For a while, getting certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was in Shelley Wagner’s “crazy ideas folder,” but recently, she achieved her goal.
Wagner teaches English to juniors and creative writing “to everyone else” at OCTECHS where she has been for eight years. She has taught for 16 years all together, including a stint at Midland High School.
“I have some folders that I label it crazy ideas. When they first offered it, I guess it was three years ago, they introduced the idea before they actually had structure and support. … When I saw the idea, I put it in my crazy idea folder and then I thought about for for a little longer” and decided to try it, Wagner said.
She had heard of National Board certification during college when she was a GEAR UP tutor for the Oklahoma City school district. GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
Wagner recalled seeing a teacher trying to get through the program and not getting it. It made an impression on her about how important national board is and planted the seed for her to go for it.
The cost to the teacher is $75 for the registration fee each of the two years, Permian Strategic Partnership pays for the component fees for all four components and provides tutoring through the National Board Resource Center for a total of $3,100, the district website said.
Wagner said it took her three years total to complete the certification. She started before they had the supports in place.
“I decided I would just do the first component, which is a subject area test. … I started with that and the standards and I just read all that year and then took the test in the summer. By that time, they had some more supports put in so that I could get help with the other three components and have some backup and some people to read my work,” she said.
Although she tried to stay awake to get the results in December, she fell asleep and woke up at 4:30 a.m. the next day to check. “I saw the congratulations fireworks,” Wagner said. “I was like, I think I passed! It was so fun. I was excited to know that I had accomplished it. It was a lot of work and I was really happy with myself.”
She added that the process is very time consuming.
“It’s not like you can wait until the last day before you submit and put something together. You’ve got to work on it all year,” Wagner said.
She spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break to work on the certification.
“I never really got a break, but I finished and made it,” Wagner said.
The key component to her was reflection, where you look back at what you did and recognize how you could do it better next time.
“The next time may not be for another year maybe, but if you recognize what you did then you can fix it … It’s all about reflection and getting better at your craft … A close second would be the knowledge of students part of it where you have to really get to know the students sitting in front of you, not just a test score but what they’re into, what they like so that you’re able to provide materials that would be of interest to them to engage them,” Wagner said.
This is something she does now that she wasn’t doing before. In her classroom in the Wood Math and Science Building at Odessa College, she puts books on the desks that students might like. The current favorite is an illustrated version of Frankenstein.
On a recent class day, Wagner had a cafe where she gave them a snack and drink and they read several pages of a book. then they had to write something about whether they liked it or not and eventually choose one they want to read.
From that, she is creating book clubs where students can discuss the books they’ve read.
“They have little activities that they have to do regarding the book, so it makes it book focused. They had some good conversations today (Jan. 17). I learned a lot about why they don’t like things … Everybody found at least one that they would read,” Wagner said.
All the books are approved by the district. If parents have an issue with one of the books they can pick a different book, she added.
A native of Wichita Falls, she was alternatively certified through University of Texas Permian Basin. Wagner earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s from there in creative writing.
She always wanted to go into education having taught her dolls when she was 5.
“I’ve always been a teacher, of sorts,” Wagner added.
She and her husband, Wayne, have one son.
OCTECHS Principal Karl Miller said the program has enhanced Wagner’s teaching skills.
“Five years ago when I got here, Shelley Wagner was a very good teacher, one of our best. Since she’s gone through this program and completed it and earned her national board certification, she has become an exceptional teacher to the point that everything about her lesson planning has changed and her delivery. Prior to this, she did a lot of the lifting in the classroom and now it’s the students and it’s really awesome,” Miller said.
