Nineteen Montgomery County teachers recently received National Board for Professional Teacher Standards certification, bringing the school district’s total number of certified teachers to 691, according to the licensing board.
The Montgomery County school district has the seventh largest number of certified teachers in the United States.
National board certification is a voluntary program and requires educators to pass an assessment measuring educators’ ability to strengthen student performance through activities both in and out of the classroom.
The assessment is broken down into four sections: assessment of content knowledge, reflection on student work samples, video and analysis of teaching practice and documentation of the impact of assessment and collaboration on student learning.
County teachers receive a $2,000 annual pay increase for achieving and maintaining certification.
Julius West launches ‘No Place for Hate’ program
Julius West Middle School in Rockville last week joined the Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” program to promote an inclusive school environment. The initiative began with students signing a “resolution of respect” banner.
The Anti-Defamation League is a Washington, D.C.,-based advocacy group that supports fair treatment of the country’s Jewish community.
Elementary students learn how to build robots
Two Montgomery County Public Schools recently partnered with the KID Museum to pilot a robotics program for third-grade students at two elementary schools that receive Title I funds.
The program, called What is a Robot, included multiple sessions for students to learn how to code, design and build robots. The students’ robots were recently on display at a showcase at Kemp Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring. Title I schools are those with more than 40 percent of students from low-income households and receive federal funds to assist in meeting education benchmarks.
The KID Museum is a Bethesda-based nonprofit that provides hands-on learning in a variety of topics.
The school district hopes to expand the program to more schools next school year.
The elementary pilot builds upon the Invent the Future Challenge, a partnership between KID Museum, the school district, Montgomery County and private sponsors, which is in its second year and has reached more than 500 students.
