SSHS Teacher Achieves National Board Certification

Brenda Holder, first in Dallas County to earn teaching profession’s top credential

Brenda Allen Holder of Selma has earned the teaching profession’s top credential by achieving National Board Certification in 2006, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).  Mrs. Holder teaches English at Southside High School.  She has been a teacher for 13 years and holds a Bachelors degree in Language Arts and a Masters degree in School Counseling.

 “This very special to me, to gain this certification while teaching at Southside High School,” Holder said. “When I was hired to teach for Dallas County Schools, I interviewed at all three of the system’s high schools, and I chose to teach at Southside. I have never regretted my decision. We have a dedicated and professional faculty. The fact that I have qualified for National Board Certification while teaching at Southside is representative of the kind of teachers we have here.”

 Mrs. Holder is one of more than 7,700 teachers nationwide who achieved National Board Certification this year, and is the first teacher in all public and private schools in Dallas County to earn this recognition, while teaching in the county.

 “The single most important school related factor in raising student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. National Board Certification strengthens and reaffirms quality teaching strategies, adds credibility to the teaching profession, represents the profession’s highest standards, and has a positive impact on student learning,” said former Georgia Gov. Roy E. Barnes, chair of the NBPTS Board of Directors. “Today, there are 55,000 teachers who have achieved National Board Certification. These teachers are living proof that this process works to generate some of the most highly accomplished teachers in the field.”

 A voluntary process established by the NBPTS, National Board Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes more than a year to complete and measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. Teachers who earn this advanced teaching credential are among the best qualified in the nation to improve instruction, raise student achievement, and improve teaching practices in their classrooms, schools and districts.   

 NBPTS continues to be the most thoroughly grounded, in research terms, of any assessment program in the teaching profession and has subjected itself to a higher standard of research and validation than any other professional board in the United States.All 50 states, the District of Columbia and hundreds of individual school districts across the nation recognize National Board Certification as a mark of distinction and have implemented policies and regulations to recruit, reward and retain National Board Certified teachers.

 “National Board Certification is one of the best hopes we have for improving teaching and learning over the long haul,” NBPTS President and CEO, Joseph A. Aguerrebere said. “With renewed commitment and support, National Board Certification will enable teachers, the strongest assets we have, to promote student learning and school improvement.”

 Dallas County School System Superintendent, Dr. Fannie Major-McKenzie congratulated Holder on her accomplishment, and said, “I am very proud that Mrs. Holder has earned this honor. The effort necessary to achieve National Board Certification is formidable. Mrs. Holder’s achievement should stand as testimony to our teachers that this goal is attainable, and should be an encouragement to others to follow her example."