“Little Depugh” as the younger of the two Depugh teachers is affectionately known, is definitely a hard-drive woman.  Not only did she just get her master’s degree in Educational Leadership, she also is the latest Sahuaro teacher to obtain her National Board Certification. A Sahuaro grad herself, Ms. Depugh is in her fifth year of teaching. She teaches Economics, Sports Med, as well as  Medical and Related Health in Room 404B.  Ms. Depugh recently got her NBCT ( National Board Certified Teaching degree) in Career and Technical Education/Early Adolescence through Young Childhood.

For a state that is at the bottom of the list (we literally rank 51st in the country), getting your NBCT is an impressive effort. In order to receive your NBCT,  you have to submit four different portfolios that are usually 11-20 pages, as well as also having to submit two videos of you teaching. The scoring process takes a little bit and the results are released in December, where the long awaited tension is finally relieved.

In college, Ms. Depugh got her bachelors degree in Biology and her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. When I asked her how she felt about receiving her NBCT, she replied, “I felt really excited.” There are currently only four teachers at Sahuaro that have their NBCT, Ms. Lange and Mrs. Watters (both English teachers) went through the process together, Ms. Depugh (Sports Med), and Mr. Ben Davis (Physics and Engineering).

Arizona currently has 1,376 National Board Certified Teachers and we are 18th in the nation for the total number of NBCT’s.  There are 167 new NBCT’s, and we are 9th in the nation for new NBCT’s.

Her advice for teachers wanting to get their NBCT, she reported, is “I would definitely recommend it, it takes a lot of time and effort but it is worth it.” If you are a student wanting to become a teacher and shoot for your NBCT, her advice was, “Once they reach it, it would be very good for them and give them a good experience.”