By Oxford School District

Two Oxford School District teachers — Mary Martha Crowe and April Thornton — earned the highest mark of professional accomplishment by achieving National Board Certification this school year.

Newly National Board Certified Teacher Mary Martha Crowe is a sixth-grade Gifted teacher at Oxford Intermediate School. She has worked in the education field since 2000 and as an Oxford School District teacher since 2006.

April Thornton, a fifth-grade English teacher at Oxford Intermediate School, renewed her National Board Certification. She has worked in the education field since 2002 and as an Oxford School District teacher since 2010.

Currently, the Oxford School District has 50 National Board Certified Teachers in the district, and the district has had 68 National Board Certified Teachers to date who have taught in Oxford classrooms. While teacher licensure systems set the basic requirements to teach in each state, completion of National Board Certification signifies that teachers have voluntarily gone much further.

Improving learning

According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, schools with NBCTs have strong professional communities focused on leadership, learning and collaboration. These schools are characterized by higher rates of teacher morale and retention and increased community involvement.

“The National Board Certification is the highest credential a teacher can earn,” said Doug Cromwell, Director of Personnel, Operations & Planning. “These teachers become more skillful in daily classroom instruction and student assessment in order to improve student learning: they have developed and demonstrated the advanced knowledge, skills and practices required of an outstanding educator.”

National Board Certification is available nationwide for prekindergarten through 12th-grade teachers. To be eligible to apply for board certification, a teacher must hold a bachelor’s degree, complete three full years of teaching or school counseling, and have a valid state teaching or school counseling license.