Area excels in number of nationally certified teachers

In an effort to increase the number of national certified teachers in Louisiana, the state Department of Education is participating in a Take One initiative targeting rural districts and schools.

The Take One program is a grant incentive for schools with a large number of free/reduced lunch students, low performance schools or schools with less than one-percent of its teachers achieving national certification.

According to the state department, schools that receive the grant give interested teachers an opportunity to participate in the national board certification process.

Nationally, Louisiana is ranked 10th for the number of new teachers that have met the tough certification standards, and 14th in the nation for the total number of national board certified teachers.

In 2006, educators from 44 districts achieved certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standard, a non-profit organization founded in 1987, bringing Louisiana’s total of nationally certified teachers to 1,032, according to the state DOE. That figure is less than one-percent of the state’s teaching population.

In the Tri-parishes, 19 teachers earned national certification in mid-December. Louise Whipple, supervisor of Personnel for Terrebonne Parish school system said more than 90 percent of the teachers in Terrebonne Parish are nationally certified. Lafourche Parish Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews said her district has nearly 85 percent of its teachers certified nationally and she expects that figure to climb toward the end of the year.

“We hope to reach the 100 percent mark, by the end of the year,” Matthews said.

State Superintendent of Education Cecil Picard said in a news release that the certification process isn’t easy. He said students are ultimately the biggest beneficiaries of the certification status.

The national certification process is voluntary. To be certified, teachers must show a detailed knowledge of their subject matter and demonstrate their teaching abilities. The program takes nearly a year to complete with the NBPTS. The total cost for a teacher to participate in the process is $2,565.

This highly, qualified certification can also translate into money in the pockets of the certified teachers for the next decade, according to Louisiana Department of Education.

Louisiana gives teachers a financial incentive to achieve the certification, according to the state education department. Louisiana law requires the governing authorities of any public school to give a minimum $5,000 pay supplement per year for 10 years to teachers who are nationally certified and meet the annual eligibility requirements.

In the Tri-parishes, teachers have the opportunity to have their certification program paid for through tuition exemption programs. In some cases, the school systems will pay for the expensive Praxis exams and state-mandated qualification testing.

The following is a list of teachers from the Tri-parish area who recently earned their national certification.

Lafourche Parish: Theresa Blondo, Cheryl Gagneaux, Sandra Kolwe, Carol Kovar, Michelle Morvant and Sharon Serigny. St. Mary Parish: Belinda Fancis and Mary Jones.

Terrebonne Parish: Kayla Boudreaux, Toni Bourg, Cheryl Campbell, Cristy Crispino, Arleen Domingue, Denise Dupre, Stephanie Fourmier, Tracie Hill, Amy Lecompte, Dawn Prosperie and Andrea Rodrigue.

In addition, 333 Louisiana teachers are working toward their national certification.

The Associated Press contributed to portions of this article.

Area excels in number of nationally certified teachers