COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2120
SUPTS. MEMO NO. 56
March 10, 2006
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division
Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Patricia I.
Wright Acting
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 2006 Subsidy Grant Application to the
Division of Teacher Education, Licensure, and Professional Practice. Applications must be received at the
Department of Education by Monday, April 10, 2006, to be eligible.
The National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), which was created in 1987,
will offer 24 certificates for 2006. 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 earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally
accredited institution, have completed three years of teaching experience by
the end of the 2005-06 school year, and be employed as a public school teacher
in Virginia for the 2006-07 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 2006 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 fees. 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 Friday, April 21,
2006.
If you have
any questions regarding this application process, please do not hesitate to
contact Dr. Thomas A. Elliott, assistant superintendent for teacher education, licensure,
and professional practice at (804) 371-2522 or by e-mail at Thomas.Elliott@doe.virginia.gov
or Mr. Gregory J. Pels, national board certification coordinator, at (804)
225-2769 or by e-mail at Gregory.Pels@doe.virginia.gov.
PIW/TAE/gjp
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2006/inf056a.pdf