National Board Certified Teacher and App State alumna Brittany Beasley ’12 ’22, third from left, teaches a cooking-inspired lesson to students in her classroom. Photo submitted
BOONE, N.C. — For the seventh consecutive year, Appalachian State University leads the nation for its number of alumni who are National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT).
App State was first on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ list of “Top 50 Alma Maters by Total Number of NBCTs” for 2022, with 2,269 alumni having earned the national credential to date.
The certification is achieved through a performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete.
“Our dedication to rigorous and strong educator preparation encourages lifelong learning and produces lifelong learners,” said Dr. Melba Spooner, dean of App State’s Reich College of Education (RCOE). “This achievement is a testament to our alumni’s continual engagement in reflective practice to become stronger teachers and educational leaders.”
North Carolina continues to lead the nation in the number of teachers who have become board certified, with 23,858 educators having earned the certification since 1987. In 2022, 486 North Carolina teachers gained the endorsement.
The RCOE’s Public School Partnership collaborated with the state’s Northwest Regional Education Service Alliance in 2020 to create NBCTApps (National Board Certified Teacher-Apps) — a joint professional development program to help North Carolina educators achieve their National Board Certification. The program provides monthly professional development and mentoring sessions for NBCT candidates.
“In a year that could have easily been too busy or too difficult for teachers to add an additional project to their list of responsibilities, I was encouraged by how many teachers took on the challenge of pursuing such a rigorous certification,” said RCOE Public School Partnership Director Betsy Rosenbalm ’01 ’05 ’08, who earned the NBCT credential in 2006 and recertification in 2016. “I have no doubt this level of engagement is a true sign of our newly certified teachers’ commitments to accomplished teaching and learning on a daily basis, regardless of their circumstances.”
National Board Certified Teacher and App State alumna Dr. Amanda Worley ’01 ’03, center, works with her students on math lessons. Photo submitted
National Board Certified Teacher and App State alumna Jocelyn Page ’10, far left, uses viewfinders as part of her lesson in the classroom. Photo submitted
Karen Walker ’94 ’98, a new teacher support coach in App State’s North Carolina New Teacher Support Program, recently received recertification.
“I really think candidates should utilize the mentor program App State provides,” she said. “My mentor gave me so much one-on-one feedback and attention. She made me feel supported and valued, and because of her, I had the confidence to succeed.”
Nationally, 2,814 teachers earned certification in 2021–22, raising the total among all states to over 130,000. In addition, 8,059 teachers nationally achieved recertification, including 1,414 board-certified teachers in North Carolina.
North Carolina accounts for nearly 23% of all teachers nationally who are certified by the teaching standards organization. Nationally certified teachers also account for a larger percentage of the total teaching force in North Carolina than any other state, with more than one of every five having earned the credential.
App State was founded in 1899 as a teachers college and continues to have one of the largest teacher education programs in North Carolina. School systems in almost all 100 counties of the state employ at least one RCOE graduate.
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About the Reich College of Education
Appalachian State University offers one of the largest undergraduate teacher preparation programs in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year. The Reich College of Education enrolls more than 2,000 students in its bachelor's, master's, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. With so many teacher education graduates working in the state, there is at least one RCOE graduate teaching in every county in North Carolina. Learn more at https://rcoe.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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