Two Dist. 54 teachers earn national board certification

School District 54 is pleased to announce that two teachers earned National Board Certification this year through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Sarah Mendoza, an intervention coach at Hoover Math & Science Academy in Schaumburg, and Olivia Jones, a middle level science teacher at Lincoln Prairie School in Hoffman Estates, are part of a group of 6,200 teachers who became board certified in 2011.

“I chose to pursue my National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification to improve my teaching practice and help my students be successful,” Mendoza said. “The process is very reflective and gives you a chance to analyze what you're doing in the classroom and why you're doing it.”

While state licensing systems set the basic requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certification is achieved through an additional performance-based assessment of a teacher's skills and content knowledge. The certification takes one to three years to complete.

“I pursued National Board Certification as a culminating validation for my 30 plus years in the teaching profession (always as a science teacher in grades 6 to 9),” Jones said. “I have had wonderful career and professional opportunities that helped me fulfill the qualifications needed to achieve this goal and I feel very fortunate to have been able to add to these experiences as a teacher in School District 54.”