I got in... now more decisions

I applied for admission into the University of South Dakota's EdS program in Educational Administration and recently got my admission letter. I can enroll for courses starting in the fall, but I've hit another fork in the road. My wife and I recently attended a conference on National Board Certification, and all of the people there said earning the certification is intense. The suggestion was to put everything else on hold until you complete the portfolio required for the certification. The president of the Virginia Education Association, who hold a Ph.D. and National Board Certification, said the writing for the portfolio was just as intense as her dissertation.

As someone who has never written a dissertation, I'm not sure what that means. The portfolio is comprised of 4 sections, each with approximately 15-30 pages of written material. When I completed my MS, I had to do a portfolio based on the same standards the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards uses. I didn't think that was a big deal, as I had been writing big papers for my whole degree. I really want to pursue this certification because no teacher in the whole Northern Neck of Virginia (and then some) has it. In one way I'd be the trendsetter.

Here's my debate. Becoming a NBCT (National Board Certified Teacher) would net me an inital bonus from the state of $5,000, with an annual bonus of $2,500 for each year of the certificate which is for ten years. The application cost of becoming an NBCT is $2,500.

Completing the EdS program will about $8,000. However, earning the degree will add nothing to my teacher salary. It would, however, allow me to earn a promotion to an administrator, which would potentially allow me to double my salary, though I'd go from a 10 month to 12 month employee.

If I did complete the NBCT process, that could look VERY good for me if I went to become an administrator. However, if I did earn status as an NBCT and got hired as an administrator, I would lose the bonus because I wouldn't be classified as a teacher anymore.

I'm at a loss as to what to do because I believe I need to be a leader in my rural school division, and both routes would lead to that. However, I'm a little anxious about putting aside the EdS program because after adding up the application fee, transcript fees, and other stuff, it cost about $100 to apply. What do you all think?

For those who have written a dissertation, how difficult is actually writing it? (As opposed to doing the research for it.) I'm wondering if perhaps I could simply take one course per semester while doing the NBCT process. I did two courses per 8 week term with Walden, so I'm pretty certain I could probably swing it.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated!

-Matt

 

I would try to locate fellow teachers who you know and trust, and who are NBCTs and ask them about their experiences. Ask them to be your mentors.

 

Are you certain that South Dakota and your state have a reciprocal agreement where your state will recognize a teacher/administrator certificate from another state?

 

Yes, Virginia pretty much has reciprocity with all states. However, as long as the program I'm doing is "state approved", which it is in South Dakota, it will count. I have a colleague who completed his MAED in Administration through UoP, and Virginia gave him an administrative endorsement. Apparently the quality of the program doesn't matter as long as it's state approved. It doesn't even have to be accredited by NCATE.

 

Actually, the more relevant question would be: Would your state allow you to sit for the state licensure exam with a degree from another state? In that case, what would matter more would be not so much what state you degree is from, but whether your degree has the appropriate level of recognition desired by your home state.

 

Actually, if I obtained licensure in another state, and if that licensure is reciprocal in Virginia, I wouldn't have to take a licensure exam in Virginia. South Dakota, from what I read on their Department of Ed site, does not require a licensure exam, though the school does have comps. Virginia only recently started requiring a licensing exam for administrators.

 

I know an issue we have in Alabama is that if you complete your master's for instance in history as I did, you would have to complete your Ed.S in history as well. If I wanted to do an Ed.S in Administration in Alabama I would have to go back and complete another master's degree in Administration and then pursue an Ed.S.....This is very frustrating, however in Alabama an Ed.S does raise your pay to that of a Class AA Educator. (I am currently Class A with the master's degree)

 

Only about 3 schools in Virginia offer an EdS. However, in Virginia, it varies from school to school. UVA, for example, will let you get an EdS if you already have a Masters in anything. ODU, however, will only let you have an EdS if you have a Masters in that same topic.

In Virginia, our salaries are not set by the state. They're set by the locality, which really hurts my division. We're about the tenth wealthiest county in the state because of all of our rich retirees, yet one of the lowest paid school divisions 107th out of 130. It's up to the division to decide if they'll offer stipends for additional education. While counties in Northern Virginia will give you about $5K extra for a masters or $10k for a doctorate, my county only gives $2k for a masters and a whopping $700 more if you hold a doctorate. And yet they wonder why we can't keep teachers in our division... but what do they care so long as the admins have a body with a pulse in the classroom.

Virginia doesn't currently have licensure levels, though we can now get labels on our license if we meet certain requirements. If I were to go the National Board route, I could get "Teacher Leader" on my license, which would be good.

-Matt

 

I'm simply saying that there are two possible attacks: (1) take a South Dakota degree and a South Dakota licensure and see if that is any good in Virginia or (2) take a South Dakota degree and see if that qualifies you for the Virginia licensure exam. In scenario (2), level of recognition of the degree is probably more important than what state the degree was from. But either way's okay.

 

MATT....

I can tell you from experience that this decision is not an easy one, however the ultimate and final decision is yours and yours alone.
Let me give you an example of how I made my decision regarding NBCT vs a Doctorate degree, and being a Florida educator was a large factor too!

First, you are correct in the fact that the NBCT is complicated and in-depth, it requires a lot of attention to detail, especially in the portfoilo aspect of the process. I know many, many teachers that have gone through or attempting to go through the NBCT process...and the responses are not that grand and spectacular!!! The NBCT advisors tell you, you can complete it within one academic year...however, if your portfoilo's do not make the grade at each tier - then you have to re-do it until it passes, not to mention the tests as well! This can be a very tedious process. In fact, many Florida teachers begin the program and eventually dropout or simply stop - because the requirements and criteria are rather strict, complicated and the feedback from evaluators are so poor and unclear - that many feel it is a waste of time!So they quit!

Second, I considered the NBCT at the beginning of this past academic year (2007-2008), but due to the severe complications and education budget cuts in the Florida, my decision was basically written on the wall!
I discovered that by obtaining a NBCT I could almost teach anywhere in the country - which is plus! However, the downside was you have to renew it every 10 years by accumulating certain documents, professional development criteria, all within another portfoilo...which the teachers I have spoken too - usually forget about the whole process and scrambles a year before renewal.
This did not appeal to me, personally.

Third, In the state of Florida, as I mentioned prior, the state is suffering major financial cuts in education. Which one of the cuts was that NBCT teachers would no longer obtain their 10% bonuses every year! So every teacher in Florida who has NBCT, would lose their bonuses or it may seem like a salary cut! The domino effect to this is, NOW, the enrollment for new teachers who were considering obtaining a NBCT - dropped like 80%. That is including those who were already enrolled in the program. PLUS, the state of Florida was paying all the tuition costs for Florida teachers to go through the program. So you can see why down here, the NBCT is no longer a viable option for teachers!

In my personal circumstances, I with all the above mentioned, I figured that coming right out of my master's program and enrolling into a doctorate program would be more practical. Because once you are done with a doctorate - you do not have to renew it! Not to mention, the amount of work involved with the NBCT was almost that of working towards a doctorate or Ed.S. from what many teachers have mentioned before.

 

Thanks for the excellent reply! I saw that North Carolina and Florida had the greatest number of NBCTs. Given the bonuses the state gives (or gave) it's no wonder. I'm starting to think I might give NBC a whirl and just take one class in the fall and spring through USD. The NBC portfolio is due at the end of March, and the tests have to be completed by mid June. That will give me the summer to catch up with coursework while I'm waiting for everything to be scored.

-Matt