NBPTS

Seven Prominent Education Leaders Join NBPTS Board of Directors

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a nonprofit organization created by the teaching profession to set and maintain standards of accomplished practice, announced the election of seven prominent education leaders to its board of directors, including four National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). Elections were held during its November Board meeting.

“The seven new directors represent some of the brightest thinkers, most accomplished practitioners and strongest advocates within education today,” said Ronald Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board. “From Dr. Deborah Ball, an expert on teacher preparation and development, to Rebecca Pringle, a top-ranking official at the NEA, and the five award-winning teachers leading positive change from their classrooms, they will be invaluable to our effort to make Board certification the norm in the profession.”

Joining the NBPTS Board of Directors are:

  • Dr. Melissa M. Albright, NBCT (Middle Childhood/Generalist), is a 5th grade English Language Arts teacher at Wilson Creek Elementary in Battlefield, Missouri. Dr. Albright is the past chair of the Missouri Advisory Council for the Certification of Educators.

  • Dr. Deborah Loewenberg Ball is the William H. Payne Collegiate Professor in education at the University of Michigan and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor. She currently serves as dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan and as director of TeachingWorks. An elementary school teacher for more than 15 years, she continues to teach mathematics to elementary students every summer. Dr. Ball serves on the National Science Board and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Board of Trustees, and chairs the Spencer Foundation Board of Directors.
     
  • Mr. Jeffrey Charbonneau, NBCT (Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Science), was named the 2013 National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers. Mr. Charbonneau teaches science at Zillah High School in Zillah, Washington, and serves as the STEM Coordinator in Yakima, Washington.

  • Mr. Doug Lea, NBCT (Early and Middle Childhood/Music), is a music teacher at Deep Run Elementary School in Howard County, Maryland. Lea currently chairs the NEA’s NBCT Caucus as well as its Professional Standards and Practice Committee, and he works with National University’s P20 Leadership Center, which offers candidate support and degree programs related to board certification.

  • Ms. Rebecca Pringle is the vice president of the National Education Association (NEA). Ms. Pringle served a previous term on the NBPTS Board of Directors from 2002 – 2008, including serving as chair of the Finance Committee.  Ms. Pringle is a middle-school science teacher with 31-years of classroom experience in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She has also served on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Teacher Preparation for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and on the Institute for Educational Leadership Task Force.

  • Ms. Cheryl A. Redfield, NBCT (Early Adolescence/English Language Arts), is a Center for Teaching Quality Teacherpreneur who teaches at Highland Junior High School in Gilbert, Arizona. Ms. Redfield also serves as a member of the Teacher Advisory Council for the Gates Foundation, on the board of directors for the Council for the Accreditation for Educator Preparation, and on the Model Code of Ethics for Educators Task Force for NASDTEC. She was a Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education in 2012.

  • Ms. Lee-Ann Stephens, was named Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2006 and has served as a member of the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Currently in her 26th year in teaching, she serves as a High Achievement Program advocate at St. Louis Park High School in Minnesota, helping minority students achieve their full potential through challenging college-preparation coursework. She is member of Educators for Excellence (E4E). 

The new directors join a prestigious group of education professionals on the NBPTS Board, including former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, who serves as chair, other accomplished teacher leaders, and the presidents of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. The majority of NBPTS Board members are NBCTs.

“We’re thrilled to welcome these distinguished education leaders to the NBPTS Board,” said Gov. Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education. “They are elevating the profession in countless ways and will help bring the opportunity and power of National Board Certification to many more teachers and students across the country.”

Retiring members of the Board of Directors include: Mary-Dean Barringer, program director, education workforce, Council of Chief State School Officers; Kimberly Burnim, NBCT, kindergarten teacher, Broad Acres Elementary School; Liane Cismowski, NBCT, principal, Mount Diablo High School; Thomas C. Trang, NBCT, science teacher, Columbus Downtown High School; Kim Ursetta Manning, NBCT, kindergarten ELA teacher, Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy; Lynette Wayne, NBCT, retired first grade teacher, Christa McAuliffe Elementary School; Kathy Wiebke, NBCT, executive director, Arizona K-12 Center.

Nationwide, more than 106,000 teachers have achieved National Board Certification, demonstrating that they have met the profession’s standards for accomplished practice. National Board Certification is available in 25 certificate areas, from Pre-K through 12th grade.