LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new program aimed at boosting teacher pay and improving the quality of education is now available for Kentucky teachers. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will partner with the Kentucky Department of Education for the new pilot program.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is launching a pilot program with the Kentucky Department of Education that will allow early educators to be certified faster

  • Danielle Brown is leading the effort in Kentucky as NBPTS’ Senior Manager of Candidate Experience

  • NBPTS will cover $1900 of the costs for national certification, and has a goal of putting 100 teachers through the pilot

  • Kentucky ranks 6 in the nation for the number of nationally board certified teachers

Effective Sept. 19 this year, a new policy lets Kentucky teachers just starting their careers immediately apply for certification. Under the old rules, educators had to wait three years before beginning the process. The NBPTS will team up with the Kentucky Department of Education for the new pilot program.

Danielle Brown serves as a senior manager of candidate experience at NBPTS and is leading the policy change. She says Kentucky is one of the first to do something like this. NBPTS called for the change saying in a statement:

“Every teacher deserves to be on the accomplished teaching pathway, and the National Board believes teachers should strive to become accomplished as early in their career as they believe they are capable of doing,” said NBPTS.

The board has a goal of putting 100 Kentucky teachers through the pilot. They’re also willing to eat the $1900 cost to make it work for each participant. The board hopes the initiative will make a dent in the nationwide teacher shortage, motivate more educators to stay in the profession long term, and improve classroom settings.

“In Kentucky, this matters so much because we’re getting educators acclimated and a culture to what it looks like to be board certified. On top of that, once you receive your certification, that allows you to change your rank,” said Brown.

Right now Kentucky teachers with a Bachelor’s degree receive a rank of three when they start out. Also, many of these teachers make just under $40,000 a year, which ranks #44 in the nation according to the National Education Association.

As soon as they become board certified, they can qualify for rank one or two. The policy gives teachers a chance to increase their salary and receive coaching and mentoring. All of which could make substantial differences in educators’ and students’ lives.

Kentucky ranks 6th with 9.9% of teachers being nationally board certified. That’s compared to 1.2% (37th place) in Ohio and .38% (47th place) in Indiana. The top spot is North Carolina with 23.2% of their teachers being nationally certified. Ohio and Indiana don’t have a pay increase guarantee in place tied to national certification. You can view all NBPTS state rankings here.

Brown says these incentives are obvious reasons to launch the policy change. “So why not start with those closest to the profession? Why not start with those who are eager and who are excited? ” said Brown.

Brown adds any chance of adding to the nearly 300,000 educators who are part of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is a win for everyone.

Teachers interested in participating in this pilot and for information on how you quality you can head to this website.

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