Plymouth Teacher Earns Academic Distinction
By Mike Siroky
Pilot News
PLYMOUTH � Some folks never stop learning.
Kathleen Richter, an English teacher at Plymouth High School since 1980, has become one of a dandy dozen of state teachers in her specialty � five this year � to gain certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.
Of the select group, two teach at Plymout. The other is Anna Liechty.
�When Dr. Hill first came here, he started professional growth classes,� Richter said of schools superintendent John Hill.
�I had earned my Masters (at Indiana University) in 1975. My sister, Patricia, told me once, �Heck you don�t have to earn anything else, you�re set.�
�I had thought about that, then we had this chance.�
The chance came along with the Teacher Expectation & Student Achievement courses for teachers in Plymouth.
�I fell in love with the learning part of it,� said Richter. �You know, when you�re away from it for awhile, it becomes so much fun, talking with colleagues, sharing experiences. With TESA, we did a lot of sharing. The instructional part of it is great. Mary Gifford (another Plymouth teacher) and I teach the instructional part. They selected different teachers for different things. �
The stated goals of national board certification: �To advance the quality of teaching and learning by maintaining high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do; providing a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, and; advocating related education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified Teachers.�
The board 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.
It was created in 1987 in response to the 1983 President�s Commission on Excellence in Education report, A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, and the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy�s Task Force on Teaching as a Profession report, A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century.
For the board certification, Richter had to think through a process of basically validating her own life�s work.
�There are six portfolio entries,� she said. �I watched Anna do it for a year then I wanted to do it.
�They investigate methods of teaching, writing, reading, hosting small group discussion/ whole group discussions, professional development and community outreach. The idea is to state your goal, describe what it is you do in class, then analyze whether it is effective, using student work as the proof.�
Richter has never doubted her students would prove the best living example of her gift. She is one of those who connects well in the classroom. Videotapes of her classroom work are used in the certification process.
�I really enjoyed the whole group and large group discussions,� she said.
The evidence of her success comeswith each graduating class. The foundation is in the school itself.
�There is so much support for learning and growing here,� she said.
�When I decided to go for my certification and my sister said she thought I had accomplished a lifetime of learning, I really thought, all of sudden �Oh my goodnes, these is so much out there changing.� I was willing to learn.�
It is no surprise her whole family is based in education. Her husband, Earl, is the middle school principal at Tippecanoe Valley. Their oldest child, Gretchen, 28, has a degree in health care architecture from Clemson and lives in Charleston., S.C. Their other daughter, Heidi, received her degree at the University of Alabama and sells industrial equipment. Their son, Kyle, lives in Chicago and works in the computer industry, having received his degree from Indiana University.
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