The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has just announced its largest class ever—8,491 teachers attained certification this year, bringing the total number of NBPTS-certified teachers to more than 63,000.

These teachers should be commended for their work, having passed grueling tests to demonstrate teaching competency through videos and analysis of their instructional methods as well as subject-matter competency. Only about 40 percent of NBPTS candidates pass on the first try, and NBPTS thinks that only about 70 percent pass within the three-year time frame. Most teachers—even those who fail—say it was the best professional development they’ve ever had.

But the story behind this story is that most school districts and school boards do not know how to best use these teachers’ skills. While NBPTS has not kept in touch with its alumni, anecdotal evidence proves that most of the teachers go back to same jobs they had before, with little or no recognition of their accomplishment.

This is a shame. There are so many ways these master teachers, who obviously wanted a challenge, could be put to better use: as lead teachers, mentors, curriculum specialists, or assistant administrators. But school boards and administrators have tended to be oblivious. Researcher Julia Koppich recently told me that in her research school boards “barely registered on the radar screen” and many administrators were overwhelmed or unwilling to find ways to better use these teachers. She found that, surprisingly, the teachers unions were the most important factor in prodding districts to recognize, use, and reward these teachers.

So for any district looking for ideas for policies or practices, I’ve planted a few in the upcoming edition of School Board News (www.nsba.org/site/page_sbn_issue.asp?TRACKID=&CID=682&DID=9461).

Joetta Sack-Min, Associate Editor