School board honors Sequim’s National Board Certified teachers

By Matthew Nash • January 29, 2020 1:30 am
Jennifer Maughan, Sequim assistant superintendent, on right, recognized five National Board Certified teachers on Jan. 21, including from left, Stephanie Grotzke-Nash, Matthew Duchow, Brad Meckley and Casey Lewis; not pictured, Christy Ditlefsen. Maughan said they worked on the voluntary certification program an average of 200-400 hours. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Jennifer Maughan, Sequim assistant superintendent, on right, recognized five National Board Certified teachers on Jan. 21, including from left, Stephanie Grotzke-Nash, Matthew Duchow, Brad Meckley and Casey Lewis; not pictured, Christy Ditlefsen. Maughan said they worked on the voluntary certification program an average of 200-400 hours. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Five Sequim teachers were recognized at the Sequim School Board’s Jan. 21 meeting for obtaining or re-certifying their National Board Certification.

Teachers participate in the voluntary program, called the “gold standard” for teacher certification, by compiling an application in four components of their specialty for review by trained teachers in the certificated areas.

Sequim’s new honorees include Sequim Middle School teachers Casey Lewis and Brad Meckley in Special Education.

Re-certified teachers include Christy Ditlefsen (Sequim High School) in Career and Technical Education/Early Adolescence Through Young Adulthood, Matthew Duchow (teacher on special assignment) in School Counseling/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood, and Stephanie Grotzke-Nash (Helen Haller Elementary School) in Generalist/Early Childhood.

Assistant superintendent Jennifer Maughan recognized the applicants with certificates and said the certification process can take 200 to 400 hours to complete.

Sequim School District has more than 30 National Board certified teachers, staff report, and Washington state has the third-most National Board Certified teachers in the nation.