O.C. Lauds Teachers Who Join Top Ranks

To honor 22 Orange County teachers who just completed the grueling process to gain national board certification, Orange County Department of Education officials gave a celebration tea Tuesday in their Costa Mesa office.

“Not only were these very good teachers to begin with, now they’re great teachers,” said William Habermehl, associate superintendent. “Families want the best teachers they can find, and board-certified teachers are richer, have better ideas and know how to handle difficult classroom situations.”

The process is rigorous, requiring a series of 90-minute exams, essays and an evaluation of teaching skills. It is also expensive--$2,300 to apply for the 2001 program. California offers a $10,000 one-time bonus for public school teachers who successfully complete the course and a $20,000 one-time bonus for those who do so, then teach in an underperforming district for four years.

“You can’t do it for the money,” said Kristine Quinn, one of the newly certified teachers and a faculty member at Bryant Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda. “It was extremely hard. Anyone that went in thinking they could just get $10,000 out of it would be sadly amiss.”

The goal of the national program is to make it possible for teachers to continue teaching, rather than take higher-paying administrative jobs.

Those who succeed join an elite circle. There are now just 9,524 board-certified teachers in the United States. Of those, 786 are in California and 45 in Orange County.

The rate of national certification has almost doubled in the past year, officials said, suggesting that state bonuses and district incentives for the extra effort may be yielding results.

Orange County education officials have said their aim is to have at least one board-certified teacher in each public school. This year, 40 teachers have signed up for the program, which requires about 350 hours; another 40 have enrolled in a pre-candidacy program.

Of those honored Tuesday, five are in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and three are in Santa Ana Unified. The other 14 are from across the county.

“It’s really a credit to our teachers,” said Dennis Smith, superintendent of Placentia-Yorba Linda. “It takes a lot of support from family, colleagues and friends.”

His district offers extra incentives, including a $500 annual bonus for those who are nationally certified.

Though money was not their main motivation, some of the newly certified teachers said they don’t mind having a little extra cash. Kristen Rizzuto of Hopkinson Elementary in Rossmoor said she will squirrel away her $10,000 bonus, due in March, toward a down payment to buy her first house. Hollis Cruse of Bryant Ranch Elementary in Yorba Linda plans to use part her bonus for a vacation in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.

Far more valuable, the teachers said, are a sense of accomplishment and recognition for their dedication to a historically low-paying profession.

“The process is a strong reminder that teaching is not a spectator sport,” said Cynthia Stern, who teaches at John R. Peterson Elementary in Huntington Beach. “Effective teaching requires that we are active observers and learners. We are partners in our students’ learning.”