Teacher Price obtains National Board Certification

Columbia Falls High School teacher Jeanette Price recently earned her National Board Certification in English for adolescents and young adults, becoming one of six Columbia Falls educators to have obtained the distinguished credential.

Price is one of nine Montana teachers to attain the certification this year, bringing the total of state educators carrying the advanced teaching credential to 164 according to a current press release from the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation (MPTF). “Earning National Board Certification is a crowning achievement, and this group of professional educators deserve congratulations for the incredible feat they’ve accomplished,” said Butte educator, 2016 Senate candidate and MPTF Chair Amanda Curtis. “These educators have dedicated their lives to providing our students the best education in America, and Montana families are grateful to them.”

Educators seeking National Board Certification undergo a rigorous process involving four major components that include a standardized test as well as documenting and submitting samples of

their teaching performance, which are subjected to extensive and professional peer evaluation.

Teachers are given five years to complete the four components, one of which requires real-time video samples of their one-on-one and group instruction. Another component requires recording and analyzing data of students’ progress over time. “I would really like to thank the families who gave me permission [to record the teaching samples].You can’t film the students and you can’t even use their work unless you have the parents’ permission,” said Price. “So it literally would have been impossible for me to do this if no parents had given me permission, and that was very helpful.”

Acquiring National Board Certification typically allows teachers to earn an additional yearly stipend which is partly provided by the district and, after legislation passed in 2017, matched by the state, said Price.

Now in her third year teaching for the district, Price developed the high school’s French program two years ago and was selected as an educator for The New York Times Teaching Project early last year.

She was partly inspired to complete the arduous,

time consuming and pricey process, she said, after experiencing an “aha” moment that shifted her perspective on the matter. “The whole point of National Boards is actually not like, gloating, like ‘Oh I did so well in this video.’ It’s actually to critique yourself,” said Price. “It’s a very humbling experience, and It’s meant to [help you become] a more reflective practitioner.”

A National Board Certification must be renewed every five years.