National Board Certification
Colorado offers scholarships and stipends to those educators seeking to become certified with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
Scholarships
For 2012-2013 candidates only
Colorado received federal funding to pay a portion of the fee for National Board certification. Colorado's funding window opened in the spring and has been extended through December 31, 2012. To apply for scholarships, candidates:
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Must be a licensed teacher in a Colorado public school district or BOCES (C.R.S. 22-60.5-112.5(1)(III)).
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Must apply with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (Be sure to check the box that allows personal information to be released to other agencies for funding purposes.)
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Pay the $565 initial and shipping fees to NBPTS. Applicants will receive a confirmation e-mail and be issued a candidate number, which is required for the scholarship applications.
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Complete the Federal Scholarship Application Form and either e-mail it, along with the one page essay and a copy of the confirmation e-mail indicating the payment has been received by NBPTS, to Anne Marie Roberts or fax it to to her attention at CDE at 303.866.6866. All three documents must be received in order for the application to be processed. A confirmation e-mail will be sent once the $1,250 federal scholarship is awarded.
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Complete the Colorado Scholarship Application Form and either e-mail it to Anne Marie Roberts or fax it to her attention at CDE at 303.866.6866. Scholarships are awarded by date of receipt of completed application until exhausted. However, due to both availability and redistribution of funds, there is no guarantee of an award amount.
Federal Application Form 
Colorado Application Form
For 2013-2014 Candidates
Federal and state scholarships will not be available to assist candidates beginning in Spring 2013. Please visit the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Web site for information on corporate or other scholarships.
Stipends
In spring 2012, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 12-1261 (C.R.S. 22-2-501, et.seq)concerning funding of stipends for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards-certified teachers and principals.
The bill outlines the stipend amount and the educators who will qualify for them based on state appropriation, if any. For 2012-2013, a $4,800 stipend will be granted only to NBPTS-certified educators employed in schools that were designated by the Colorado State Board of Education on December 5, 2012 as Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan schools. NBPTS-certified teachers and principals in these schools must have been employed by October 1, 2012, and must remain employed at that school through May 1, 2013, to qualify.
CDE will work with human resources departments to facilitate the application and fund disbursement process. As stipulated in law, CDE will distribute stipends to individual districts, which will then provide these funds to qualifying educators in May 2013, via their payroll system.
Please review the NBPTS Protocol Information Sheet for additional details.
For more information on National Board certification:
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
NBPTS Processing Center
11827 Tech Com Way, Suite 200
San Antonio TX 78233
1.800.22TEACH
For general inquiries relating to National Board scholarships and stipends,
please send e-mails to:
E-mail Inquiries