Recognizing Systems Prioritizing a Financial Commitment to National Board

More and more school districts across the state are seeing the power of National Board Certification on teachers and students alike and encouraging more educators to pursue this process by providing a stipend or increased base pay to their National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs).

More than 50 Arizona school districts provide a stipend or some sort of financial incentive to NBCTS, but following are some of the Arizona public school districts that have most prioritized advancing National Board Certification by offering one of the most significant financial incentives in the state, as of fall 2023.

Is your district providing a stipend of $4,000 or more or a significant addition to teachers’ base pay for being an NBCT and missing from this list? Let us know at nbnow@zk12.org. We want to celebrate your district’s commitment to this work!

• Amphitheater Unified – raise to Educational Specialist level, which is between a master’s degree and doctorate on the pay scale

• Buckeye Elementary – $5,000 annual stipend for NBCTs, and $1,000 for when candidates submit your final component

• Dysart Unified – 5% added to base pay after certification

• Ganado Unified – $5,000 annual stipend

• Littleton Elementary – $4,800 annual stipend, if on teacher contract

• Mesa Public Schools – $4,000 at time of achieving, $1575 per year after that

• Safford Unified – Offers compensation of 3.5% of base pay

• Tempe Elementary – $5,000 annual stipend

For many educators, knowing a stipend is available to NBCTs is what first piques their interest in the process, but National Board Certification brings other benefits. Research shows that National Board Certification positively impacts both student learning and teacher retention.