Six Sequoia High School teachers and one administrator have received National Board Certification. They are Nick Muys, Kate Sheehan, Jack West, Jane Slater, Teresa Ignaitis, Kelley O'Hern and Bonnie Hansen . The total number of National Board Certified teachers in the Sequoia district totals 12.

National Board Certification is meant to symbolize professional teaching excellence. The National Board Professional Teaching Standards were initiated in 1987 in response to the 1983 President’s Commission on Excellence in Education report, A Nation At Risk. As a result, an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental agency was organized to create exemplary teaching standards for 30 educational areas.

National Board Certification sets high and rigorous standards for what teachers should know and be able to do. In fact, teachers spend approximately 400 hours on National Board activities. This demand for high rigor acknowledges that the skill and knowledge of accomplished teachers is central to any effort to educate each student to high academic standards.

It typically takes one to two years for a teacher to complete the certification requirements. These requirements include a portfolio requiring six entries, a classroom documentation entry, and a one-day set of essay examinations focused on content knowledge and age appropriate pedagogy.

Nationally, the first teachers were certified in 1985. The Sequoia district teachers listed above have now joined the ranks of this highly trained nationwide group of teachers.