For release: September 11, 2008
Contact: Alice Williams, awilliams@teachingquality.org

On September 11, 2008 the Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) and GlaxoSmithKline Community Partnerships will present to the North Carolina State Board of Education, during the “Good News” portion of the Board meeting, an innovative new model for increasing math and science teaching quality statewide. The National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) Return on Investment Initiative, supported through a $100,000 grant from GlaxoSmithKline, taps into a unique resource: the more than 2,000 NBCTs in North Carolina who specialize in math and science. Researchers have shown that NBCTs tend to produce higher student achievement gains, but they are less likely to be found teaching in high-needs schools. The NBCT Return on Investment Initiative uses cutting-edge virtual technology to deploy the expertise of these accomplished teachers into the communities that need them the most. 

Through its support of this work, GlaxoSmithKline Community Partnerships continues to demonstrate its deep commitment to addressing the urgent need for enriched mathematics and science teaching in North Carolina. Additional efforts indebted to their generous support include the K-8 Science Initiative, Food for Thought teacher grants, Task Force on Teacher Excellence, Kenan Fellows, GlaxoSmithKline Women in Science Scholars, and Science in the Summer. GlaxoSmithKline has also recognized the unique value of NBCTs in boosting teaching quality through its $1 million endowment to support science teachers in North Carolina who wish to seek the certification. CTQ’s NBCT Return on Investment Initiative will build on this foundation to bring high-quality mathematics and science teaching to all of North Carolina’s students.

CTQ has established a virtual network of approximately 150 National Board Certified math and science teachers across North Carolina who have worked diligently to develop tools and resources in support of their peers across the state. A core group of these teachers – utilizing a state-of-the-art, secure social networking web environment and working in tandem with district-based, on-the-ground coaches– are currently offering their expertise to targeted high-needs schools and districts, who have selected from a menu of strategies that best align with their current priorities and programs:

• Supporting teacher education students and beginning teachers via online mentoring;
• Guiding a cohort of teachers (at any experience level) in high-needs schools to pursue the Take One! ® process (where  teachers analyze  video of their own math and science lessons);
• Organizing a cohort of interested teachers (with at least three years of experience) in high-needs schools to pursue National Board Certification®; and
• Providing online mentoring to mathematics and science teachers out-of-field and assist them to become qualified and effective.