Holmes Middle School sixth-grade teacher Edlyn Plute discusses reading materials with students (from left) Leah Davidson, Aaron Goering and James Till in her classroom. Plute recently became the first teacher to earn a National Board (NB) Certification while teaching in District 11. She said she spent close to 500 hours working for her certification – in early adolescence language arts – during the 2003-04 school year. She said she undertook the effort in hopes of becoming “a better teacher.” Through the process, she said she learned “better ways to examine everything I do and measure how effective it is.”

Westside Pioneer photo