Coal City Early Childhood Center educators Angie Phillips and Tricia Togliatti are among a group of elite educators who have earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher.
National Board Certification is presented by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards [NBPTS] to advance 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 last year.
In December 2024, the NBPTS announced Phillips and Togliatti had successfully completed the maintenance of certification process, extending their designation for an additional five years.
“I wanted to become a national board certified teacher to sharpen my skills as an educator and improve my teaching,” said Phillips. 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.”
Certification is achieved through a rigorous multi-year performance-based assessment on key elements that, among other factors, requires teachers to evaluate themselves, what they are doing in the classroom and the impact it has on student learning and achievement. The renewal process requires teachers to select two professional growth experiences.
Phillips shared that educators seeking recertification are asked to answer a series of questions in written commentary about how those experiences improved their teaching and student growth. Additionally, the teachers were 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.
The renewal process was similar to the initial process, Togliatti said, noting that although shorter, just one year, it was “every bid as demanding.”
When it came time for recertification, Togliatti said it was an easy choice.
“I had just completed my LETRS training, so it was perfect timing for me. 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.,” Togliatti said.
Coal City educators seeking distinction as a NBCT, work with retired educator and fellow NBCT Pam Vigna. For recertification the teachers were assigned a mentor from the National Board Resource Center at Illinois State University who they met with virtually on a weekly basis.
Togliatti is in her 27th year of teaching, 26 of those years with the Coal City School District. She taught third and first grades before moving into the role of reading specialist this school year.
Phillips is in her 24th year of teaching, 16 of those years have been at the early childhood center where in addition to first grade, she served as a kindergarten teacher. She’s also worked with fifth graders during her tenure in education.
Research has shown that board certified teachers consistently outperform their peers in knowledge of subject matter and the ability to create challenging and engaging lessons.
Phillips and Togliatti acknowledged the superintendent and Board of Education for supporting the program and providing incentives to aid teachers as they go through the initial certification and renewal process.
The NBPTS reports over 137,000 educators across the United States have earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher [NBCT] since the program began in 1987. Coal City School District has had 16 teachers earn national board certification in the past 25 years.
In recognition of their achievement, Phillips and Togliatti were recognized by the Board of Education at its meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8.