By STEFANIE HILL

Staff Writer

The College of Education is preparing ways to help future teachers increase their education as well as their pay.

They are planning organizational meetings in the north and central parts of Louisiana to inform teachers about the National Board Certification process.

Dr. David Gullatt, department head and a professor of curriculum, instruction and leadership, said in order for a teacher to get National Board Certified, a teacher must have at least three years of experience and be certified in his or her field. Also, teachers who receive National Board Certification will receive $2,000 more a year for 10 years.

"It is the highest professional achievement that a teacher could seek to get," Gullatt said.

The meeting will also inform teachers interested in taking the National Board Certification test about the 2004 fall Louisiana Tech graduate class associated with this initiative.

These classes will be via compressed video and will address National Board Certification standards. It will help prepare teachers for the National Board Certification Test.

Dr. Carrice Cummins, associate professor of curriculum, instruction and leadership and one of the professors who will be conducting the recruiting meetings, said she will stress how important it is to undergo the National Board Certification process.

"It is a very strong professional development for educators," Cummins said. "It will help them understand literacy at a deeper perspective."

The cost for the test is $2,300, but teachers can receive a stipend from the state of Louisiana.

Jill Saia, program administrator of National Board Certification programs, said these recruitment meetings will inform the teachers how to apply for the stipend.

"Teachers have to attend at least one of these recruitment meetings to be qualified for the stipend," Saia said. "We want them to be fully informed about everything that has to do with National Board Certification."

Saia also said at the recruitment meetings the teachers will be notified of a two-day writing seminar they can attend that will help to orient them to the writing process on the National Board Test. The National Board standards require a teacher to write reflective, descriptive and analytical passages.

"It is a kind of writing teachers don't do in the normal course of their day, but National Board asks them to," Saia said. "So we found a need for additional instructing in it."

Saia said she believes the reason Louisiana is above national average for teachers receiving their National Board Certification is because of these things offered to help teachers learn about National Board Certification and all the classes that help them prepare for the test.

Saia said, "I would like to think we are at a passing weight of 53 percent because of all the support mechanisms we have in place."