Contact: Camille Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State again is celebrating teachers who have received National Board Certification through the university’s World Class Teaching Program.

Established in 1996 to support and guide teachers as they work toward this prestigious recognition, the university-based initiative recruits and provides mentoring for teachers as they seek advanced certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards process. Teachers who earn board certification show exemplary teaching in their respective subjects.

The process sets uniform standards nationwide and offers professional and personal growth for teachers looking to positively impact students’ learning. The university is ranked 14th in the nation for total number of National Board Certified Teachers with 997 certified alums. Mississippi is ranked fourth in the nation in the 2019 state rankings by percentage of board-certified teachers at 13.72 %.

The teachers certifying through MSU’s World Class Teaching Program in 2019 (by school district) include:

Choctaw Tribal School System—Jessica Butler, certified in generalist/early childhood; Dawn Harrell, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood; Shanna Ladd, certified in generalist/early childhood; Sharon McKay, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood; Shelley Rutland, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood

Lauderdale County School District—Brittany Baughman, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood; Shacora Moore, certified in English language arts/adolescence and young adulthood

Louisville Municipal School District—Dana Blaine, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood; Chasidy Wells, certified in science/adolescence and young adulthood

Lowndes County School District—Deana Newell, certified in exceptional needs specialist/early childhood through young adulthood; Tiffany Ward, certified in exceptional needs specialist/early childhood through young adulthood; Kelly Brown, certified in generalist/early childhood; Heather Henry, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood

Meridian Public School District—Julie Deen, certified in generalist/early childhood; Walter Littleton, certified in career and technical education/early adolescence through young adult; Martha Pulido, certified in career and technical education/early adolescence through young adult

Pearl Public School District—Candice Cole, certified in exceptional needs specialist/early childhood through young adulthood

Rankin County School District—Laura McKinion, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood

Webster County School District—Amy Hubbard, certified in career and technical education/early adolescence through young adult

West Point Consolidated School District—Ashley Fremin, certified in career and technical education/early adolescence through young adult

Established in 1903, MSU’s College of Education is home to six academic departments, one research unit and numerous service units. For more, visit www.educ.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.