News Releases
Two District 15 Teachers Earn National Board Certification
Two District 15 teachers—Claire Kowalczyk and Maureen Quesse—have earned certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), considered to be the highest teaching credential available. The two were recognized by the Board of Education at the January 10 meeting for their outstanding achievement.
They were among 7,800 teachers across the nation and 431 in Illinois to receive the 2006 certification. District 15 currently has 81 NBPTS-certified teachers on staff, although a total of 96 have earned the prestigious credential while teaching in the district.
NBPTS certification is a voluntary process achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete. The assessment measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. The process includes creation of a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes, and a thorough self-analysis of their classroom teaching, as well as an “assessment center” that measures their knowledge of the area in which they teach.
 Kowalczyk is currently a first-grade teacher at Marion Jordan School. She has been with District 15 for ten years. Now in her third year of teaching first grade, she also has taught cross-categorical special education pre-school at Conyers Learning Academy, special education developmental kindergarten at Central Road, and kindergarten at Lake Louise, Thomas Jefferson, and Marion Jordan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis.; a master of arts in teaching (early childhood) with a special education endorsement, an elementary education certification and an ESL endorsement, all from National-Louis University; and she’s currently completing a master’s of science in educational administration from Northern Illinois University and will earn her Type 75 certificate.
 Quesse has been teaching autism classrooms in District 15 for six years. She’s currently teaching the junior high Structured for Independence (SIP) program at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School, and previously taught at Plum Grove Junior High School and Marion Jordan School. She has 22 years of teaching experience, including ten years in Fox Lake. She attended Northern Illinois University and Harper College before earning her B.A. in special education from Northeastern Illinois University, where she also earned an M.A. in special education.
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