Two Charles County Public Schools teachers, Kimberly Clements at the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center and Kathryn Jenkins at La Plata High School, recently achieved national certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
They join nearly 40 other school system teachers who completed a rigorous and challenging performance-based assessment to become National Board Certified Teachers. The assessment measures what accomplished teachers should know, and candidates must demonstrate how their activities strengthen student performance and achievement.
Clements is the interactive media production instructor at Stethem. She earned National Board Certification in the area of career and technical education/early adolescence through young adulthood. Her certification covers career and technology education (CTE), information systems and technology, communications and the arts. She is the first CCPS teacher to receive national certification in CTE.
Clements joined Stethem staff in 2010 after teaching graphic communications for several years at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center in St. Mary’s County. She advanced the interactive media program at Stethem by pursuing national accreditation through Adobe, a leading digital media software company. Her students learn about writing, editing, graphic design, video production and media arts, and develop promotional materials to help market Stethem’s CTE programs. Clements also launched a SkillsUSA chapter at Stethem in which students have earned first place in broadcast news production and third place in digital cinema.
Clements partners with representatives from local businesses in the media production industry to review curriculum, evaluate student work and provide suggestions for software and equipment updates. She said collaborating with leaders in the production industry helps her students and the program. “Industry participation is vital to the success of my program as I am teaching students the skills necessary to enter the workforce,” Clements said.
Clements is a member of the SkillsUSA Maryland Board of Directors and the only teacher in Maryland who has taught both graphic communications and interactive media. She also implemented Stethem’s participation this year in the National Technical Honor Society. Clements has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and a master’s degree in leadership education from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
Jenkins is a mathematics teacher at La Plata, where she teaches Advanced Placement (AP) statistics and foundations of algebra. She has also taught courses in trigonometry and honors geometry. Jenkins earned National Board Certification in the area of mathematics/adolescence and young adulthood.
She joined CCPS in 2003 as a mathematics teacher at Milton M. Somers Middle School. She taught at Somers for six years and worked with students in algebra I, algebra II and Gateway to Technology classes. Jenkins then took a position as a gifted education resource teacher and worked at both Somers and Benjamin Stoddert Middle School. She joined the teaching staff at La Plata in 2012.
Jenkins has served as a math tutor, summer academy math and reading teacher, high school swim coach, adjunct math professor at the College of Southern Maryland and sponsor of the cupcake-decorating club at La Plata. She also completed her administrative internship at Somers and has her administrator I certification.
Jenkins said she has experienced several memorable moments throughout her career, but the best are when graduates visit her and tell her what they learned in her class helped them with their future. “My most favorable moments come from my students who have passed my class, graduated and then returned, just to tell me how my class has helped them in their future endeavors. Those are the best,” she added.
Jenkins has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from State University of New York at Geneseo, and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from McDaniel College.
National Board Certified Teachers must complete a review of their skills and work, which includes a portfolio, student work samples, videos and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge and their understanding of how to teach that material to students.
Clements and Jenkins join 5,470 nationwide teachers who completed the certification process in 2017. Certification is valid for 10 years after which a teacher may complete the renewal process. Maryland has more than 3,000 nationally certified teachers and is one of the top 15 states with the highest participation in the certification process.
By achieving National Board Certification, CCPS teachers are eligible for a stipend as long as they maintain their certification status. Information about the application process is posted online at http://www.nbpts.org/.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 26,900 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 36 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.
