Board amends teacher empowerment plan to prioritize National Board Certification amid staff concern
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
After staff presented survey results showing 65% of teachers did not support the original plan, the Norman board amended and adopted the district's teacher empowerment program to prioritize national board certification (NBCT) criteria and expand eligibility to other nationally certified staff; the amendment passed on roll call after debate.
The Norman Public Schools Board of Education on Thursday voted to amend and adopt the district's teacher empowerment plan, changing portions of the rubric to prioritize National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification as the primary eligibility route for tiered awards.
Holly McKinney, presenting the program, said the district surveyed teachers and received 217 open-ended comments. She summarized the results: 52% of respondents said they were aware of the Oklahoma Teacher Empowerment Program prior to district materials, 90% found the district's overview helpful, and 35% said they supported the plan "as presented" while 65% did not. McKinney said the comments showed concerns that the plan could function like merit pay and that it might benefit only a small share of teachers.
A board member moved to amend the rubric by removing pages 3'05 and replacing multi-year experience criteria with NBCT-based thresholds: advanced (NBCT for at least one year), lead (NBCT for at least five years) and master (NBCT for at least 10 years). Supporters said the change rewards nationally certified teachers, helps recruit NBCTs, and offers a clear, administrable standard; critics raised concerns that the change had not been brought back through a full teacher input process and worried it could create division.
Board members debated whether to limit eligibility to NBCT classroom teachers or to include other nationally certified staff such as speech-language pathologists and school psychologists; one motion expanded the amendment to include other national certifications, with staff directed to produce a comprehensive list before submitting to the State Department of Education for final approval.
The amendment to the main motion passed on roll call with one board member recorded as opposing; the main motion as amended then passed on roll call.
Board members and staff noted that if the plan is approved by the State Department of Education as required, participating teachers would still need to meet program requirements (such as additional out-of-classroom days) to receive awards.