12 SUSD Teachers Renew National Certification, 1 Newly Certified

SCOTTSDALE, AZ —Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) announced this week that 12 of its teachers had renewed their certification for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), while another teacher became newly certified.

According to the district, SUSD is a state leader with a total of 83 NBPTS certified teachers.

The NBPTS certification program was launched in 1987 and, according to the SUSD, is the pinnacle of professional development programs for U.S. classroom teachers.

The organization issues certificates in 16 content areas, from art, health education and mathematics to language arts, science and music. Certificates are also based on developmental levels, from early and middle childhood to early adolescence and young adulthood.

According to the SUSD, those who achieve certification status report that going through the up-to-three-year process forever changes the way they think about their profession, profoundly impacting the way they teach students for the rest of their careers.

"SUSD is committed to delivering outstanding learning opportunities every day to its 23,000 students," the district said in a statement. "We achieve that by ensuring that there are exceptional leaders in the classrooms of our 30 schools. A growing number of Scottsdale Unified teachers choose, and are encouraged by the district, to augment their state certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards."

The district continued: "(The certified teachers) dedicate themselves to the ongoing improvement and mastery of their skills in order to provide Scottsdale students with the outstanding educational experiences at all grade levels for which SUSD has been known for 124 years."

The SUSD said that NBPTS certification candidates receive financial assistance — in the form of The Scottsdale Unified School District Foundation grants —as they engage in the certification process.

Retired SUSD teachers, who were board-certified themselves, also regularly volunteer to mentor their colleagues on their journey to certification, the district said.

Upon certification, SUSD teachers also receive a $3,000 a year stipend from the district.

The SUSD teachers who renewed their NBPTS certification are:

Jennifer Antrim - SOL

Abbey Bobbett - Laguna

Karen Brisbane - Cocopah

Kelly Accridge - Redfield

Jennifer Dukelow - Arcadia

Erin Hansen - SOL

Danette Imafidon- Cocopah

Curt Robinson - DCES

Stephanie Shamy - Laguna

Julie Sparks - DCES

Bart te Velde - Mohave

Karen Wiebel - Sequoya.

Shannon Stapley, from DCMS, was the only SUSD teacher to become newly certified.

A full list of SUSD's NBPTS certified teachers is available on the district website.