West Genesee Middle School teachers Pam Ciarla, Susan Francesconi, Alyssa Hammerschmidt, and Ellen Miller have recently achieved National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
Below are the certification areas for each teacher: (The certification goes into effect on Dec. 31, 2022.)
Pam Ciarla: Exceptional Needs Specialist, Early Childhood through Young Adulthood, Mild and Moderate Disabilities
Susan Francesconi: Mathematics-Early Adolescence
Alyssa Hammerschmidt: Mathematics-Early Adolescence
Ellen Miller: English Language Arts-Early Adolescence
To earn certification from the NBPTS, successful candidates spend between 200 and 400 hours, over a year or more, in an extensive series of performance-based assessments that include teaching portfolios, students’ work samples, videotapes and a thorough analysis of the candidate’s classroom teaching and student learning.
Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge, as well as their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students.
Founded 35 years ago, NBPTS is an independent non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental organization dedicated to advancing the quality of teaching and learning.
Previous recipients of current and now retired teachers from West Genesee include Kathryn Annan, Tammy Annicharico, Amy Bambrick, Kelli Barbuto, Christina Castaldo, Denise Kaley, Claire Schultz, Sandra Sherlock, and Lindsay Spinks.
