LAKEWOOD — Lakewood High School teachers Elizabeth Davis, Mike Fellows, Jeff Sowards and Jane Wyatt recently received their National Board Certifications.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1987 to create a system of advanced certification for teachers and school counselors based on high and rigorous standards. National Board Certification is a voluntary assessment program designed to identify, recognize and reward accomplished teachers who meet high and rigorous standards based on what teachers should know and be able to do. To apply for this program a teacher must have taught for three years with a valid state teaching certificate.

National Board certification is considered a demonstration of a teacher’s teaching practice as measured against rigorous standards described in the five core propositions of the NBPTS. A portfolio is completed in the classroom over a period of several months and includes student work, videotapes and other artifacts. The assessment center exercises complement the portfolio and are organized around content and pedagogy.

Teachers who attain, and teachers and principals who hold, a valid certificate from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards during the 2009-10 school year will receive an annual bonus of $5,090 each. The bonus is directed and funded by the Washington state legislature. These four teachers are the first Lakewood teachers to earn their National Board Certification.