Mrs. Fraser Earns Impressive Titles

Mrs. Fraser Earns Impressive Titles
Mrs. Fraser is ecstatic to have National Board Certification, an advanced teaching credential which recognizes accomplished teachers. She also won a teaching award given by the district.

Just under three percent of the nation’s teachers obtain the title National Board Certified. Mrs. Ellen Fraser, math teacher, is one of the newest members of the group.

“Being Nationally Board Certified is a great accomplishment, and Mrs. Fraser completely deserves it,” junior mathlete Alison Devall said.

According to the National Education Association, “National Board Certification    is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential that goes beyond state licensure. NBC has national standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.

“The certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. It is the most respected professional certification available in K-12 education,” the National Board Certification website states.

In addition to becoming nationally board certified, Mrs. Fraser won the Scope Award, a teacher service award given out by the district. There are five categories in which the district gives one honorable person an award: School Board Service, Community Service, Teaching service, Supporting Staff Service and Administration service. Mrs. Fraser received the award for exceptional work in the category of Teaching Service on March 18.

“It’s an honor to receive it [Scope award],” Mrs. Fraser said. “It’s nice to know I’m well thought of by the district.”

Mrs. Fraser taught at Suffolk Community College for nine years prior to working at SWR, where she has taught for 18 years. For one year, she worked at both.

The road to certification was not easy. To start the two-year-long process, Mrs. Fraser took a challenging exam where she was tested on all high school math, including statistics and calculus. Mrs. Fraser also had to perform 50 hours of professional development outside of anything affiliated with SWR. In addition, she met with teachers from other districts who were becoming nationally board certified to plan lessons and then adapted her teaching depending on the results of her SWR students. Finally, Mrs. Fraser had to make a 15-minute running video where the board could watch a tape of her teaching. In the video, she had to include her teaching the whole class, the class in groups, and students going up to the board. There was no editing allowed. Mrs. Fraser said the board even checked her hand gestures throughout her lesson

“It was stressful to plan,” Mrs. Fraser said.

In the video, students weren’t allowed to wear anything that could identify where Mrs. Fraser was teaching, so they could not wear any SWR apparel.

Ms. Fraser said being Nationally Board Certified added something new to teaching.

“Becoming a National Board Certified teacher has made me more reflective in every aspect of my teaching. The most enjoyable part of the process is seeing evidence of my students’ learning,” Mrs. Fraser said. The process has enhanced her teaching even more, as she learned a great deal through watching the tapes and planning curriculum.

“Making changes about what I do is the biggest takeaway from the certification,” Mrs. Fraser said. She said she feels more thoughtful about the way she looks at teaching.

Mr. James Barry, Geometry and Calculus teacher, has collaborated with Mrs. Fraser numerous times throughout their years of teaching together.

“Mrs. Fraser is exceptionally knowledgeable, and she has a phenomenal grasp of math, applications of math, and even of content areas outside of math, especially English,” Mr. Barry said.

Mr. Barry isn’t the only one who thinks highly of Mrs. Fraser. She has students in her Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus classes who feel the same way. Both Devall and Madeline Rutkowsky have had Mrs. Fraser for two years, in Algebra 2 Honors and Pre-calc Honors.

“It’s an honor to receive it [Scope award].”…”It’s nice to know I’m well thought of by the district.” – Mrs. Fraser

“Mrs. Fraser is sweet,” Rutkowsky said. “She really wants you to succeed.”

According to Rutkowsky, she always makes sure that “your question gets answered,” and when a student is confused, she gives them an answer.

Devall feels the same way about Mrs. Fraser.

“She has extra help, and she really takes the time to make sure that you know what’s going on. If you don’t, she’ll help you until you do understand,” Devall said.

During Mathlete competitions, Devall said, she’s “very encouraging.” Mrs. Fraser is the adviser to the Mathletes Club.

“Becoming National Board Certified requires a tremendous amount of work,” Principal Frank Pugliese said. “The amount of work and time is significant, it’s like a mini graduate program.”

Mr. Pugliese thinks highly of Mrs. Fraser, and he gives her credit for pursuing the higher title.

“There isn’t a lot of incentive to it other than to grow,” Mr. Pugliese said.

Regardless of the new certification, Mr. Pugliese said Mrs. Fraser is always going to be reflective. He said that she is the type of person who thinks about how it went and then wonders how she can improve it.

“Mrs. Fraser is the kind of teacher that is constantly working,” Mr. Pugliese said.

“Overall, being a national board certified teacher has renewed my commitment to my students and to teaching,” Mrs. Fraser said.

 

Republished from Shoreham-Wading River’s print newspaper, The Wildcat Pause (April 2019 Issue).