Six Daviess County Public Schools educators recently earned the designation of National Board Certified Teachers, while 11 others renewed their certifications. They join 52 active DCPS educators who have achieved and maintained this exemplary standard of teaching excellence.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an organization dedicated to improving schools and student learning by strengthening the quality of those who teach. The board sponsors a national certification process that measures a teacher’s practices against high standards of excellence. This involves an extensive series of performance based assessments that includes teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes, and a thorough analysis of the candidates’ classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that explore the depth of their subject-matter knowledge as well as their understanding of how best to teach these subjects to their students.
Those receiving their first certification are:
- Hannah Harper — East View Elementary – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Harper is in her 6th year as a teacher and is currently teaching 1st grade.
“I chose the National Boards journey to challenge myself by becoming a more reflective, knowledgeable, and effective teacher. This journey has allowed me to be intentional and responsive in my planning and instruction for individual student’s needs to help them develop in their learning. With the knowledge I have gained through this National Boards certification process, I am better equipped and empowered to use best practices in my classroom. I hope my journey also inspires my students to be lifelong learners.” - Casey Hodskins — College View Middle School – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood.
“National Board certification was never on my radar, but a co-worker encouraged me to seek certification for my Rank 1 and began the process with me. This journey challenged me to reflect on my teaching practices while building stronger relationships with students. It also provided opportunities for professional growth with colleagues. Pursuing certification during COVID was challenging, but so rewarding. Looking back on the process, demand, and rigor of National Board Certification, my goal is to continue to be a reflective teacher striving to not only educate my students, but also learn from them.” - Maggie Jagoe — East View Elementary – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Jagoe teaches Kindergarten and is currently in her 10th year teaching.
“Throughout my teaching career, I have taught 5th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd and now Kindergarteners. I knew very little about the journey through National Board Certification before I heard from some of the amazing leaders in our district about how empowering and effective it could be to teaching. With their guidance and by embarking on the journey with colleagues and friends, I knew we could do it! With their support over the past few years, I was able to effectively reflect on my teaching, design engaging instruction, and empower my students to become their best selves. This journey has been intentionally driven by all of the students I have taught in the past and will be impactful on all of the students I will be blessed to teach in the future.” - Morgan Lewis — Southern Oaks Elementary – Generalist/Middle Childhood. Lewis teaches 4th and 5th grade math and science at Southern Oaks and is currently in her 6th year of teaching.
“Pursuing a National Board certification has always been a professional goal of mine and is the path I chose to obtain my Rank 1. The challenging process required me to analyze and reflect on my teaching practices to create meaningful learning experiences for all students. The benefits of being a NBCT will not only strengthen my ability to provide quality instruction, but positively impact student learning. I am so thankful for this opportunity and will continue to use what I’ve learned to guide my students to become confident, lifelong learners.” - Dustin Winslow — Apollo High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Winslow, a math and engineering teacher at Apollo High School, is in his 13th year of teaching.
“For years I debated whether I wanted to continue my education through a second master’s degree or if I wanted to pursue my National Board Certification. Ultimately, I decided that the NBCT process would be more impactful for my students and me. The COVID Pandemic shut the world down a month after I signed up to pursue my certification. Despite the struggles of the past 3 school years, this process was incredibly rewarding. NBCT allowed me to focus on the learning and teaching taking place directly in my classroom. The process helped me to develop into a more strategic and reflective teacher.” - Misty Miller — East View Elementary – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Miller is in her 13th year of teaching and is currently the Instructional Coach at EVES.
“When I started the NBCT process, I was serving as the reading coach at East View. I knew it would be challenging since I didn’t have my own classroom and I worried it may be harder to complete the certification effectively. However, I was able to “borrow” a classroom, dive deep into those students’ needs, work with them daily in reading centers alongside their classroom teacher, and complete a coaching cycle with that teacher at the same time. It was a challenging but amazing experience. The entire process helped me reflect thoroughly on my teaching practices and, overall, I will be a better resource when coaching other teachers because of it.”
DCPS teachers earning recertification are:
- Lindsey Alvey — Country Heights Elementary – Generalist/Middle Childhood, Renewed. Alvey, a 4th-grade teacher at Country Heights Elementary, is in her 11th year of teaching.
- Sonya Callis — Tamarack Elementary – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood, Renewed. Callis is currently in her 18th year of teaching Special Education Resource at Tamarack Elementary.
- Maisie Cessna — East View Elementary School, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood, Renewed. Cessna is currently a 4th-grade teacher and has been teaching for 16 years.
- Steve Easley — Daviess County High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Easley, a Social Studies teacher, is in his 16th year as an educator.
- Michelle Fuqua — Highland Elementary School – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood. Fuqua is in her 24th year of teaching and is currently the reading interventionist at Highland.
- Faye Klee — Daviess County Middle School – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through YoungAdulthood. Klee is in her 21st year as an educator.
- Becky Mann — Apollo High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Mann is currently in her 27th year teaching math.
- Melissa Reed — Burns Middle School – Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood, Renewed. Reed is in her 17th year as an educator.
- Heather Roos — Southern Oaks Elementary – Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early And Middle Childhood, Renewed. This is year 18 for Roos, a 4th- and 5th-grade looping ELA and Social Studies teacher.
- Dr. Rachel Rosales — Apollo High School – Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Renewed. Rosales is currently in her 26th year of education, 24 of those as a math teacher and the most recent two as the Instructional Coach of AHS.
- Teresa Smith — College View Middle – English Language Arts/Early Adolescence, Renewed. Smith is in her 26th year as an educator, having spent the last five years as her school’s instructional coach.
Jana Bryant is the district math instructional coach for Daviess County Public Schools and is the current president of the Kentucky National Board Network.
“Our network strives to ensure that all teachers in Kentucky continue to grow and demonstrate accomplished teaching practice for every student. In the state of Kentucky, NBCT certification is one pathway to qualify a teacher for a Rank II or Rank I professional certificate.”
For more information about National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and KY NBCT guidelines for certification, visit nbpts.org/national-board-certification and education.ky.gov/teachers/Pages/National-Board-Certification.aspx.
