The Renton School District will honor 24 teachers who achieved National Board Certification at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 at Kennydale Elementary School.

National Board Certification means the teachers met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review. The process can take hundreds of hours of professional and personal time. There are 37 other district teachers who are already certified.

It is not known yet whether Board Certified teachers will get their annual bonuses, as a suspension of their bonuses was on Gov. Chris Gregoire’s list of proposed budget cuts.

Among states, Washington ranks fourth in the nation in the number of National Board Certified teachers, with more than 5,200 certified teachers. This year, nearly 1,300 teachers completed the process.

To become board certified, Renton teachers met the high standards by demonstrating their knowledge and application of curriculum and proven teaching techniques. Their portfolios were said to exhibit genuine connections to individual student needs, to instruction and to assessments.

Teachers must submit an application which includes four classroom-based portfolio entries, each of which includes a video of the teacher in action, along with student work. The fourth portfolio submission documents the work the teacher does outside the classroom with colleagues, families and the wider community and details how the efforts influence student learning.

Applicants also complete six 30-minute exercises to demonstrate their content knowledge in the certificate field. Lastly, about a dozen trained evaluators in the same field appraise a candidate’s portfolio submissions against the National Board standards.

Teachers certified

Joe Bento, Renton High School

Jessica Buchan, Renton High School

Marcella Caruso, Nelsen Middle School

Gail Cochrane, Sierra Heights Elementary

Susan Cosby, Sierra Heights Elementary

Vanessa Del Fierro, Renton High School

Dee Draven, Renton High School

Allison Fox, Bryn Mawr Elementary

Michelle Hansen, Hazen High School

Lauren Hasson-Katz, Renton High School

Damion Heintschel, Lindbergh High School

Susan Johnson, Renton High School

Elizabeth Kennedy, Hillcrest Early Childhood Center

David Kitzman, McKnight Middle School

Mary Jo McLaughlin, Bryn Mawr Elementary

Kim Menon, Lakeridge Elementary School

Lynne Morgan, Highlands Elementary

Michele Murphy, Dimmitt and Nelsen Middle Schools

Dylan Okimoto, Renton High School

Terra Solkey, Nelsen Middle School

Zer Vue, McKnight Middle School

Jeffrey Willis, McKnight Middle School

Lance Winmill, Renton High School

Amarou Yoder, Lindbergh High School

See their photos online at www.rentonschools.us