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December 6, 2002

Augustana Spanish Instructor Earns National Board Certification

SIOUX FALLS - Cari Skogberg, Spanish instructor at Augustana College, has been awarded National Board Certification in World Languages by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).

A native of Belle Fourche, S.D., Skogberg graduated magna cum laude from Augustana in 1996. She taught middle school and high school Spanish in Spearfish, S.D., and in 2002 was named Spearfish School District Teacher of the Year. She was adjunct faculty at Black Hills State University, provided English instruction in Nicaragua to members of the Nicaraguan Lutheran Church, and served as an interpreter for a medical mission to Nicaragua.

National Board Certification is a symbol of professional teaching excellence. It was created so that teachers, like professionals in other fields, can achieve distinction by demonstrating through a demanding performance assessment that they meet high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. It is offered to teachers on a voluntary basis. While state licensing systems set requirements to teach in each state, National Board Certification establishes high and rigorous advanced standards for experienced teachers to demonstrate accomplished practice. A National Board Certificate os valid for 10 years.

Created in 1987, the NBPTS is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and non-governmental organization governed by a board of directors with the majority of its 63 members being classroom teachers. Other directors include school administrators, school board leaders, governors and state legislators, higher education officials, representatives from teachers' unions and disciplinary organizations, and business and community leaders.