Six Daviess County Public Schools teachers have earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and eleven educators have renewed their certifications. These teachers join 52 active educators in the DCPS district who have achieved and maintained this exemplary standard of teaching excellence.
Hannah Harper – East View Elementary, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Harper is in her 6th year as a teacher and is currently teaching first grade. “I chose the National Boards journey to challenge myself by becoming a more reflective, knowledgeable, and effective teacher. This journey has allowed me to be intentional and responsive in my planning and instruction for individual students’ needs to help them develop in their learning. With the knowledge I have gained through this National Boards certification process, I am better equipped and empowered to use best practices in my classroom. I hope my journey also inspires my students to be lifelong learners.”
Casey Hodskins – College View Middle School, Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood. “National Board certification was never on my radar, but a co-worker encouraged me to seek certification for my Rank 1 and began the process with me. This journey challenged me to reflect on my teaching practices while building stronger relationships with students. It also provided opportunities for professional growth with colleagues. Pursuing certification during COVID was challenging, but so rewarding. Looking back on the process, demand, and rigor of National Board Certification my goal is to continue to be a reflective teacher striving to not only
educate my students, but also learn from them.”
Maggie Jagoe – East View Elementary, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Jagoe teaches Kindergarten and is currently in her 10th year teaching. “Throughout my teaching career, I have taught Fifth, Fourth, Second, Third and now Kindergarteners. I knew very little about the journey through National Board Certification before I heard from some of the amazing leaders in our district about how empowering and effective it could be to teaching. With their guidance and by embarking on the journey with colleagues and friends, I knew we could do it! With their
support over the past few years, I was able to effectively reflect on my teaching, design engaging instruction, and empower my students to become their best selves. This journey has been intentionally driven by all of the students I have taught in the past and will be impactful on all of the students I will be blessed to teach in the future.”
Morgan Lewis – Southern Oaks Elementary, Generalist/Middle Childhood. Lewis teaches fourth and fifth grade math and science at Southern Oaks and is currently in her 6th year of teaching. “Pursuing a National Board certification has always been a professional goal of mine and is the path I chose to obtain my Rank 1. The challenging process required me to analyze and reflect on my teaching practices to create meaningful learning experiences for all students. The benefits of being a NBCT will not only strengthen my ability to provide quality instruction, but positively impact student learning. I am so thankful for this opportunity and will continue to use what I’ve learned to guide my students to become confident, lifelong learners.”
Dustin Winslow – Apollo High School, Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Winslow, a math and engineering teacher at Apollo High School, is in his 13th year of teaching. “For years I debated whether I wanted to continue my education through a second master’s degree or if I wanted to pursue my National Board Certification. Ultimately, I decided that the NBCT process would be more impactful for my students and me. The COVID Pandemic shut the world down a month after I signed up to pursue my certification. Despite the struggles of the past 3 school years, this process was incredibly rewarding. NBCT allowed me to focus on the learning and teaching taking place directly in my classroom. The process helped me to develop into a more strategic and reflective teacher.”
Misty Miller – East View Elementary-Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood~ Miller is in her 13th year of teaching and is currently the Instructional Coach at EVES. “When I started the NBCT process, I was serving as the reading coach at East View. I knew it would be challenging since I didn’t have my own classroom and I worried it may be harder to complete the certification effectively. However, I was able to “borrow” a classroom, dive deep into those students’ needs, work with them daily in reading centers alongside their classroom teacher, and complete a coaching cycle with that teacher at the same time. It was a challenging but amazing experience. The entire process
helped me reflect thoroughly on my teaching practices and, overall, I will be a better resource when coaching other teachers because of it.”
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an organization dedicated to improving schools and student learning by strengthening the quality of those who teach. The board sponsors a national certification process that measures a teacher’s practices against high standards of excellence. This involves an extensive series of performance-based assessments that includes teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes and a thorough analysis of the candidates’ classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that explore the depth of their subject-matter knowledge as well as their understanding of how best to teach these subjects to their
students. Earning this designation is an extremely demanding process and only an elite few who attempt it are successful.
DCPS assistant superintendent for teaching and learning Jana Beth Francis, who is also an NBCT educator, said, “National Board teacher certification requires teachers to think deeply about their practice as an educator. Teachers who achieve the certification understand the critical connection between students and the subjects they are teaching. NBCT educators demonstrate a high level of responsiveness to students resulting in higher learning.”
DCPS teachers earning recertification as National Board Certified Teachers and their areas of certification are:
Lindsey Alvey – Country Heights Elementary, Generalist/Middle Childhood, Renewed. Alvey, a fourth-grade teacher at Country Heights Elementary, is in her 11th year of teaching. “Obtaining National Board Certification was a personal goal that I set for myself in 2017. Through that process, as well as the maintenance of certification process, I became a more reflective and systematic teacher. It challenged me to consistently seek ways to improve in my profession and continue learning,” Alvey states. “NBCT encouraged me to be committed and focused on student achievement and individual student needs, as well as be invested in building relationships in my classroom.”
Sonya Callis – Tamarack Elementary, Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood, Renewed. Callis is currently in her 18th year of teaching Special Education Resource at Tamarack Elementary. “The students that I work with keep me on my toes. I needed the challenge of NBCT and the NBCT renewal, to stay active in learning the strategies and pedagogy to meet my students’ individual needs. I always remain committed to my students and their learning.”
Maisie Cessna – East View Elementary School, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood, Renewed. Cessna is currently a fourth grade teacher and has been teaching for 16 years. “Going through the National Boards Certification process has been by far the most challenging, yet most beneficial endeavor that I have achieved in my teaching career. Maintaining my certification allows me to continue to grow as a teacher as I make intentional decisions for my students, reflect deeply on the instructional outcomes of those decisions, and then make the needed adjustments to ensure that my students are given a rigorous and equitable learning experience. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to grow as an educator and be an advocate for my students.”
Steve Easley – Daviess County High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Easley, a Social Studies teacher, is in his 16th year as an educator. “The initial process of obtaining National Board Certification helped me to grow as an educator and allowed me the opportunity to reflect on my practice. Now, through the maintenance of certification process, I continue to see growth in myself, in particular in the area of leadership within my school and the district. Maintenance of Certification challenged me to consider ways that I have improved my craft since initial certification and to look for ways to continue to grow.”
Michelle Fuqua – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood- Highland Elementary School. Fuqua is in her 24th year of teaching and is currently the reading interventionist at Highland. “Since my initial certification in 2013, I feel the benefits of NBCT are continually reflecting and growing in my craft. It’s given me the opportunity to become a greater impact in my classroom and now as the interventionist, schoolwide. It’s an honor to maintain my certification and continue to learn current research and strategies to further the success of students.”
Faye Klee – Daviess County Middle School – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood, Renewed. Klee is in her 21st year as an educator. “Since the National Board Standards and the 5 Core Propositions are developed by committees of educators who are broadly representative of professionals in their field, I felt very confident in knowing how to better myself in order to improve lessons for my students,” Klee states. “The benefits of being a NBCT have been proven to help our students achieve greater success. Since being certified, I have re-designed my lessons to meet the needs of each of my students by analyzing data from their assessments, as well as
analyzing my teaching to assess student progress and their learning goals. My final goal is to assist each student in becoming successful students in any career they choose.”
Becky Mann– Apollo High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Mann is currently in her 27th year teaching math. “Completing my National Board certification early in my career allowed me to understand what it means to be a reflective teacher. This is a skill that I have used throughout my whole teaching career and I believe has benefited my students. Maintaining my certification gave me the opportunity to pause and reflect on my current skills as an education; it allowed me to see aspects of the profession in which I excel, but more importantly showed me areas I need to continue to focus my growth and learning.”
Melissa Reed – Burns Middle School – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood, Renewed. Reed is in her 17th year as an educator. “The National Board Certification process helped me focus more on my teaching and how I could grow to best meet the needs of all of my students. During my Maintenance of Certification, I focused on Social Emotional Learning and closing the learning gap which are two areas that have seen a significant increase. This focus helped me to expand my abilities further as an educator by recognizing how student needs have shifted in the last several years.”
Heather Roos – Southern Oaks Elementary – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood, Renewed. This is year 18 for Roos, a fourth and fifth grade looping ELA and Social Studies teacher. “I chose the National Board process for my path to Rank I. I had teachers in my school that shared the benefits and effects that it had on their students which inspired me. Choosing National Boards taught me the value of reflecting on my practice. After obtaining certification five years ago, I knew that I wanted to continue growing and refining my pedagogy to meet the needs of students.”
Dr. Rachel Rosales – Apollo High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Dr. Rosales is currently in her 26th year of education – 24 of those as a math teacher and the most recent two as the Instructional Coach of AHS. I earned my initial certification in 2002 to reflect and improve my practice in the classroom. The experience challenged me to think critically about how my actions and approaches impacted my students. In addition to reconnecting with students, renewing provided me an opportunity to pause and consider my actions as a leader and how I can continue to positively impact student achievement.
Teresa Smith – College View Middle – English Language Arts/Early Adolescence, Renewed. Smith is in her 26th year as an educator, having spent the last five years as her school’s instructional coach. “Obtaining your National Board Certification or completing the Maintenance of Certification, as I just did, is such a rewarding and reflective experience. I was able to hone my skills in my certification area which in turn enables me to be a more effective coach to our teachers. Meeting the needs of students and fellow educators through the NBCT process is something that I am extremely proud of.”
Jana Bryant is the district math instructional coach for Daviess County Public Schools and is the current president of the Kentucky National Board Network. “Our network strives to ensure that all teachers in Kentucky continue to grow and demonstrate accomplished teaching practice for every student. In the state of Kentucky, NBCT certification is one pathway to qualify a teacher for a Rank II or Rank I professional certificate.” For more information about National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and KY NBCT guidelines for certification, visit nbpts.org/national-board-certification and education.ky.gov/teachers/Pages/National-Board-Certification.aspx.
