Supporting teacher retention in Nevada by increasing the number of National Board certified teachers.
11/15/2024
By Lorraine Longhi for the National Institute for the Advancement of Education
After teaching for a decade, Brooke Wheatley is expanding her focus to not only help students succeed, but her fellow teachers as well.
As a teacher at Valley High School, Wheatley is working to help other educators become National Board-certified as part of a program through the National Institute for the Advancement of Education.
By increasing the number of board-certified teachers, the program aims to support teacher retention in Nevada.
National Board certification teaches educator’s new skills, opens professional doors and counts toward state licensure, renewals and step increases.
As of January 2022, 133,305 teachers were board-certified in the US. While North Carolina ranked number one with 23,418 board-certified teachers, Nevada ranked 22nd with 1,234 National Board Certified teachers.
Wheatley described the process of achieving National Board certification as “a huge undertaking,” akin to getting a master’s degree.
“Title I schools need more nationally certified teachers,” she said. “This will help teachers stay in the profession longer. It is a hard thing to think about leaving teaching. It is nice to be recognized for the work that you do.”
Nevada board-certified teachers make up 4.86% of the teacher workforce in Nevada.
The program seeks to positively impact the professional development of teachers across the state by increasing the number of teachers seeking National Board certification over the next three years.
Wheatley, who also works with the teacher’s union and believes strongly in the professional development of Nevada educators, said one of the main inhibitors to getting teachers board-certified is the cost.
The total cost for certification is $1,900, according to the National Board.
The technical style of writing involved in the certification process is also a barrier to entry, according to Wheatley.
“A lot of teachers, we write how we talk because we want it to be kid-friendly,” she said. “We scaffold things into small steps. We like to learn that way, and we like to teach that way.”
By modeling an example to teachers, Wheatley said this program will provide support to teachers going through the process.
The project is currently in initial planning phases.
Wheatley said she hopes the program is able to model an example for other teachers in Nevada based on teachers who have already gone through the process and will be able to model how they navigated the process.
“There’s no need for you to struggle,” she said. “Let me share what I’ve learned.”
The content of this article is produced in collaboration with the faculty, research, practitioner, and community partners featured herein and the National Institute for the Advancement of Education (NIAE), an interdisciplinary institute housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Education that engages in interdisciplinary research-practice-policy efforts that transform PK-20 education through innovation, excellence, evidence, and equity.
For more information about NIAE, visit niae.sites.unlv.edu.
