AASL adopts a position statement on National Board Certification
Contact: Kathy Agarwal
Phone: 312-280-4381
Fax: 312-664-7459
For Immediate Release
April 7, 2005
AASL adopts a position statement on National Board Certification
CHICAGO - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has adopted a new position statement on Support for National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification.
“We are pleased that NBPTS understands the teaching role of the school library media specialist. Because of AASL's strong belief in this certification, the AASL Board has adopted a position statement in support of the NBPTS Certification,” said AASL President Dawn Vaughn.
The AASL Board of Directors approved the new position statement at the 2005 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston.
National Board assessment measures what an accomplished school library media specialist should know and should do in the context of their daily work. AASL members are encouraged to pursue National Board certification as a way of demonstrating their accomplished practice and as a means of professional development. According to the data from the NBPTS office, its 2004 graduating class included 344 school library media specialists, 65 of whom were members of AASL. Since the certification program began, 1,089 school library media specialists have obtained their National Board certification.
The AASL National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Special Committee, chaired by
Sallie H. Barringer, a School Library Media Specialist at Walnut Hills High School, in Cincinnati and a National Board Certified teacher, developed the position statement on National Board certification. In addition to their work on the position statement, the committee also serves as a liaison to the NBPTS Interest Group and develops a plan for AASL activities promoting National Board certification.
The NBPTS Special Committee was established in response to strong concern from the NBPTS Interest Group, which was formed after the AASL Fall Forum on the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and Library Media Profession, held in Chicago in October 2002. Participants of the Fall Forum represented AASL member leaders and school library media professionals with a strong commitment to AASL's involvement in NBPTS issues.
For more information on the NBPTS position statement, please visit the AASL Web site at
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/positionstatements/teachingstandardsps.htm.
The American Association of School Librarians (
www.ala.org/aasl), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library media services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library media field.
