The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) and Board of Education are proud to announce to the community that among its staff of outstanding teachers, five elementary and secondary school teachers have achieved National Board Certification in 2005-2006. The following teachers have successfully completed the rigorous National Board certification process: Robert Seymour and Stefanie Suffolk at Lincoln Middle School, Adam Panish at Malibu High School, Ken Harris at Point Dume Marine Science School, and Irma Lyons who is currently principal of Will Rogers Learning Community.
National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. A voluntary process established by the National Boards for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes more than a year to complete. This process requires teachers to demonstrate how their activities, both inside and outside of the classroom, improve student achievement.
SMMUSD now has a total of 54 National Board Certified Teachers. In California, 293 teachers achieved certification this year, for a total of 3,659, which helps make California fourth in the nation in the overall total of NBCTs.
