Becoming a Take One! Participant

Take One!® improves teaching quality by providing teachers with the opportunity to reflect on their own classroom instructional practices within the context of national teaching standards. Take One! allows all teachers to “sample” National Board Certification—not only to improve their teaching practices within their classrooms and schools, but also to begin the path toward National Board candidacy, if they so choose.

• Who Can Take One!?
• Choosing the Right Certificate
• How Does It Work?
• Fees and Scholarships
  
• How to Order

   

Who Can Take One!?
Take One! is available to all teachers as well as induction or pre-service teachers, principals, administrators, professors in colleges of education and those who provide support for National Board Certification candidates. Take One! is classroom-based professional development and requires that educators have access to a preK-12 classroom to complete the portfolio entry. 
 

Choosing the Right Certificate

You may choose either a generalist or a subject-specific certificate. Review the NBPTS Standards and then select the certificate area that best reflects the age-range of your students and the subject you teach. Consult your colleagues if you have questions about which certificate area to select. Study the Take One! entry instructions (PDF - 54kb) for the certificate area(s) relevant to your practice to determine if an entry will allow you to demonstrate your level of accomplished teaching or school counseling practice.

Counseling Certificates
Because the context of teaching and school counseling practices varies across the nation, if you are in the counseling area, you will need to decide which certificate area is appropriate for you and whether your particular situation will meet the requirements for the Take One! portfolio entry.

World Languages Other Than English (WLOE)
Participants considering pursuit of full National Board Certification in the WLOE certificate area will need to select the same language specialty area for their Take One! score to be used toward certification.

Spanish Language Option
The Spanish Language Option is available to participants in all certificate areas except English Language Arts and World Languages Other than English. If you exercise the Spanish Language Option, you may submit student work and video segments that are in Spanish, as long as this material is accompanied by an English language translation. The written commentary accompanying each entry must be in English. Translations must meet all format specifications for written entry materials and must include the participant’s ID number, the entry title and any necessary student identifiers in English. Pages containing translations do not count towards the page totals specified in the entry. You must check the appropriate box on the entry envelope label indicating that evidence in Spanish is enclosed, or the response will not be scored.

How Does It Work?
Take One! aligns practice to professional teaching standards. Participants identify evidence of student learning and make the critical link between teaching practice and student learning gains.  

Take One! participants:

• Study the NBPTS Standards for their teaching discipline and choose an appropriate certificate area (PDF - 54kb)
• Complete a video portfolio entry using a classroom of students to demonstrate accomplished preK-12 teaching
• Submit the entry to NBPTS to be scored, in accordance with the policies of the current NBPTS assessment program
• Have three subsequent opportunities to apply their scores if they pursue National Board Certification
   

Fees
Participants are responsible for paying the Take One! order fee, along with fees for ancillary services, as necessary. Failure to pay all applicable fees within the stipulated time frames may result in the withholding of score results.

Take One! Order Fee

• Cost: $395
• Payments can be made online using credit/debit card (Visa or MasterCard only) or by e-check.
• Fee Due: December 31, 2008

Take One! Scholarships
Take One! scholarships are available only to participants not involved in the THNI Take One! or other pre-established Take One! program. To apply, please review the scholarship application. Because the National Board Scholarship Program has limited funds available to help teachers pursue Take One!, we ask that only candidates with significant financial constraints and hardships apply for these scholarships. Thank you for your kind consideration.

Returned Check Fee

• Cost: $35
• Assessed if your paper or e-check is returned 
• Fee Due: 30 days after notification

Change of Certificate or Specialty Area Fee

• Cost: $75
• Required to cover the cost of updating your account and sending another Take One! kit
• Fee Due: Prior to submitting your Take One! entry for scoring

How to Order

Complete the Take One! order form. Please remember:

• Make sure that all required information is complete and accurate. Incomplete information will delay the processing of your order and the mailing of your materials.
• As soon as your fee is paid, your participation will be activated and all deadlines for your submission year will apply.
• If you need help, please call 1-800-22TEACH. If you have already submitted an order form, please have your participant ID number available when you make your inquiry.
• Make sure you write down your participant ID number