LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Los Alamos Public Schools (LAPS) has announced that eight of its teachers are now National Board Certified Teachers!
Victoria Daley, Jill Gross, Megan Lee, Erin Manzanares and David Parsons are new NBCTs, while Margo Batha, Louise Foliot and Whitney Pomeroy renewed their certification as NBCTs.
They are among 70 New Mexico teachers who received their National Board Certification and 124 teachers who are recertified. LAPS has 30 NBCTs on staff.
“Earning the National Board Certification is an outstanding accomplishment,” Superintendent Jennifer Guy said. “It requires a great deal of time and commitment. These teachers are highly dedicated experts who are true educational leaders.”
“LAPS is lucky to have them supporting our students,” she added.
Victoria Daley/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Vickie Daley is a proud graduate of LAPS (class of 2000). She earned her Bachelors in Elementary Education at the University of New Mexico and her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction in Gifted Education from the College of William and Mary. She has been teaching for 17 years, 16 of which as a gifted and talented educator. She is a proud Aspen Tiger GATE teacher and Odyssey of the Mind Coach. Vickie’s National Board Certification is in the area of Gifted Needs Specialist, and she will use it to continue to improve gifted education at Aspen and across our district.
“I decided to pursue my National Board Certification because my husband, Matt Allen, who is a 4th grade teacher at Aspen, is also certified,” she explained. “Matt and my colleagues at Aspen supported me throughout this grueling process. I am relieved to have it done.”
Megan Lee/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Megan Lee has extensive experience in education since 1992. She has been an elementary school teacher, ELL teacher, literacy coach, Curriculum coordinator, classroom teacher and administrator. She is currently a principal at Mountain Elementary.
During COVID 2020-2021, she decided to improve her practice and keep motivated during a challenging time. She received a grant from the state and participated in training. Working on her Boards was more challenging than expected. She underestimated the time commitment and necessary dedication in completing the four components of NBTC and did not pass in 2021, but she decided to not give up. “I wanted to show my sons that I would not give up,” she said. Even though she was working at the middle school, and it would be harder to complete this process with limited access to students in the age range, she found a way. “Everything came together,” she explained. “It started with connection to the student and knowledge of the student first. Without that, true teaching and impact can’t happen.”
She highly recommends this process to those educators who are committed to the journey. “I was honored to have been chosen by the NBCT Network of NM to represent Los Alamos at the NM State Roundhouse Jan. 18. to be recognized for her board certification,” she added.
Erin Manzanares/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Erin Manzanares began her teaching career in 1999 as a fourth grader teacher. Along the way, she left teaching for a bit to work at LANL, to start a family, and to complete a Master’s in Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, but then found her way back to the classroom. In 2009, she took another leap, but this time as the founder of a small private school in Abiquiu; La Puerta School for Arts, Sciences & Agriculture.
As her children grew, she looked to LAPS for opportunity. She accepted a first-grade position at Barranca Mesa Elementary. She is currently in her ninth year at Barranca, six of which have been in the library.
“I looked to the National Boards as a way to dive deeply into my position as a Library Media Specialist & teacher,” she said. “The NBCT Library Standards and the five Core Propositions have deeply influenced my programming, curriculum development, and advocacy as the Librarian at Barranca.”
“I started the certification process in 2019/2020; however, my plans were foiled when COVID hit,” she noted. “Still determined, I completed the process last May. It was a very challenging endeavor; the time commitment was huge. Now, being on the other side, I’m so grateful!”
David Parsons/Photo Courtesy LAPS
David Parsons teaches 4th Grade language arts and social studies at Chamisa. He has been teaching for 12 years. “I chose to become a teacher because I needed a lot of support in my own learning journey,” he said. Among other challenges, he learned to speak understandably at the age of 4, and struggled with reading. “I grew up here, and I am a product of the Los Alamos Public Schools. I had strong support from both my parents and teachers. As a team, they worked together to help me turn my stumbling blocks into stepping stones.”
Parsons chose to pursue the National Board Certification process to complete the cycle of giving back. “As others have helped me through my learning challenges, I want to be the best teacher that I can to help others,” he said. “I also want my five children and the many students I teach over the years to know that they can and they should reach big goals. Last year, after completing hundreds of hours of work, I initially missed the certification mark by 3 points. I then had to follow the adage of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’. I redid pieces and parts and made the cut this time.”
“Looking back, I can say that this process has helped me to both expand my teacher toolbox, and use data to make informed and intentional instructional decisions. I plan my units well ahead of time, and I focus on helping my students reach challenging end goals.”
Margo Batha/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Margo Batha has been teaching for 15 years. She has taught English at Los Alamos High School for all of those 15 years, including grades 9-12 and AP Language and Composition 11. This year, she is teaching Southwest Narratives and English 12. She received her National Board certification in 2014.
“Earning National Board certification is the best professional development that I’ve ever done,” she said. “Taking the time to really reflect and refine my teaching practice was invaluable and when it was time to renew my certification, I knew it would be worth it. Renewing my certification was a great opportunity to reflect on the work that I’ve done in and out of the classroom in the past few years and how that work affected my students.”
Louise Foliot/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Louise Foliot has been teaching now for more than 30 years, 24 of which have been here in Los Alamos. She currently teaches French at Los Alamos High School.
“In 2013, I initially pursued my initial National Board Certification to enhance my academic performance and build a stronger French program.” she noted. “Last year, I decided to maintain my certification by completing the maintenance of the certificate. It was hard work, but very rewarding as a professional.”
Whitney Pomeroy/Photo Courtesy LAPS
Whitney Pomeroy has been a classroom teacher for 29 years. She is currently in her 23rd year teaching English at Los Alamos High School.
“I began pursuing National Board Certification in 2017 because I’d heard that it was excellent professional development,” she explained.
“That was an understatement. Out of all of the professional development trainings I’ve taken, all of the conferences I’ve attended, and all of the workshops I’ve completed, the National Board Certification process has been the only one that truly shaped my perception of teaching and prompted me to grow as an educator.”
“Achieving initial certification in 2019 and maintaining certification this past year wasn’t easy, but it has benefitted and will continue to benefit my students just as it has helped and will continue to help me grow as a professional.”
Congratulations!