SUPTS. MEMO NO. 108

May 20, 2005

INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Jo Lynne DeMary

Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Funding for National Board Certification

Teachers who are interested in applying for a subsidy grant for National Board Certification are invited to submit the attached 2005 Subsidy Grant Application to the Division of Teacher Education and Licensure by June 17, 2005.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which was created in 1987, will offer 24 certificates for 2005. It is a voluntary certification process for teachers that is designed to complement, not replace, initial state licensure. Individuals interested in seeking a National Board Certification subsidy grant must have an earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, have completed three years of teaching experience by the end of the 2004-05 school year, and be employed as a public school teacher in Virginia for the 2005-06 school year. More information about the National Board Certification process is available under Candidate Resource Center on the NBPTS website: http://www.nbpts.org/.

As of this date, Congress has not appropriated the funding for the 2005 federal subsidy grants. If sufficient federal funds are awarded to NBPTS through a United States Department of Education grant, this funding will be applied as in past years to increase the support provided by the General Assembly from $1,000 to $2,000 for the initial 75 candidates. If federal funding in excess of $75,000 is awarded, the additional funding will be used to provide as many $1,000 federal subsidy grants as possible.

Applicants, if selected for a grant, will be responsible for the remaining application fee. Priority will be given to eligible grant applicants employed in hard to staff schools identified by the Virginia Department of Education. The remaining grant applicants will be selected randomly and will be distributed among the eight superintendents regions. Grant notification will be mailed by June 30, 2005.

Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Thomas A. Elliott, assistant superintendent for teacher education and licensure, (thomas.elliott@doe.virginia.gov) at (804) 371-2522 or Mr. Gregory J. Pels, national board certification coordinator, (gregory.pels@doe.virginia.gov) at (804) 225-2769 if you have any questions regarding this application process.

JLD/TAE/gjp

Attachment

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2005/inf108a.pdf