121 Wake teachers earn National Board certification in 2001
November 20, 2001 - Wake Superintendent Bill McNeal and State
Education Superintendent Mike Ward congratulated teachers
who earned certification from the National Board of Professional
Teaching Standards (NBPTS) at a news briefing Tuesday (Nov.
20) at Washington Elementary.
 Superintendent McNeal congratulates teachers. |
"We applaud the state for all it has done to encourage
teachers to seek National Board certification," McNeal
said. "It is a difficult process of self-examination,
hard work, and testing that a teacher chooses to do in addition
to his or her classroom instruction. Our teachers tell us
going through this process makes them better teachers."
McNeal personally congratulated Washington teachers Lynn
Bitting, Rose Ann Brown, and Tracy Failla upon the NBTPS announcement
that they had earned certification. The three teachers are
among 121 in Wake County who earned certification this year.
Tracey Failla is a second grade teacher. This is her third
year teaching at Washington and her fifth year as a teacher.
Rose Ann Brown is a kindergarten teacher. She has been teaching
for 17 years, 13 at Washington. Lynn Bitting is a physical
education teacher at Washington. She has been teaching since
1974 and has been at Washington for the last ten years.
"The process I went through forced me to look at what
I do on a daily basis with my students and how I affect their
lives," Bitting said. "As a teacher, I looked at
the methodology, the assessment procedures, my classroom management,
my community involvement, my involvement with parents. Everything
had to be looked at and scrutinized very closely. It had to
be documented. It had to be proved that what I said I was
doing, I was actually doing. Then I had people to look at
it, read it, criticize it and give me their input on it. I
had the opportunity to look deeply into what I do every day."
Bitting said the hard work required the support of family,
fellow faculty, and students. She said there was help from
state educators and teachers who had already earned certification
in workshops, weekly support groups, and on-line services.
 Washington Elementary teachers Lynn Bitting, Rose Ann Brown, and Tracy Failla earned certification this year. |
The 121 Wake County teachers who earned certification from
the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in 2001
brings Wake County's total number of National Board certified
teachers to 336, making Wake County a national leader.
Earlier this year, the Wake County Board of Education approved a one time $500 bonus to National Board certified teachers. The school system encourages National Board certified teachers to serve as coaches for teachers seeking certification. Coaches are paid an honorarium. The school system sends some Wake County teachers to the annual conference of National Board certified teachers. While the state provides assistance for state-funded teachers towards the $2,300 application fee, Wake County provides local assistance for locally- and federally-funded teachers in Wake County.
"We value teachers who have earned National Board certification,"
McNeal said. "Their efforts bring honor to our school
system. Our students benefit by having accomplished teachers
teaching them."
The certification process is the most accepted symbol of
teaching excellence in the U.S. To earn certification, teachers
must demonstrate teaching practice, content knowledge, and
pedagogical-content knowledge.
"Every child in our schools deserves a quality teacher,"
McNeal said. "We are doing everything we can in Wake
County to recruit, hire, and keep the best teachers. There's
no question that the single most important factor in a child's
education is the child's teacher."
 State Superintendent Ward says NC leads the nation in the number of National Board certified teachers. |
Superintendent Ward announced that North Carolina continues
to lead the nation in the number of teachers who have earned
certification. NBTPS began offering certification in 1994.
Since that time, 3,667 North Carolina teachers have earned
certification. That includes 1,260 teachers who earned certification
this year.
"Achieving National Board certification is a strong endorsement of teacher quality, and it is encouraging that North Carolina has so many classroom teachers who are seeking this credential," Ward said. "I want to thank all the teachers who have been willing to undergo this rigorous process and also the General Assembly and State Board of Education for their strong support of national certification."
North Carolina supports efforts by teachers to achieve National
Board certification by:
· Advance payment of the $2,300 assessment fee. (The
teacher is obligated to teach in the state the following year
whether they achieve National Board certification or not.)
· Three paid release days from normal teacher responsibilities
in order to develop their portfolios.
· A 12 percent salary supplement to the teachers' regular
salary, good for the 10-year life of the certification.
· 15 continuing education units (CEUs) awarded to the
individual for completing the National Board certification
process.
The Wake County teachers who earned certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards include:
Jodie Joines Spencer, Adams Elementary
Sonia Brooks, Apex High
Donna Smith, Athens Drive High
Karen Duncan, Athens Drive High
Kevin Steidinger, Athens Drive High
Martha Rippard, Athens Drive High
Laura Ellen Cochrane, Briarcliff Elementary
Renee S. Alman, Broughton High
Kristi Wolff, Broughton High
Holly Martin, Bugg Elementary
Elizabeth Newmark, Carnage Middle
Sandra Craft Alford, Carroll Middle
Deborah Hines, Carver Elementary
Judith Lynne Quick, Cary High
Marion Nolan O'Quinn, Cary High
Stephanie Beanne Jessee, Cary High
Barbara Bridger Jean, Daniels Middle
Debra Houck, Davis Drive Elementary
Ellen Govert, Davis Drive Elementary
Heather Smith, Davis Drive Elementary
Karen Mickie, Davis Drive Elementary
Christine Balga, Davis Drive Middle
Jacob Bryant, Davis Drive Middle
Jennifer Wise, Davis Drive Middle
Wanda Johnson, Davis Drive Middle
Andrew Martin, Dillard Drive Middle
Cheryl Zelek, Dillard Drive Middle
Thomas Mitchell, Dillard Drive Middle
Kimberly Turnipseed Hamilton, Douglas Elementary
Cynthia Jarrett, Durant Road Elementary
Jill Geraci, Durant Road Elementary
Lisa Johnson, Durant Road Elementary
Nicole Foster, Durant Road Elementary
Amy Lynne Rogers, Durant Road Middle
Angeline Ennis, Durant Road Middle
Anthony Infantino, Durant Road Middle
Cynthia Hoyt, Durant Road Middle
Jennifer Lane, Durant Road Middle
Kathleen Dempsey, Durant Road Middle
Kimberly Stephens, Durant Road Middle
Rachel Beguhl,Durant Road Middle
Steven Puls, Durant Road Middle
Amy Purvis, East Cary Middle
Erin Gerrity, East Millbrook Middle
Kathleen Vesser, East Millbrook Middle
Catherine McCluskey, East Wake High
Tate Gould, East Wake High
Terri Pelle, East Wake High
Joyce Eileen Femia Nelson, Enloe High
Vinetta Bell, Enloe High
William Puckett, Enloe High
Anner Adams Kratzer, Farmington Woods Elementary
Karen Swinehart, Fuller Elementary
Betty Vaughn, Garner High
Frances Matejcek Knauss, Hodge Road Elementary
Jeannie Davenport, Holly Springs Elementary
Catherine Rudolph Clark, Hunter Elementary
Elizabeth Hastings Holland, Jeffreys Grove Elementary
Tracie Snyder Newson, Jeffreys Grove Elementary
Kimberly Wilkins Stewart, Jones Dairy Elementary
Pamela Wines Edwards, Jones Dairy Elementary
Suzanne Lafferty, Jones Dairy Elementary
Melissa Armbruster, Kingswood Elementary
Tanya Parrish, Leesville Elementary
Angela Panel-Holthausen, Leesville Road High
Heather Dinkenor, Leesville Road High
John Miles, Leesville Road High
Judy Taylor Childress, Leesville Road High
Monica Dupree Wilkerson, Leesville Road High
Tonya Eastman, Leesville Road High
Amanda E. Bennett Miller, Ligon Middle
Betty Mackie, Ligon Middle
Jennifer Walters, Lincoln Heights Elementary
Marjorie Younger, Millbrook Elementary
Anna Rogers, Millbrook High
Harry Jones, Millbrook High
Kelley Walker, Millbrook High
William Dickens, Millbrook High
Lisa Brown Rockefeller, Morrisville Elementary
Cathy Benton Lowry, North Ridge Elementary
Betsy Jones Beals, Northwoods Elementary
Amy Eggers, Oak Grove Elementary
Carol Flickinger, Olive Chapel Elementary
Kathryn Caggia, Olive Chapel Elementary
Patricia Brown, Olive Chapel Elementary
Allison Molinaro, Partnership Elementary
Jo Taylor, Phillips High
Karen Brewer, Pleasant Union Elementary
Mary Alden Hanson, Rolesville Elementary
June Blackwell, Sanderson High
Catherine Jelovich Haywood, Southeast Raleigh High
Cheryl Logan, Southeast Raleigh High
Glenda Reed Haynie, Southeast Raleigh High
Jennifer Falk, Southeast Raleigh High
Joyce Courville Hayes, Southeast Raleigh High
Samuel Wheeler, Southeast Raleigh High
Sofia Frankowski, Southeast Raleigh High
Cheryl Jenkins, Swift Creek Elementary
Brenda Custer Johnson, Timber Drive Elementary
Elizabeth Moore, Timber Drive Elementary
Julie Carroll, Timber Drive Elementary
Nancy Kelley-Cram, Wakefield Elementary
Rebekah Dodd, Wakefield Elementary
Vickie Davis, Wakefield Elementary
Laura Morgan Kellerman, Wakefield Middle
Deborah Dial, Wake Forest Elementary
Thomas Cornish Bolton, Wake Forest Rolesville Middle
Pamela Hartman, Wake Forest Rolesville High
Christopher Monte, Wake Forest Rolesville High
Lynn Bitting, Washington Elementary
Rose Ann Brown, Washington Elementary
Tracey Failla, Washington Elementary
Jennifer Flynn, Weatherstone Elementary
Karen Leonard, Weatherstone Elementary
Lynne Price, Webster Professional Development Center
Nancy Kay Linkel, West Lake Elementary
Cathy Tilley King, West Lake Middle
Francine Piscitelli, West Lake Middle
Regina Blackmon Watkins, West Lake Middle
Anne Penland Bissett, Wildwood Forest Elementary
Lynn Marie Smith, Wildwood Forest Elementary
Cassandra Powers, Wiley Elementary
Cynthia Jean Day, Zebulon Middle
Glennda McKeithan, Zebulon Middle
List updated Dec. 4, 2001
Please help update this list. If there are additions or corrections, contact Bill Poston at bposton@wcpss.net or call 850-1829.