Juggling School and the Boards
by Stephanie Capalbo

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

September 15, 2003

The new school year has arrived, and I am fast beginning to feel overwhelmed. How am I going to juggle school and the National Boards? It is becoming increasingly clear that a strong support system for networking ideas will be crucial! I am fortunate to have four colleagues with whom to work closely. We are able to share concerns, reminders about important upcoming deadlines, and ideas regarding the content of our written entries. I also am fortunate to have met another early childhood teacher in the state with whom I can correspond and confer. Just when I thought I already had a solid support network, it became even stronger! My principal is committed to fostering a positive and supportive environment to showcase what we are doing in our classrooms. He has used funds allocated to the building to purchase a digital video camera we can use for the required videotaped lessons. Our librarian has graciously agreed to tape lessons for each of us. How can that possibly get any better? Our principal has informed us that the district will give us one day off a month (four days total) to work on the National Board process. He even is willing to set up a conference room at our town's public library for a quiet and effective setting in which to work. All of those support systems will help to make this process seem more manageable during the hectic school year! 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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