Section Ed 504.031 - Master Teacher Certificate(a) The board shall, in accordance with RSA 186:11, XXXV and RSA 189:14-f, issue a master teacher certificate in an area of endorsement listed in paragraph (b) to an applicant who meets the requirements for education and experience as set forth in paragraph (d) and demonstrates quality teaching as required under paragraph (e). Any teacher who holds national level certification shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of RSA 189:14-f, I (c)(1) and (3) as set forth in Ed 504.031(e)(1) and (3). The process for obtaining a master teacher certificate shall be as specified in paragraph (c).(b) A master teacher certificate shall be issued in the following areas of endorsement: (2) Assessment of intellectual functioning;(4) Comprehensive technology education, including industrial arts;(6) Early childhood education;(7) Elementary education;(9) English as a second language;(13) Family and consumer science;(14) Secondary mathematics;(15) Middle/junior high school mathematics;(19) Science, including the areas of: (22) Career and technical education.(c) The process and time frame for obtaining master teacher certification shall be as follows:(1) An applicant shall submit a preliminary application to the bureau on or before April 1, consisting of: a. Documentation of the education and experience requirements as described in (d) below, including transcripts of the graduate-level coursework intended to meet the education requirements under (d)(2) below;b. Documentation of a New Hampshire endorsement in the applicant's area of endorsement;c. Employment history verified by the school districts where the applicant has taught; andd. The application fee required under Ed 508.06;(2) The bureau shall evaluate the preliminary application to verify that it is complete and that the applicant meets the required education and experience requirements.(3) The bureau shall notify the applicant within 30 days of receipt of a preliminary application that: a. The board has approved the preliminary application, and will provide the applicant with a copy of Ed 504.031(c)(6) and (7) and a description of the next stage of the process;b. The board has found the preliminary application to be incomplete, specifying which portions of the application are incomplete; orc. The board has found that the applicant does not meet the education and experience requirements of paragraph (d), specifying which requirements have not been met;(4) If the bureau notifies an applicant that his or her preliminary application is incomplete, the applicant shall have the opportunity to submit missing information, provided that a preliminary application shall be complete by April 1 in order for an applicant to proceed to the next step of the application process in that calendar year;(5) The bureau shall refund the applicant's preliminary application fee, less the bureau's documented administrative costs, if the applicant withdraws or fails to complete his or her application before the September 1 referred to in (7) below;(6) After the bureau has notified an applicant that the preliminary application is complete, the applicant shall comply with the provisions of RSA 189:14-f, I(c)(3) by submitting documentation of completing at least 4 written tasks and exercises which: a. Demonstrate that the applicant has reflected on pedagogy as related to the applicant's area of endorsement;b. Relate to the teaching of students, as applied to a particular content area; andc. Relate, in particular, to: 4. Curriculum development;5. Evaluation processes to assess the effectiveness of instruction;7. Community outreach involvement;(7) On or before September 1, the applicant shall select 4 written tasks and exercises intended to meet the requirements of RSA 189:14-f, I(c)(3) and (6) above and present a written action plan to the bureau;(8) The action plan shall detail: a. How the applicant will tailor each written task or exercise to the applicant's area of endorsement; andb. The applicant's plan for distribution of the required evaluation forms under Ed 504.031(e)(1);(9) If the candidate does not meet the provisions of (6) above, the applicant may revise and resubmit his or her plan;(10) On or before April 1 of the following calendar year, the applicant shall submit the 4 completed written tasks and exercises as described in the applicant's action plan;(11) All evaluations and classroom observation reports shall be submitted to the bureau by April 1;(12) On or before June 1, the bureau shall notify each applicant who submits the required tasks and exercises by April 1 and on whose behalf all required evaluations and observations have been submitted by the April 1 deadline, whether or not the applicant has met the requirements for certification as a master teacher; and(13) Any person whose application for master teacher certification is denied may appeal such denial in accordance with Ed 200.(d) To meet the education and experience requirements an applicant for a master teacher certification shall:(1) Hold an experienced educator certificate from the state of New Hampshire;(2) Meet the requirements of RSA 189:14-f, I(a); and(3) Have at least 7 years of full-time experience as an educator in the applicant's area of endorsement within the past 10 years.(e) The bureau shall consider the following criteria in evaluating whether or not an applicant has successfully demonstrated quality teaching: (1) A positive analysis of written quantitative evaluations from students, peers, and administrators submitted by the applicant in accordance with (f) below;(2) Successful documentation of written reports of at least 3 classroom observations by an independent observer designated by the department from outside the applicant's district; and(3) The extent to which the applicant effectively uses his or her knowledge of the professional education requirements of Ed 610.02.(f) Criteria for the evaluations submitted for the purposes of (e) above shall:(1) Be appropriate to grade level and relate to the applicant's area of endorsement;(2) Have been completed within the 6 months prior to the date the completed application is filed with the bureau;(3) Have been submitted to the bureau by the April 1 deadline described in Ed 504.031(c)(11): a. All of the evaluations completed by students present when the evaluation was distributed; andb. At least 30 percent of all evaluations distributed to the students' parents;(4) Reflect the applicant's teaching ability for the school year in which the applicant files his or her written action plan;(5) Be distributed to all present students and parents of the students of the applicant;(6) Be distributed to all students and parents in one class in the applicant's area of endorsement; and(7) Be completed by the applicant's immediate supervisor and endorsed by the applicant's superintendent;(g) A master teacher credential shall be issued for 3 years, provided that the additional certificate as provided in Ed 508.06(c) shall be issued for 1, 2, or 3 years so that its expiration will coincide with the expiration of the credential holder's experienced educator certificate and shall be renewable at the same time the experienced educator certificate is renewed as required in Ed 509.01.N.H. Admin. Code § Ed 504.031
#7923, eff 7-24-03; amd by #8194, eff 10-26-04; amd by #8229, eff 12-17-04