New National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) Erinn Williams, center, is one of 117 new NBCTs that earned their certification this year. Photo courtesy of Erinn Williams
(OWENSBORO, KY) – National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) Erinn Williams said the certification process is not for the faint of heart. But her passion for teaching and the memory of her grandparents are what kept her going through the difficult, time-consuming process.
Williams is one of 117 Kentucky teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) this year, bringing the total number of NBCTs in Kentucky to 4,499.
Williams teaches 5th grade English language arts at West Louisville Elementary School (Daviess County). Her national certification is in Literacy: Reading – Language Arts.
“I worked incredibly hard for two years to receive NBCT status. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Williams said.
She encourages other teachers who want to pursue the certification to focus on what motivates them. Williams said she did it in honor of her maternal grandparents, who were functionally illiterate for much of their lives.
Williams grew up in the foothills of Appalachia in Whitley County. Her grandfather only completed the 3rd grade and her grandmother left school after 8th grade.
Her family roots in education work run deep, though; her grandmother worked as a school cook most of her life, her grandfather was a school custodian, and both of her parents worked as educators. Williams’ mother, the youngest of nine children, was the first of her family to graduate college. She went on to teach school for 27 years.
“My earliest memories are hanging out after school in my mom’s classroom and banging chalkboard erasers outside and pretending to be a teacher; that was kind of my childhood,” Williams said.
Williams said she never wanted to be anything but a teacher. She became a teacher’s aide for 10 years while saving up to go back to school, which she did at age 32. She got both a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a Master of Arts degree in elementary education from the University of the Cumberlands. She has been a licensed teacher for five years.
“I don’t ever want a child to not be able to read or to not be able to learn from their reading,” Williams said. “I’ve always been proud of where I come from, but I just think it’s a shame that some people weren’t afforded those opportunities. So that’s a driving force for why I went into National Board (certification).”
The NBCT designation, the highest certification a teacher may obtain, is a challenging process.
Educators must submit a detailed portfolio of student work, examples of what teachers have done outside of the classroom to improve student achievement and video recordings that show how they teach. Teachers also submit a reflective piece on student learning and then take a rigorous exam to demonstrate they have mastered their certification area.
Because the certification is so challenging, the NBPTS and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) offered a pilot program this year where early career educators are provided a mentor to guide and support them through the process.
Williams’ mentor was Jana Bryant, the district math instructional coach for Daviess County. Williams said Bryant is the one who encouraged her to pursue becoming nationally certified, because Bryant saw the passion she has for teaching.
Bryant, who is an NBCT in mathematics, coached Williams through the certification process and led her through professional learning to build her capacity to ensure students are cognitively engaged.
“Erinn has grown in her ability to create a responsive teaching environment and she goes above and beyond to create a supportive and engaging classroom environment,” Bryant said. “Her passion for teaching is evident in the way she inspires students to achieve their best, fostering not only academic excellence but also personal growth.”
In addition to the mentorship, Williams was part of a support group of other teachers pursuing the certification. She said the group leaned on each other and that constant support kept her going. She also appreciated networking with other professionals and being able to get constructive feedback from them.
Williams spent six-to-eight hours working on the components every weekend, stayed up late to work nights after school and even took work on vacation. She said it took at least 500-to-800 hours over two years to complete everything, and each of the four components were challenging in different ways.
One component included a content-based exam with scenario-based questions in both a selected response and constructed response format.
Another component involved Williams filming her lessons in small group settings and whole group settings. She said getting a full video was sometimes extra time-consuming because of technical difficulties.
Another component covered differentiation in instruction, which is a teaching approach that tailors instruction to different students’ learning needs. She chose a student who had some grade deficits and monitored their growth over a year’s time, keeping every piece of evidence, logging how she adapted instruction and showing active feedback.
The last component was data-driven, tracking sets of growth in her entire class. The reflective piece pushed her to think more about how she teaches and encouraged her to be more intentional in the classroom.
“Because of that process, everything I do in my classroom serves a purpose now,” Williams said. “I had to ask myself, ‘Is what I’m doing currently beneficial? Do I need to back up and reevaluate what I’m doing? How am I serving my kids?’”
She also said the process encouraged her to work more with students one-on-one, especially those who may be struggling.
“I think I’m more patient with my students, and I learned to extend a lot of grace to myself,” Williams said. “National Board taught me that it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing for adults, so why should it be for kids?”
Bryant agreed that Williams learned to be more intentional.
“The certification process encouraged Erinn to reflect on her practice, analyze data and implement evidence-based strategies that improve student learning,” Bryant said.
NBCTs are entitled to an annual $2,000 salary bonus for the life of their certificate. Williams was able to increase her salary and earn a rank change.
Kentucky teachers currently holding a Rank II certificate are eligible to apply for Rank I status, and those currently holding a Rank III certificate are eligible to apply for Rank II.
Kentucky NBCTs and those pursuing certification are encouraged to join the Kentucky National Board Network, which is a community of NBCTs, candidates and supporters that provide resources to candidates pursuing NBCT status.
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