Jenniffer Grinstead, Fifth Grade teacher at Sue Cleveland Elementary, is among 21 Greenville County Schools teachers to receive National Board Certified (NBC), one of the teaching profession’s most respected achievements. With 646 teachers who have achieved National Board Certification, Greenville County Schools ranks 14th in the nation out of more than 14,000 school districts (based on most recent data) for total number of NBC teachers. South Carolina ranks third in the nation with 8,436 NBC teachers, trailing only North Carolina and Florida.
“Greenville County Schools is fortunate to have these outstanding educators among our staff,” said District Superintendent W. Burke Royster. “The process of becoming National Board Certified requires them to meet rigorous standards while gaining valuable knowledge they will use to improve the quality of their classroom teaching.”
National Board Certification was created so teachers, like professionals in other fields, can achieve distinction by demonstrating through a demanding performance assessment they meet high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
Teachers seeking National Board Certification undertake a two-part process that takes from one to three years to complete. The process requires candidates to reflect on their classroom practices, their understanding of subject material, and their preparation techniques. In addition to preparing a portfolio with video recordings of classroom teaching, lesson plans, student work samples and reflective essays, teachers must complete assessment center exercises based on content knowledge that prove they have mastered the subjects they teach and met the high standards for accomplished teaching.
