Weeks of applications, submissions, and deadlines have finally amounted in a small sheet of paper that reads the following: “This candidate has met the high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, and has successfully completed the national assessment certifying teachers who have met these standards.”

These words mean more than simply “having passed these tests, you’re now a better teacher.” Mr. Mann, RHS teacher of Art I, II, AP Studio Drawing and AP Studio Design, became National Board Certified in late November. “The process for me took months of planning, writing, studying, and analysis,” he said, “Others have done it with less time invested, but I had to re-write some of my portfolio after having it scored last year.” The school’s culture of learning and professionalism encouraged Mr. Mann to pursue certification, as well as did the benefits of being National Board Certified, which include monetary incentives offered by the state and county.

The most challenging part of the process, Mr. Mann said, was, “justifying the importance of the material that I was presenting, as well as the methods. This has caused me to consider the relevance of everything that I do and it is a reminder that what we do here in school is very important. We should not ask students to perform unimportant tasks.”

Other National Board Certified teachers currently teaching at Riverbend include Ms. Keohane, Ms. Oesterheld, Ms. Keith, Mr. Stack, Ms. Letellier, Ms. Wycoff, Ms. Mann, Mr. Letellier, Mr. Conlee, Mr. Stebar, Ms. Medina, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Paytes, Mr. Wessel, and Ms. Catlett. Mr. Mann will make a proud addition to this list.