The #NBPTS DREAM Team

Let's begin with a reality - each day young lives populate our schools. They may achieve or struggle in the classrooms. They may speak English or a foreign language. They may represent the majority of the population or may be from the minority cultures. They may come from high income families or they may be poor. They may be enthusiastic to learn or may be having difficulty for many reasons.

Currently, there is a huge disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. For nearly a half century a major focus of education reform in the United States, has been on trying to close the achievement gap between black and white students and, more recently, Latino students as well. We have diverse students in our classrooms with varying learning needs. We need to be thinking about “policies that reduce inequality, policies that can pull the kids at the bottom of the income distribution up.”

As part of an effort to close the achievement gap in high-need schools throughout the country, the NBPTS Direct Recruiting Efforts to Attract Minorities (DREAM) Team was created as a targeted recruitment project designed to heighten awareness of what National Board Certification means for teachers and students of color.

The NBPTS Office of Strategic Partnerships works extensively with a broad range of organizations such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) and several Asian-American organizations to engage and expand minority participation.

I am widely reaching out to our colleagues in the minority group to help with the Direct Recruitment Efforts to Attract Minorities (DREAM) Team Initiative. This is a promising program funded by the Hewlett-Packard Foundation that encourages national board certified teachers to help mentor other minority teachers who have not yet completed the certification process.

In my 8 years in teaching, I learned that education is a serious work that require every heart and soul from individuals who want to invest in making a difference for students. It demands a serious commitment from our educators who are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. I am continually impressed with our outstanding teachers. Accomplished teachers are the champions and the reason successful schools form the foundation of our society!

NBPTS made it a key priority to ensure broad minority representation in all of its leadership committees. High minority representation was critical to the success of all the standards committees. Join us in our quest for Excellence and Diversity in Teaching!
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The scores were just released this morning for 2011 National Board Certified Teachers. Congratulations to our new NBCTs! Will you join us? Be a friend: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Excellence-and-Diversity-in-Teaching-NBPTS/164222210318626