National board-certified teachers are highly accomplished educators who meet challenging and significant standards.

The Lindbergh School District announced last week that the following teachers have earned their certification: Katherine Hank-ins, Amy Kaiser, Susan Lauer, Daniel Mur-phy, Christine Pfeiffer, Jennifer Swift and Laura Thomas.

These teachers prepare Lindbergh’s students with the skills they need to compete in the 21st century workplace. They are also involved in many extracurricular activities, including school clubs, coaching, fund-raising and community service.

“Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve national board certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review,” states the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

The certification process requires teachers to submit four portfolio entries. Three are classroom based, where video recordings and examples of student work serve as supporting documentation. A fourth entry relates to accomplishments outside of the classroom — with families, the community or colleagues — and how they impact student learning.

“It is a fulfilling process,” Swift stated in a district news release. “It absolutely made me a better teacher.”

Swift has been teaching for 14 years, 11 at Lindbergh High School.

Kaiser, Lauer, Pfeiffer, Swift and Thomas are national-board certified in Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Mathematics. All five are math teachers at Lindbergh High. Their combined experience spans 59 years.

“I could not have accomplished this goal without the support of the other candidates and my family,” Pfeiffer stated.

Murphy, an English teacher at Lindbergh High for the past five years, earned certification in Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts. He found the process rewarding and “more difficult than earning a master’s degree, but equally instructive.”

Hankins is certified in Early and Middle Childhood/Literacy: Reading-Language Arts. She is a reading interventionist for first through fifth grades at Crestwood Elementary School. Hankins has taught in district for nine years.

Thomas, a Lindbergh High teacher for eight years, stated, “The process has taught me how to vary the types of assessments that I use in order to help see if my students understand the material.”

Lauer’s thoughts about the process are similar.

“It has positively impacted my teaching more than any other workshop, training or classes during my career,” she stated. “It forces you to really focus on how you can modify your instruction to maximize student learning. The end result is that you become a more reflective teacher.”