Monday, November 19, 2012

DECA Power Trip

A few updates have been posted so be sure to scroll down!

This past weekend I took two students to Washington D.C. for DECA's Ultimate Power Trip. This event combines the North Atlantic Region and the Southern Region for a leadership event. The students did a scavenger hunt on the National Mall in the Smithsonian Museums along with workshops and competitive events, which they won! We had a great time and enjoyed the weekend but I was happy to come home and I am even happier for a long weekend ahead!
Scavenger hunt at the Natural History Museum


Moonlight Monument Tour
Competition Winners


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Whitney S Ketchledge, NBCT

That's right folks...I have a few new letters behind my name (I also get to have M.Ed.!) Last year I started the process of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher. National Boards is an organization that works to define the standards for certifying accomplished professional educators and recognize excellent teachers and leaders. The process is very intense requiring a huge portfolio of writing, evidence, student work, and videos of you teaching along with a six hour exam! It took me from August through June to complete the entire process (although most of the work was completed in March). The test was in June and then the waiting began. It was so painful waiting for six months to find out if you accomplished something you worked so hard for. It was just this past Saturday (November 17, 2012) that I woke up and logged in to see...

 I couldn't believe it! For most people this is a 2-3 year process. You have 3 years from your start date to complete it and 70% of teachers have to resubmit during year 2 in order to score enough points to reach the certification level of 275. I expected to have to do the same but I woke up to a score of 326! I am beyond thrilled and excited for this accomplishment. It was a lot of hard work and it means a lot to me to have this. I am still kind of in shock, but super excited!
To learn more about NBPTS click here!

Stay tuned for some exciting updates as I make the rounds of faculty and school board meetings along with the other teachers in my district who passed this year, and I'll be back soon to catch up on Halloween and now Thanksgiving as well :)