Teacher earns national certification

With the click of a button, Melissa Kinsey found out that two years of hard work and dedication had paid off. She had met the nation’s highest standards and achieved the National Board Certification for Teachers.

“It was actually quite the nerve-racking process,” said Kinsey, a seventh-grade teacher at Washington Middle School. “I sat at the computer for quite a while, with my hand over the mouse and my eyes closed and just waited. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that I had passed. It was very exciting.”

With the certification, she became part of an elite group of teachers who have shown a commitment to the way they teach and have taken it to the top level.

One of only 82,000 teachers nationwide, and 732 teachers who newly became nationally certified in the State of Illinois, Kinsey is the only one to have achieved the honor in Tazewell County in 2009.

With the national certification, which is good for 10 years, Kinsey can teach anywhere in the United States.

In her sixth year as a teacher at Washington Middle School, Kinsey said she enjoys teaching seventh grade and has always tried to go the extra mile for her students.

“Middle grades are wonderful and they are a great fit for me,” said Kinsey. “You can go in and joke with the kids; they understand things and get the humor you bring to the classroom, and they have a good time.”

Being a dedicated teacher did not go unnoticed.

“A teacher in my building, who is also certified, suggested the national board certification to me,” said Kinsey. “She pointed out that the principles on which it is built already matched a lot of the extra things I do and provide in order to help the kids succeed in my classroom and outside of my classroom.”

Kinsey said it is important to foster parent contact and communication. She offers time before and after school to those who are struggling, not only in social studies, but also in math and other subjects.

“Those are not things that you get paid for,” said Kinsey. “You do them because they benefit the students.”

The National Board Certification for Teachers consists of two sections: a portfolio that demonstrates and emphasizes different areas, such as providing students with learning opportunities besides the standard curriculum, social competence and higher-level thinking skills, among others, and a six-part computerized test, which is only one component of the whole national board certification.

“The computerized test covers all areas of social studies, including world history, civics, U.S. history  and geography,” said Kinsey. “The areas of the portfolio are there, so you can push the kids to think just beyond Washington, Ill., so that they can then think more on a national level; how does this affect everything else?”

In one of those areas, Kinsey focused on diversity and acceptance of others, during which she borrowed the example of the Native Americans and their plight. She had to submit student writing samples, with explanations of what she did in the classroom and how it benefited all learners.

“We cut open the idea that when we understand other people better, we have a better idea of how the world operates,” said Kinsey. “I wanted them to realize that even though they are only one person in this huge world, they can make an impact on how things are done. Or, by simply being nice and accepting of people, someone can help change other people’s views of other cultures.”

The process of earning the National Board Certification can take between one and three years and is a $3,000 endeavor, said Kinsey. She started her portfolio three years ago this summer, and applied for a grant.

“The State of Illinois helped me pay for part of the test,” said Kinsey. “And my school actually reimbursed me for the other part. So, there was no out-of-pocket expense for me.”

Kinsey said her motivation for passing the National Board Certification for Teachers was personal satisfaction.

“There is no money written in from the school for people with this certification right now, it is just something to push yourself beyond what everybody else is doing,” said Kinsey. “You have to do a lot of self-reflecting when you look at your teaching and critique yourself, to see what works and what does not work, and how you can get all students to benefit from what you are teaching.”