Good job SC!
In case you missed it, The State Newspaper reports (by way of AP, by way of the NBPTS) that South Carolina was fourth in the country in the number of new national board certified teachers added in 2008:
"States with the highest number of teachers achieving National Board Certification in 2008 were: Florida (1,826), North Carolina (1,453), Washington (918), South Carolina (754) and Illinois (703)."
Note that that's a pure count, and those other states have higher populations. If someone were to get "newly-certified teachers added per 1,000 teachers" statistic, we would probably rank even higher. In fact, further down the press release, we learn this:
"NBCTs make up at least five percent of the total teaching force in seven states. They are: North Carolina (15 percent), South Carolina (13.7 percent), Mississippi (9.4 percent), Florida (7.8 percent), Oklahoma (5.7 percent), Delaware (5.5 percent) and Washington (5.3 percent). "
Turns out, South Carolina has the second-highest percentage of national board certified teachers in the entire country! And why is that? Because this state has committed to giving board-certified teachers huge pay raises, currently $7,500 per year. And that's just at the state level; there are district incentives as well, such as Richland 1's $5,500 per year incentive. There are even efforts to make sure those certified teachers make their way into the lowest-performing (i.e., poorest) areas. Good on ya, SC!
So for all of those who complain about our local educational system, take note: this state has put a lot of money behind getting our teaching workforce certified, and it's working incredibly well.
Now we just have to see how much that board certification translates into actual, you know, results.
"States with the highest number of teachers achieving National Board Certification in 2008 were: Florida (1,826), North Carolina (1,453), Washington (918), South Carolina (754) and Illinois (703)."
Note that that's a pure count, and those other states have higher populations. If someone were to get "newly-certified teachers added per 1,000 teachers" statistic, we would probably rank even higher. In fact, further down the press release, we learn this:
"NBCTs make up at least five percent of the total teaching force in seven states. They are: North Carolina (15 percent), South Carolina (13.7 percent), Mississippi (9.4 percent), Florida (7.8 percent), Oklahoma (5.7 percent), Delaware (5.5 percent) and Washington (5.3 percent). "
Turns out, South Carolina has the second-highest percentage of national board certified teachers in the entire country! And why is that? Because this state has committed to giving board-certified teachers huge pay raises, currently $7,500 per year. And that's just at the state level; there are district incentives as well, such as Richland 1's $5,500 per year incentive. There are even efforts to make sure those certified teachers make their way into the lowest-performing (i.e., poorest) areas. Good on ya, SC!
So for all of those who complain about our local educational system, take note: this state has put a lot of money behind getting our teaching workforce certified, and it's working incredibly well.
Now we just have to see how much that board certification translates into actual, you know, results.