The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, created in 1987, establishes high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do and develops a voluntary certification system for teachers who demonstrate these standards. The Board, comprised primarily of teachers, identified 30 areas of certification. Two music certificates are represented among the 30:

• Early through Middle Childhood/Music
• Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Music.

To earn National Board certification, teachers must demonstrate the content-specific standards on multi-part assessments that include portfolio entries and assessment center exercises. Standards for the above fields will be available in December 2001.

The Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is utilizing NBPTS Candidate Subsidy funds to support 196 candidates at 50% of the certification fee. For more information, visit the NBPTS website at www.nbpts.org/where/central/texas.html. Additionally, a number of local districts, including the Corpus Christi and San Antonio Independent School Districts, provide support for teachers seeking National Board certification.