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We recently spoke with Amber Nitta with Federal Way Public Schools to talk about what she's gained by becoming Nationally Board Certified.
Amber teaches fifth grade DL Humanities at Sunnycrest Elementary (home of the Roadrunners) in Federal Way Public Schools, where she is currently in her 13th year of teaching. She found immense value in her National Board certification in Literacy and it continues to inspire her teaching.
"The most valuable thing I gained from the National Board process is the reflection on myself as a teacher," she comments. "Every teacher wants to grow, and every teacher has the potential to grow." She notes that "what the National Boards really lets you do is to hone in on what you're good in." Just as valuable for Amber was the way in which the National Board process also provides teachers with the knowledge of their gaps or areas for growth -- as well as strategies for how to close those gaps.
Amber also valued the ways in which the process enables teachers to ask themselves, "How are you going to make sure your lessons and your assessments are equitable for all students?"
Amber emphasized the way her district really prides itself on the idea that "every student can achieve. The National Boards process has helped her to grow as an educator to help her students continue to grow -- and to reach all of their potential and all of their goals.
"My students are going to benefit because they're going to see a teacher who's excited and engaged -- not only in their performance in my classroom," she adds, "but also in who they are as a person." The process helps her to more clearly understand her students and their traditions, their cultures, how that plays into her classroom, and what their family values are.
And in return, she notes, "They're going to see a teacher who's ready to co-teach and partner with families, start small groups, and really help them achieve all of their goals and make that growth that we know they can all make."
Learn more about Amber Nitta in her own words at https://youtu.be/t6mmACDXQYA, and view additional interviews with National Board Certified Teachers in our NBCT Spotlight at https://www.psesd.org/news.
Meanwhile, to learn more about becoming Nationally Board Certified, head to https://www.nbpts.org/.