A Fayetteville-Manlius School District educator has developed and demonstrated the advanced knowledge, skills and practices required of an outstanding educator.
Fayetteville-Manlius High School Spanish educator Stephanie Cimino is one of four world language educators in New York state to earn National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in 2018, which is the highest standard for the teaching profession.
To achieve NBPTS certification, educators must demonstrate their knowledge and skills through an extensive, year-long series of performance-based assessments. The certification, which must be renewed by educators every five years, was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide, according to the NBPTS website.
Board certification is available in 25 subject areas spanning 16 disciplines and six student developmental levels.
Including Mrs. Cimino, who is certified in world languages for early adolescence through young adulthood, F-M employs 38 educators who are currently NBPTS certified. Six of these teachers are certified in the world language content area.
“I am really proud of this accomplishment,” Mrs. Cimino said. “This experience has helped me to become a better teacher. I am grateful for the continuous support and encouragement our district gives to us teachers so that we can grow professionally.’’
The certification process requires that educators demonstrate standards-based evidence of the positive effect they have on student learning and must exhibit an understanding of their students, content knowledge, use of data and assessments, and teaching practice. They must also show that they participate in learning communities and continuous education.
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree, a valid state teaching license, and three years of classroom or school counselor experience prior to starting the certification process. Like Mrs. Cimino, candidates completing the world languages certificate are required to provide American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) certificates from speaking and writing proficiency assessments in which they received an advanced rating.
Mrs. Cimino has worked for F-M for more than a decade and is one of 3,907 educators to achieve the certification in 2018.
Fayetteville-Manlius High School Spanish educator Stephanie Cimino (above) recently earned National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.