Yesterday was an exciting one in my house, because this arrived in the mail: 
I’ve known since December that I had received my National Board Certification in Spanish, but somehow the arrival of my certificate made it all seem real.
When I began working on my certification in the fall of 2016 I didn’t really understand what I was getting in myself into. I had decided over that summer that I wanted to pursue my National Board Certification, but beyond that I did not have a plan. I had also begun taking classes for my Master’s Degree in Spanish in the spring of 2016 and my logic was “Well, if I am going to be stressed for the next 3 years I might as well just do National Boards too.” My logic might have been a bit flawed, but looking back I would do it all again. Not everyone might feel the same way, but I can honestly say working towards my National Board Certification was the best professional development I’ve ever done and it gave me a chance to focus on my teaching in a way I hadn’t before. That is not to say the process wasn’t challenging and that there weren’t times I questioned why I was doing it, but now that I’m on the other side I am so glad I did! I received so much help and support from others and now I am hoping my experiences can help someone else. Keep in mind that these are my experiences though and you should always refer to the National Board website for instructions and component information.
My National Boards Journey
I spread my components out over 3 years, because I was working on my Master’s at the same time. Here is what I did: Component 3 in 2016-17, Components 1 and 2 in 2017-18 and Component 4 in 2018-19. My progression worked for me, but I’ve heard lots of different opinions about the best combination of components and the number of years to spend on the initial attempts of each component- you have 5 years to certify, but you must attempt all 4 components in the first 3 years. If I were to do it again, I would complete all 4 components in 2 years by doing Components 1 and 4 together and Components 2 and 3 together. The first reason I would do this is because Components 3 and 4 were the most time consuming for me so this spreads them out. Additionally, Components 1 and 3 are worth 70% of your total score versus the 30% from Components 2 and 4, so this way the majority of your score isn’t riding on one year.
My Recommendations:
- Ask yourself: Why do you want to become National Board Certified?
When I first expressed interest in pursuing my National Boards, an instructional coach in my district asked me this question. It is incredibly simple, but an important one to ask yourself because you start this process. I teach in Wisconsin, where I am fortunate my district and the state both offer financial incentives once you complete your certification. That was definitely a factor for me, however my main motivation was to grow as an educator. I was excited to embark on a professional development opportunity that would make me a better teacher to my students.
- Do your homework and get organized!
Read everything you can about the process. You can download all the information from the National Board website before even paying for a component so you can decide where is a good place for you to start. You are also going to want to be organized! You are going to want to read through the standards and instructions for your content and take notes so you know what the assessors are looking for. I personally had a binder and a designated National Boards folder in Google Drive where I kept everything National Boards related so it was easy to find.
- Get connected!
I could not have completed my certification without the support of the people in my life. First, my husband, who is also a teacher, was my biggest cheerleader. He didn’t knew what he agreed to when I started this process, but he picked up the slack and patiently listened as I talked his ear off about whichever component I was working on. Second, my World Language department was invaluable. I convinced the French teacher to do the process with me which meant I had someone that knew exactly what I was going through. The other members of my department also helped me brainstorm and offered constant moral support. Third, my district created a cohort supported by our instructional coaches to aid teachers going through certification. While we weren’t all doing the same certifications it was a space to share ideas and the instructional coaches read my commentaries for me. My district also gave me release time to take my Component 1 test and work time during our weekly PLCs. Fourth, go bigger! I went on the Wisconsin DPI website and found a mentor who was Board Certified herself and supported me anyway she could, most importantly by watching my videos and reading my commentaries. I also joined the National Board Certification for World Language Teachers group on Facebook where I was able to ask questions and share ideas with other World Language teachers who had already completed or were going through the process.
Hopefully this helps provide some insight into the National Board process, in future posts I’ll go into more detail about each component.
Check out all my National Board Certification posts here.
