Madison County chairman Dale Strong presented a $100,000 donation to fund National Board Certification Teacher training at the State of the Schools address at the Jackson Center in Huntsville on Wednesday. The donation will be divided equally between Madison City Schools, Huntsville City Schools and Madison County Schools.
The Schools Foundation executive director, Stephanie Kelley, said this significant donation would allow an additional 50 teachers to be able to get their National Board Certification.
“That has direct impacts in the classroom, it has positives impacts in the communities and the schools,” Kelley stated. “It’s a wonderful thing, it’s a win-win. We appreciate the support of the Madison County Commission and Chairman Dale Strong.”
John Allen, CEO of the Committee of 100, advised that the professional development of our teachers was critical to our community’s success. “The investment of the Madison County Commission in the Raise Your Hand initiative is pivotal to gaining the highest concentration of NBCTS in the country in our 3 public education systems in Madison County.”
Allen continued, “This leading investment will drive generational impact and high achievement for our students in the classroom. We are grateful for the Madison County Commission and the leadership of Chair Dale Strong in this work and the many business and community investors in this bold and visionary work in public education. The professionalization of teaching and their professional development is critical to our future success as a community.”
According to the Committee of 100’s Raise Your Hand initiative, National Board Certification (NBCT) is the most respected professional certification available in K-12 education.
“Research shows that NBCTs increase student achievement, improve classroom management, and produce a higher return on investment for their schools and community.”
Presented by the Huntsville Madison County Chamber, the State of the Schools event also featured a moderated discussion with the county’s three school system superintendents.
Allen Perkins, superintendent of Madison County Schools, praised our teachers in the classroom.
“The single biggest impact on student achievement, on student growth, on student development is the teacher in that classroom. The teacher in the classroom is so pivotal to students’ success it can’t be overlooked or ignored. It’s is pivotal to keep high quality, well qualified teachers in the classroom,” he outlined.
Superintendent of Huntsville City Schools Christie Finley said every teacher, student and parent has been through a lot in the past few years.
She advised, “We have to look at education differently. We have to work together; we have to re-engage. To be able to provide face to face education is huge. To be able to engage with students and parents is crucial to success.”
Dr. Ed Nichols, superintendent of Madison City Schools, highlighted the importance of providing paths to success for every student. Joking that sometimes people think all the kids at Madison go on to Harvard, Nichols praised the Madison City Schools’ new welding program, saying, “We’ve got 21 students in this program and 52 signed up for next year.”
Nichols continued to the crowd’s burst of applause, “And on May 4, 19 of them will be signing contracts with Polaris.”
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