District 205 National Board Certified Teachers Announced

Four teachers from Elmhurst District 205 are among the 461 members of this year’s class of Nationally Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) in Illinois. According to the State Board of Education, Illinois ranks third nationally for the number of teachers who achieved the recognition in 2011. They now join a group of 97,291 highly dedicated professionals from across the country who have successfully completed this incredibly rigorous process.

Newly certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are: from York High School – Elizabeth Leidolf, World Languages Other than English/Adolescence and Young Adulthood; Megan Mehilos, Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood; Jessica Weldon, Social Studies-History/Adolescence and Young Adulthood; and from Conrad Fischer Elementary School – Donna Dewar, Library Media/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood. This brings the total number of NBCT in Elmhurst to 19, two of whom have now retired.

National Board Certified Teachers are highly accomplished educators who meet high and rigorous standards. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. In existence since 1987, the NBPTS offers 25 certificates that cover a variety of subject areas and student developmental levels. 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.

To learn more about this voluntary program, visit the NBPTS website at www.nbpts.org.