful in life.

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I have come this far...very very close to the goal. Why will I quit? I am going to retake the National Board, and I will nail it this time!

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LESSON LEARNED: During my reflection about my teaching experiences last night, I learned that you cannot be an effective classroom teacher overnight. Knowledge and implementation of the teaching standards and the best practices over time create successful classroom teachers.