A New Testing Date
by Stephanie Capalbo

Stephanie Capalbo is working toward National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist.

September 8, 2003

I used the month of July to prepare for what I thought were the upcoming Assessment Center tests. The plan was to use the summer to study and to take the tests before the beginning of the school year. As I wrote in July, books were purchased, materials were collected, the Internet was scoured, and many a sleepless night was endured. Then an unexpected "glitch" occurred. My portion of the application arrived with only days to spare before the deadline, and the generous grant issued by the state of Rhode Island, to help pay the National Board fees, was late. Because of the missed deadlines, all our testing center dates have been changed; they now extend until March. I was unhappy for a while -- I had gotten into the mindset that the tests would be given this summer -- but, after talking with my fellow Board colleagues, we all realized that this "glitch" was probably a blessing in disguise. My completed portfolios are due at the National Boards Center by February 16, 2004. Not having a testing date until the end of March 2004 will allow me a good solid month at the end of the process to reflect upon what I learned and to focus on any areas for which I will need to study more. I've always said that "everything happens for a reason." A friend of mine likes to add "and for the best." We'll see in March! Previous diary entry Next diary entry

Meet Stephanie Capalbo Stephanie Capalbo received a bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in elementary education from Rhode Island College in May 1995. She became certified in early childhood education in August 1997. For the past six years, Stephanie has been teaching kindergarten at Bradford Elementary School in Westerly, Rhode Island. In the fall of 2000, the kindergarten at Bradford became the first and only kindergarten in the district to receive accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In 2003, Stephanie was named Westerly's Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year.

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