Jackie Raye Cooper ’89, a PreK-5 literacy coach in Henrico County Public Schools, earned the designation of National Board Certified Teacher.
Describing the certification process as “the hardest goal I have accomplished to date,” Cooper added that it has had an “overwhelmingly positive” impact on how she teaches. “I follow up every lesson with a quick informal assessment of student learning,” she said. “After analyzing their learning of the skill, I ask myself, ‘How do I need to design the next lesson so that the students who did not get the concept master the skill? How can I create the next lesson so that the students who learn differently understand what I am teaching?’ I have learned that constant reflection is key to all students’ success.”
To earn certification—which was not required for her job—she created a portfolio demonstrating her teaching practice, including videos and written analysis of student work samples. The final component was a rigorous exam. “This was a chosen goal,” she said. “I wanted to be up-to-date on best practices in instruction and literacy to impact student learning to the best of my ability.” Cooper, whose degree is in elementary education, also shared that she is a proud Lancer mom. One of her sons graduated from Longwood in 2020; another is set to graduate this May.
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