Local Teacher Achieves National Board Certification

Justin Moodie, a high school photography teacher at the American School Foundation in Mexico City, has achieved National Board Certification through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-review process.  Like Board certification in professions such as medicine and architecture, National Board Certification is the highest mark of accomplishment in teaching.  Justin originally hails from Carmel Valley, having attended Carmel Del Mar Elementary, Earl Warren JHS, and Torrey Pines HS as a student.  Additionally, he later taught at Torrey Pines HS, Carmel Valley MS, and Canyon Crest Academy prior to moving to San Francisco and then ultimately ending up in Mexico where he finished his work for the National Boards certification process.

“Every day, teachers go into classrooms with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to do work that is arguably the most complex and unpredictable that anyone does anywhere,” said Ronald Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board.  “In achieving National Board Certification, Justin Moodie has not only demonstrated the ability to advance student learning in deep and meaningful ways, he has met the profession’s definition of what it means to be accomplished.  That is significant because only those within a profession—the practitioners—can legitimately define the key terms of the profession.”

Saluting the newest class of NBCTs, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said: “As our nation’s most accomplished educators, National Board Certified Teachers are well positioned to move our students, workforce, and country forward.”

The National Board is working with partners to make achievement Board certification the expectation and the norm for all teachers.  Research has shown that National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) have a significant impact on student achievement and that their students outperform peers in other classrooms.  A 2012 study by Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project found that students of NBCTs in the Los Angeles Unified School District made learning gains equivalent to an additional two months of instruction in math and one month in English Language Arts.

About the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards:

The mission of the National Board is to advance student learning and achievement by establishing the definitive standards and systems for certifying accomplished educators, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching and leading, and engaging National Board Certified Teachers and leaders in that process. 

NBPTS CONTACT: Aparna Kumar, (703) 312-7282 or akumar@nbpts.org.