Education

A North 32nd Teacher Receives National Certification

PVSchools is proud to announce that Elizabeth Cook, a Title I reading specialist at Palomino Intermediate School, is one of the newest National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in Arizona. National Board Certification is the highest certificate an educator can achieve in the United States.

Administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Board certification is a rigorous and reflective process that requires teachers to showcase the National Board Standards in their practice. Teachers often take up to three years of continual work to achieve certification. Research shows that students of NBCTs have improved learning outcomes.

“For me, becoming a National Board Certified teacher was a challenging and incredibly worthwhile achievement that has allowed me to strengthen and improve my teaching practice and become the most impactful teacher I can be,” Cook says. “It’s a remarkable feeling to be a part of a group of educators who are dedicated to improving the quality of education for every student.” Cook has been teaching for a total of nine and a half years, all of them in PVSchools. She also completed all of her internships and student teaching within PVSchools as part of the iTeach program at Arizona State University.

“I want to extend a huge thank you to all the coaches in the pre-candidacy program and to the district for providing an amazing support system to make this journey possible,” she adds.

Since 1996, teachers throughout Arizona have been seeking and achieving National Board Certification. The Arizona K12 Center provides support and resources for teachers to pursue National Board Certification.

This year, 48 Arizona teachers achieved certification. Altogether, Arizona is home to 1,576 NBCTs with 660 teachers currently pursuing National Board Certification. According to the National Board, there are 127,781 NBCTs across the U.S.

Phoenix Water Debuts New Activity Book with Stormwater Hopper

Phoenix Water’s mascot, Hopper, is a friendly desert toad that represents stormwater education. In Hopper’s newly released activity book, “Hopper’s Stormwater Adventure,” students go on a journey to discover what happens to rainwater that flows into the storm drain. One of Hopper’s most important messages is that stormwater runoff flows untreated into washes, rivers, canals and retention or detention basins and it’s the community’s duty to protect the water.

The activity and coloring pages throughout the ten-page book teach students how to protect stormwater and prevent pollution in the storm drain. Hopper takes students through a maze to learn where stormwater goes on page three. On page six, students fill in the blank using a secret code teaching them how to protect stormwater. Students test their knowledge on pages seven and eight by selecting which Hopper is preventing stormwater pollution. By the end, students will know that only rain belongs in the storm drain.

The activity book is available for download on Phoenix Water’s digital education page, Water Education from the Cloud. In addition to Hopper’s activity book, the water education page offers water conservation resources for all ages including activity books for Phoenix Water mascots Wayne Drop and Loo Poo, games, learning videos for kids and adults, and lesson plans for the educators to use at home. The webpage provides fun learning entertainment for the whole family.

Phoenix Water continues to add new content to the page throughout the year. To download Hopper’s new activity book, and check out Phoenix Water’s digital education page, visit phoenix.gov/watercloud. To learn more about stormwater in Phoenix, visit phoenix.gov/ stormwater. And remember, only rain in the storm drain!