There are several reasons why a teacher would want to receive his or her National (Board) Certification in music. Some might decide to work toward it because they feel it would give them a new challenge and it does cause one to make a deep evaluation of their teaching procedures. The process itself, one of considering the standards and writing how you address them, of reflecting on your teaching and writing what you learn about your delivery of instruction, of videotaping and reviewing your work in class and writing down what you see yourself doing right and what you would change, ie. writing the portfolio entries and of discussing all of your writings with colleagues is absolutely worthwhile. It changes your teaching. It matures your teaching. It stretches you as a person. Everyone who completes this process is special because they care enough to get better. In terms of professional growth, those that complete this process think this is the one of the best staff developments in which they ever took part!

Is it difficult? Is it stressful at times? Yes.

The experience changes them as professionals and that through the process they deepen their content knowledge and develop, master, and reflect on new approaches to working with their students.

So what should a teacher consider when making the decision to begin this great adventure?

A teacher considering NBC has to have taught at least three years. Your last evaluation has to have been a good one and during those three years you have to have held a valid teaching certificate.

It is also a "national" certification. If you are considering moving to a different state, your National Board Certification counts as that state's certification. In most states, it does. There are a few that do not, though. If you pass, your next state certification is due when it is due, but if it matches your National Board certification area, teachers can just send a copy of that with the application and money and that will satisfy their need for points. The NBC will expire in 10 years, but NBC is just rolling out a process to recertify in that.

National Board Certification is designed to assess a teacher's performance in a wide range of classroom settings. They encourage teachers to use more than one class in completing the portfolio entries in order to demonstrate the broadest range of their teaching practice. Therefore, teachers who have multiple classes that meet the age and content requirements should take advantage of the availability of these different classes when completing the classroom-based entries. However, if a teacher has access to only one class that meets the age and content requirements for their certificate area, it is permissible to use a single class for all four of the classroom-based entries. All four entries must come from different units and that work samples and artifacts must feature different students.

National Board Certification signifies that a teacher is accomplished, having met challenging professional teaching standards as evidenced by performance-based assessments. All candidates must address the requirements of the portfolio and the assessments. The assessments measure specific pedagogical content knowledge that is critical in teaching students about certain domains within each certificate area. With this in mind, teachers who are not currently in the classroom may "borrow" a classroom in order to complete the portfolio requirements for National Board Certification.

Obviously, if there is a monetary bonus, that figures into the reasons. In Florida, that amount is over $4,000 and if you mentor others going through the process for a total of 90 hours during the next process, you will receive another $4000+.

The time to commit to beginning the National Board Certification process is when you are able to devote your time and energy to it. It is a time-consuming endeavor, and you will need the support of those around you.

The same considerations might be taken by those who are considering a doctoral program. Any pursuit of further specialized degrees takes time. Additionally, for those persons in elementary music education, undertaking a doctoral program can mean the loss of a teaching position for several years if and when he or she is required to be in residence on the university campus. For some elementary music teachers who might be deciding whether to pursue a doctorate, pursuing National Board Certification could be the perfect thing to put in it's place instead. To pursue a doctorate, most universities require that you are in residence for four years. Most counties have a policy that if a teacher leaves for one year he or she is guaranteed the same position in the same school. If he or she is on leave for two years and returns, they are only guaranteed a position, not the same school. This is an important part of the decision making process if that teacher is deeply committed to his or her school and it's students' endeavors. Additionally, the bonus money may pay more than holding a doctoral degree. Along the same lines on this topic is of what value is a doctorate to an elementary level teacher. This is a highly personal decision, but my viewpoint is that I would rather invest my time in pursuing certifications in Orff, Kodaly, and Dalcroze approachs. These translate directly into my daily offerings to my students and reap benefits immediately.

A person considering beginning National Board work needs also to consider the issue of time. It will take you approximately 200 - 400 extra hours of work. There is a great deal of thinking and typing. You may have to give up some social commitments, such as community meetings, church activities, and even family time together. I began working every day at 4 pm when the students had gone and my day was over. I worked some nights until 11 pm. Time was not an issue as far as family was concerned. Being an emptynester and many years divorced now was quite conducive to having time to spend late at work.

Research and find out if your state requires you to pay the $2300 back if you don't pass in the 3 (now 2) years allotted. You need to decide if you can afford to pay this back if you don't pass.

It will change you and help you become more analytical in your teaching. It will mature your teaching no matter how many years you have been teaching. Your focus becomes higher student achievement. With NCLB, students having to meet standardized test requirements, and schools failing the Annual Yearly Progress reports, it would benefit every school if EVERY teacher pursued his or her own NBC. The result would be that the student's scores would go up! Indeed, the question has been researched "Do the students of NBPTS Certified Teachers learn more?" Not surprisingly, the studies support the affirmative. In this day of meeting minimum requirements and the stress on our students to achieve, being a NBC teacher can only help the school in which they teach.