Here's an article about National Board Certification.

Follow this link to read the entire article and post a comment on orlandosentinel.com.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/educat...0,6118810.story

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Fewer Central Florida teachers try for national certification

Budget cuts gut funding to help educators afford certification process

By Denise-Marie Balona

Orlando Sentinel

December 25, 2009

The number of Central Florida teachers earning prestigious national certification plummeted last school year because of budget cuts.

Just 104 teachers across the area's seven counties survived the arduous, expensive process of becoming certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, one of the profession's greatest achievements.

There were 344 the previous year.

Statewide, the number of teachers deemed good enough to win the National Board's blessing was down nearly two-thirds — from 1,821 to 651.

School-district leaders were disappointed but said they expected the drop after the state slashed funding for the program in 2008. Many teachers can't afford to cover all the costs involved on their own, leaders said.

The assessment fee alone is $2,500.

Also, there's less incentive these days to become nationally certified, a process that can take one to three years to complete. The Florida Legislature cut the annual bonuses it had been paying teachers who earned passing scores and agreed to mentor other educators. ...