National Boards:
In Woodland, we have committed to the following goal: “Our faculty and staff will provide effective and high-quality instruction by engaging student interests, exploring alternate pathways and leading by example, thereby promoting a powerful environment for learning. This process will be enhanced through the incorporation of proven tools, training and classroom support.”
One very intentional strategy we have used to promote quality teaching and learning is to promote and support National Board Certification.
Recognized as the gold standard in teacher certification, the National Board believes higher standards for teachers means better learning for students. The founding mission of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 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. First published in 1989 and updated in 2016, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do articulates the National Board’s Five Core Propositions for teaching. The Five Core Propositions — comparable to medicine’s Hippocratic Oath — set forth the profession's vision for accomplished teaching.
Together, the propositions form the basis of all National Board Standards and the foundation for National Board Certification.
Proposition 1: Teachers Are Committed to Students and Their Learning.
Proposition 2: Teachers Know the Subjects They Teach and How to Teach Those Subjects to Students.
Proposition 3: Teachers Are Responsible for Managing and Monitoring Student Learning.
Proposition 4: Teachers Think Systematically About Their Practice and Learn from Experience.
Proposition 5: Teachers Are Members of Learning Communities.
State Homeless Student Stability Grant:
I am pleased to report that our application for the State Homeless Student Stability Grant was approved and we have been granted $15,000. These funds will be used to increase identification of homeless students and the capacity of the districts to provide support, which may include education liaisons, for homeless students.