Jim Palmarini, EdTA’s Director of Educational Policy, graciously invited me to join this forum to share some updates with you regarding National Board Certification. My name is Kristin Hamilton, and I am the Director of Standards for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. I am also a Board-certified teacher in English language arts. I am joined by my co-author, Indira Cureton-Cummings, a Board-certified drama director from Columbia, South Carolina.
The National Board certifies teachers in 25 areas that span 16 content areas and 4 student developmental levels. While the Board does not offer a stand-alone theatre education certificate, recent revisions have allowed the English Language Arts Standards and Career and Technical Education Standards to attend more closely to the expertise of theatre educators. Rather than describe those changes myself, I invite you read this blog by your colleague, Indira Cureton-Cummings. She recently co-chaired National Board’s Career and Technical Education Standards Committee and encourages you to examine the newly revised CTE certificate, including the new pathway for Information Systems and Technology, Communication, and the Arts. This pathway specifically attends to what fine and performing arts teachers know and do.
In addition, I hope you will consider participating in the field tests for the revised Board certification assessments. The field tests offer a chance for you to help shape and test drive the new assessments. I also extend a warm invitation to join a virtual town hall dedicated to answering your questions about National Board Certification. We look forward to your questions!
Indira D. Cureton-Cummings (ITHS Troupe 4164) teaches at Eau Claire High School in Columbia, SC. As the director of drama, she was recognized as the Eau Claire High School Teacher of the Year and received Disney's Music in You Grant—High School Musical award. A master teacher for her district, she has served on various grant, curriculum, and standards writing committees for state and local agencies.
In November 2009 I became a National Board Certified Teacher. The timing was just about perfect. I was also four months pregnant with our second child. I was overjoyed and very thankful to achieve certification before our bundle of joy arrived.
Several colleagues congratulated me with the same query: "Oh, I didn't think National Board had a certification area in theatre." My reply was always the same: "No, they do not have a theatre certification. I received my certification in CTE." Slowly a perplexed look would grow on their faces; then a slew of questions would follow fixated on how theatre fits into Career and Technical Education (CTE). I understood their inquiries because I, too, had wondered if selecting CTE was a sound choice. “All Education is Career Education” is the Career and Technical Education Department’s motto at my school. It is that motto that helped me to realize my place within CTE and focus my teaching.
Fast forward to the fall of 2013, and I have been appointed co-chair of the National Board CTE Standards Revision Committee. I am seated at a table with distinguished CTE teachers from across the country representing fields including agriculture, business, graphic design, family and consumer sciences, health occupations, engineering, and communications. I wondered how I got here.
At the first meeting we were asked to share our burning thoughts about the process and what outcomes we wanted to see with the revision of the standards. We each shared our “axe to grind/soapbox stance/hidden agenda.”
I revealed my desire to have the specialty areas of theatre and dance included meaningfully in the standards. I was prepared to defend my ideas. I was armed with articles and recent data, but to my surprise, I never needed to defend my ideas about the inclusion of the arts to the committee. The committee was more than receptive to my ideas and always took care to include the arts throughout the entire revision process.
Over the coming months I learned much more about the committee members. They shared their own arts experiences. The committee included fellow actors, singers, and a dancer. They admired and bragged about each of their school’s arts programs with a genuine appreciation for the arts.
I am extremely proud of the work! The committee was purposeful in its approach to include all specialty areas. The revised Career and Technical Education Standards for National Board are attentive to the arts. A theatre or dance teacher would easily be able to find themselves and see their program in these standards.
As one committee member so aptly put it “It was hard work, but good work, with great people! Well said, Selina, well said!