KO Math Teacher Earns National Board Certification

A Keystone Oaks High School teacher has earned the prestigious National Board Certification set by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Kevin Gallagher, who teaches math at the high school, has become the first teacher in the district's history to meet the standard necessary to receive the certification. Fewer than 100,000 teachers nationwide have earned that distinction.

"This was truly an all-encompassing experience and the only word I can think of to describe it is 'grueling,'" Gallagher said in a statement issued by the district. "However, it was also the most satisfying professional development experience I have ever had."

National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential that is valid for 10 years and is available nationwide to teachers working in kindergarten through 12th grade. To achieve the certification, a teacher must complete 10 voluntary assessments by other teachers, including four portfolio entries that feature teaching practice and six response exercises that assess content knowledge.

Gallagher spent between 200 and 300 hours ourside of the classroom preparing his portfolios, and has received the certification "Mathematics/Adolescence and Young Adulthood," which recognizes accomplished math teachers.

To achieve National Board Certification, Gallagher had to earn a total weighted scaled score of at least 275, and he scored 298. The American Council on Education (ACE) now recognizes the National Board Certification process as comparable to graduate level coursework and will result in nine additional credits for the 16-year veteran mathematics teacher.

"I'm obviously very proud of this accomplishment and I'll enjoy it for a while, but the most important thing is to take all that you have learned throughout this process and use it to improve what happens on a daily basis in my classroom," he said.

This information was provided by the Keystone Oaks School District.

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