Janel Fenster, a Newton High School English teacher, has achieved certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
National board certification is a lengthy and rigorous process, involving many hours of experiential documentation and self-analysis.
During the process, Fenster was required to create a portfolio of student work samples and her analysis of them, create a video project depicting small-group work in a classroom setting and provide documentation of professional development hours, in addition to passing a standardized test.
“In a congressionally-mandated study, national board certification was recently recognized by the National Research Council as having a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention and professional development,” according to the board’s Web site.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was created in 1987 after the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy’s Task Force on Teaching as a Profession released “A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century.”
Since 1987, almost 74,000 teachers have achieved national board certification.
Fenster was recognized by the Kansas Department of Education, along with other national board certified teachers, during a dinner on Feb. 25.
