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National Board Resource Center

About NBRC

The National Board Resource Center (NBRC) at Illinois State University was established in 1999 as one of five national centers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). The NBRC shares resources nationally and has been a leader in building the Illinois program. The NBRC is dedicated to ensuring that all students have access to the outstanding teaching provided by NBCTs.

The only resource center in the Midwest, the NBRC has built the capacity of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in growing the number of NBCTs in all regions of Illinois, as well as providing resources and information about the impact of NBCTs on student learning and aligning programs to the National Board’s Standards for accomplished teaching. The NBRC has worked in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education since 2002 to ensure that all Illinois educators have access to information, professional development, and support regarding National Board Certification.

While the NBRC is one of the leading voices for National Board Certification in Illinois, it has also gained a national reputation for excellence in providing services to teachers seeking National Board Certification. Educators all across the country access the NBRC website for high-quality training materials and information to develop their own local programs.


Our Mission

The National Board Resource Center supports diverse educators seeking National Board Certification, builds the capacity of National Board Certified Teachers to improve teaching and student learning through mentoring and facilitating professional development, and partners with educational stakeholders to elevate the teaching profession.


Our Vision

The National Board Resource Center is working to ensure:

  • Every teacher in Illinois is on a path to accomplished teaching by becoming National Board Certified. Becoming a National Board Certified Teacher is a career continuum for teachers. It starts in pre-service teacher preparation, leading aspiring teachers to pursue and achieve National Board Certification. The continuum culminates in meaningful teacher leadership roles for those who wish to seek them.
  • Every educational stakeholder in Illinois understands the value of the reflective professional development process that the journey to National Board Certification provides teachers. All schools recognize teacher improvement is critically important for schools trying to improve their performance.

NBRC Equity Statement

The National Board Resource Center (NBRC) accepts the responsibility to achieve educational equity by providing an inclusive opportunity and environment for teachers to pursue National Board Certification. The NBRC ensures that all policies, programs, and practices affirm the strengths of teachers’ diverse backgrounds and life experiences in order to deliver the comprehensive supports and professional development for teachers to become National Board Certified.

The national board resource center at Illinois State University works hard to align with our diversity and equity statement through the following ways:

  •  Researching where our current national board certified teachers and school counselors reside so we can see areas of need
  •  Researching which schools in Illinois have over 10% diverse teachers, and then using this information to schedule meetings with administration starting with the most diverse
  •  Researching all types of diversity in the state of Illinois, and which schools should be contacted in order to encourage national board certification
  •  We currently have some targeted areas that we will reach out to the spring and summer: Peoria school, District, Decatur, and Joliet are among the top areas we intend to recruit
  •  Our affinity team also works with us to ensure diverse teachers and school counselors feel supported on their journey through national board certification, and they also help us create materials from a diversity perspective
  •  The national resource center staff is also diverse and can use their individual experiences, trainings, and certifications to help our candidates and our national board certified teachers and school counselors

Findings as of FY24 can be found HERE