2 Coal City teachers renew National Board Certified Teacher designations

Coal City Early Childhood Center teachers Angie Phillips and Tricia Togliatti have earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

According to a Thursday news release, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards advances the quality of teaching and learning through a series of standards based on what teachers should know and be able to accomplish in their classroom. Phillips and Togliatti earned the designation in 2019 and completed the process for recertification.

“I wanted to become a national board certified teacher to sharpen my skills as an educator and improve my teaching,” Phillips said. “Through national board certification and recertification, the first grade teacher said, “this process has changed me as an educator because it has shown me how to analyze and reflect on my instruction, my individual students, and their learning. Through the reflection and analyzing process, I naturally tweaked my instruction and learned so much about each of my students.”

Teachers achieve through a multi-year performance-based assessment on key elements that require teachers to evaluate themselves, what they are doing in the classroom and the impact it has on student learning and achievement, according to the news release. The renewal process requires teachers to select two professional growth experiences.

Phillips said educators seeking recertification are asked to answer a series of questions in written commentary about how those experiences improved their teaching and growth. Teachers are also required to record and submit a 10-minute clip of one of the professional growth experiences and provide a written commentary answering questions and showing evidence of student learning in the recorded video.

“I had just completed my LETRS training, so it was perfect timing for me,” Togliatti said. “I was able to demonstrate to the National Board how I use the science of reading in my professional practice with high and rigorous standards.”

Coal City teachers seeking distinction as a national board certified teacher work with retired teacher and fellow board certified teacher Pam Vigna. For recertification, teachers are assigned a mentor from the National Board Resource Center at Illinois State University.

Togliatti has been teaching for 27 years, 26 of which have been at Coal City where she taught third and first grades before moving into the role of reading specialist this year.

Phillips is in her 24th year, 16 of which have been at the Early Childhood Center where she’s been both a kindergarten and first grade teacher. She has also taught fifth grade students.

Phillips and Togliatti were recognized by the Board of Education at its meeting Wednesday.