Lahaina Intermediate teachers earn National Board Certification

It took a year for Haley Van Weeman Van Noord (left) and Beth Fobbe-Wills to achieve their National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification.
LAHAINA – Lahaina Intermediate School Chorus teacher Beth Fobbe-Wills and seventh grade Science teacher Haley Van Weeman Van Noord recently earned National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification.
The certification is an advanced teaching credential. There are two major components of the certification process. The first is a portfolio, in which teachers must analyze their teaching context and students’ needs, submit videos of their teaching, and provide student work samples that demonstrate growth and achievement.
The reflective analyses that they submit must demonstrate: 1) A strong command of content; 2) The ability to design appropriate learning experiences that advance student learning; 3) The use of assessments to inform instructional decision-making; and 4) Partnerships with colleagues, parents and the community.
The second part is to take a content knowledge assessment.
The process of earning certification takes a year. Both LIS teachers spent hours of their free time preparing for the certification.
Waking up at 4 a.m. was a normal routine to make sure that lessons, studying and parts of the portfolio were accomplished.
Once the 2 p.m. bell rang, it was back to working on their certification.
“It took a lot of time, but I definitely feel that it was worth it,” said Van Weeman Van Noord.