The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) announced that this year, 443 California teachers earned their profession’s top honor by achieving National Board Certification, an increase that promises to improve student learning in classrooms throughout the state.  The total number of California teachers certified by NBPTS now stands at 2,081.  The Fontana Unified School District is proud to announce that one of the teachers achieving National Board Certification is a fifth grade teacher at Canyon Crest Elementary School, Alison Lowder.

National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession.  A voluntary process established by NBPTS, certification is achieved through a rigorous performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and school counselors should know and be able to do.

When Alison began working toward certification, she partnered with another teacher.  “We looked at our lessons and decided how best to align them to the National Standards of teaching,” said Alison.  “We integrated science with math, and social studies with language arts.  The lessons we submitted to the NBPTS included a Social Studies, Math, and Language Arts lessons.  The National Standards encourage student interaction in small groups, as well as independent work.  Reflection played an important role in the process – with both the students reflecting on what they learned and the teachers, reflecting on lesson development, teaching strategies, delivery to the students and interaction with the students.  Focusing on the standards, interdisciplinary connections, cooperative group work, and reflections, created a positive bond among the students. Although it was a challenging project, I would highly recommend going through the certification process."

"National Board Certification is a tremendous achievement," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "It is not an easy process, which is why we are proud of the teachers who receive this important distinction. It shows how hard they are willing to work so that their students have the best opportunity to succeed. Attracting quality teachers in all of California's public schools continues to be a top priority of my administration."