Teachers named ‘Illinois Master Teachers’

Three Bureau County teachers have been added to the list of Illinois Master Teachers.

Earlier this month, Ohio Grade School Superintendent Sharon Sweger presented fourth-grade teacher Jill Thompson with a trophy for earning the prestigious award of National Board Certification, which qualifies her as an Illinois Master Teacher.

National Board Certification measures a teacher’s classroom practices against high and rigorous standards. Receiving the certification consists of an extensive series of performance-based assessments that includes teaching portfolios, student work samples, videotapes and thorough analysis of the candidate’s classroom teaching and student learning. There are also a series of written exercises that probe the depth of her subject matter knowledge, as well as evaluating her understanding of how to teach those subjects to her students.

Two Bureau Valley teachers also achieved their certifications in November. Heather Minssen is a Title 1 teacher at Bureau Valley North in Walnut. Ann Ledergerber in the Bureau Valley School District is a science teacher at Bureau Valley High School in Manlius. All three achieved their certifications Nov. 18, 2011.

Thompson, Minssen and Ledergerber are the latest teachers in the county to earn the distinction, and three of 461 Illinois teachers who achieved the goal in 2011. Those 461 teachers enabled the Illinois State Board of Education to announce earlier this month that Illinois ranks third nationally for the number of teachers who achieved National Board Certification in 2011. This is the sixth consecutive year that Illinois has ranked among the Top 10 states for the number of new teachers achieving the profession’s highest credential.

“We commend these teachers for undergoing this rigorous process to evaluate and strengthen their professional skills,” said Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “We all remember our best teachers, and they were usually the ones who put students first and constantly worked to improve their skills. National Board Certification is a proven route to help teachers become the best in the profession.”

Illinois teachers are among those who bring the total number of teachers and school counselors certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards across the country to more than 97,291 in 2011. Illinois ranks sixth in the country for its cumulative total of National Board Certified Teachers with 5,153 teachers to date who have achieved the certification.