National Board Certification
A Benchmark for Teaching Excellence
Teachers are arguably some of the most important members of our society. They give children purpose, set them up for success as citizens of our world, and inspire them to succeed in life. The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and teachers are responsible for getting them ready to be creators of their future world.
BSD currently employs over 400 Nationally Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in classrooms at all 28 schools in the district. Bellevue ranks 22nd out of all public school districts nationwide for the total number of NBCTs who have earned this distinction. The National Board recently recognized Bellevue as one of four districts in which more than 40% of its teachers have earned certification since the inception of the National Board process.
Learn about our National Board Certification program in this short video
National Board Certification: The Gold Standard of teaching
Multiple studies have shown that the National Board Certification process makes a measurable impact on student learning, engagement, and achievement, especially for struggling students. Data from Bellevue, as well as national sources, helped influence the Washington State legislature to provide bonus pay for National Board-certified teachers. Additional legislation, passed by the state in 2009, now provides no-interest loans to help cover certification fees.
In 2020, the Foundation received a generous gift of $500,000 from the Hanson Family Foundation to develop the Sherry Ladd Endowment for Teacher Development. This generous gift will be used to encourage and support National Board Certification for teachers in the District by paying for certification costs not covered by BSD or BSF.
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We are proud to be a part of this transformational program in Washington State, a program that yields great benefit to children and youth across the state.