Three local teachers received a national education certification recently — the most in one year for the district since 2002.

Lake Havasu Unified School District now has nine National Board Certified teachers who completed a program that has been described as “the most difficult” accomplishment in their lives.

“It takes about 200 hours (to complete their teaching portfolio) and a lot of teachers spend another 100 hours preparing (for the test),” said Christie Olsen, a fifth-grade teacher at Nautilus Elementary School. “It’s completely voluntary. It will never be a requirement. Teachers that chose to undertake this are choosing to do it just because they want to be a better teacher. It is the most difficult thing I’ve ever did and I have my master’s degree and this far exceeded the rigor of the master’s degree.”

Teachers have to self-study, self-examine and self-validate every move they make in the classroom for a portfolio submitted to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The independent, nonprofit group advances teaching quality.

A message left with the organization was not returned Tuesday regarding the rigor of the program and how many teachers have the certification nationwide.

Now, almost 3 percent of the district’s 330 teachers are nationally certified.

“The process asks some really in-depth questions and teachers have to reflect on what they do in the classroom and reflect on every decision they make, how they group children, how they differentiate their instruction, what materials they use,” Olsen said.

She said the NBPT assigns an academic theme and teachers are free to specify their focus. The portfolio includes a video of them teaching, as well as how they interact with the community and parents. Local teachers must then travel to either Phoenix or Las Vegas and pass six timed, computer-based tests that target their subject knowledge.

“The most important element in student achievement is the effectiveness of the teacher,” said LHUSD Superintendent Gail Malay. “The district is honored to have nine NBC teachers. These staff members are committed to life-long learning and they become real role models for other teachers.”

For Sara Williams, a third-grade teacher at Nautilus Elementary, it took her 18 months to work on her certification. She received the official acceptance in November. She agreed with Olsen that it was harder to obtain the national certification than it was to get her master’s degree.

“I’m glad I did it,” Williams said. “I learned a lot about myself as a teacher. This was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. You have to reflect on your own self as a teacher. You have to find evidence that what your doing in the classroom is helping the kids.”

You can contact the reporter at jleatherman@havasunews.com.