MSU celebrates 11 teachers earning National Board Certification
Contact: Bethany Shipp
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s World Class Teaching Program is celebrating 11 teachers who have achieved the prestigious National Board Certification and 12 who have renewed the credential.
Representing school districts across the state, teachers earning or maintaining certification through the university’s WCTP in 2024 recently were honored during a campus pinning ceremony.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, or NBPTS, ranks Mississippi State No. 12 nationwide for number of National Board Certified Teachers, with 997 MSU graduates having earned certification. The Magnolia State ranks eighth in the U.S. for NBCTs with 4,940.
“MSU’s World Class Teaching Program is excited to welcome these teachers into the ranks of NBCTs from around the nation,” said WCTP Director Stephanie McGee. “We applaud them for their dedication to the teaching profession and all the work they put into earning this honor.”
Established in 1996, the university’s WCTP recruits and provides mentorship for teachers seeking advanced certification through the NBPTS process. Candidates are supported in a variety of ways including component preparation sessions and certificate area support cohort meetings. According to the NBPTS, National Board Certification is the “highest certification a teacher may obtain in addition to being the most respected one.”
Mississippi school district teachers certified through the WCTP (by school district) include:
Attala County—Sarah Skidmore, mathematics: early adolescence
Lowndes County—Mary Kathryn Thrash, English as a new language
Monroe County—Cate Kennedy, English language arts: early adolescence
Neshoba County—Anne Fisackerly, English language arts: adolescence-young adulthood
Ocean Springs—Megan Brick, science: adolescence-young adulthood
Rankin County—Ginny Grace Gibbs, literacy: reading/language arts; Elizabeth Morgan, middle childhood generalist; and Jessica Thompson, mathematics: early adolescence
Starkville Oktibbeha—Amy Bryant, exceptional needs specialist; and Vijay Pacharne, mathematics: adolescence-young adulthood
West Point Consolidated—Lashawn Bush, literacy: reading/language arts
Teachers who maintained their certification through the WCTP (by school district) include:
Calhoun County—Jill Caples, middle childhood generalist; Amanda Blaine Parker, mathematics: early adolescence; and Laurie Washington, science: early adolescence
Lauderdale County—Julie Rawson, English language arts: early adolescence
Lowndes County—Sarah Clark, literacy: reading/language arts; Susanna Oglesby, middle childhood generalist; and Anne Richardson, career and technical education
Monroe County—Debbie Leech, library media
Tishomingo County—Barry Hughes, science: adolescence-young adulthood; and Amee Scott, mathematics: early adolescence
Union Public—Kristy Leach, literacy: reading/language arts
Walthall County—Laurie Capps, career and technical education
MSU’s College of Education, home of the World Class Teaching Program, also includes five academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units. Learn more at https://www.educ.msstate.edu/.
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