Schools
National Board Certification For Ossining Teacher
Terry DeLeon was one of 118 teachers across New York to receive the certification in 2017.
OSSINING, NY — After a rigorous process, Ossining High School English as a New Language teacher Terry Velez-DeLeon recently obtained her National Board Certification.
Ms. DeLeon was one of 118 teachers across New York to receive the certification in 2017, according to the New York State United Teachers union. That brought the total number of New York teachers with the certification to 1,912.
To obtain the designation from the National Board for Teaching Standards, candidates must demonstrate they meet the rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
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“The process challenged me to really dissect my practice and to find evidence that what I’m doing has an impact on students,” said Ms. DeLeon, who lives in Rockland County and has taught in Ossining for 10 years.
She is married to Marco DeLeon, who teaches math at OHS. The couple have three children: a son who is 37, a daughter who is 23 and a son who is 21.
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Ms. DeLeon was a teacher in the Bronx for many years before taking a position as a dual-language Spanish teacher at Roosevelt School. She moved to the high school three years ago. In her current role, she is a Spanish TASC – Test Assessing Secondary Completion – teacher. She prepares students to take the exam throughout the year. She also helps run the Success Center, where she supports Spanish-speaking students learning English as a new language.
“I’ve done a lot of growing here,” she said. “The district has been amazingly supportive.”
She enjoys working with children and motivating them to do well on the TASC and move forward in their studies. “I think it’s about building relationships with our kids, and I think that’s something that is one of my strong points, that I can connect with the kids,” she said. “I try my best to convince them that they can achieve this.”
Ms. DeLeon thought about going for the national certification for many years before starting the process. She encourages colleagues to pursue the designation. “I think that any teacher who has an opportunity to do it should,” she said. “I’m glad I stuck with it. I’m glad that I went through the process.”
