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A New National Board Certified Teaching grant, geared at BIPOC and Early Career Educators, is ensuring equity in high quality teaching across Oregon BY MEG KRUGEL
Puilan Cheng High School Math Teacher, Woodburn 2021 NBCT BIPOC Cohort Grantee
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here’s something special about the students who sit in the back of the room. At least for Puilan Cheng, those students remind her of her own story. When she immigrated to the US as a high-schooler from China, Cheng dreaded the idea of being called on. The language barrier felt overwhelming — she would try to hide in the back of the room, hoping her teacher would look past her. Now, as a teacher in Woodburn, where many of her students are from predominantly Spanish or Russian-speaking homes, Cheng connects to their experiences. Though they come from different language and cultural backgrounds, she understands what it’s like to be a student in a system that hasn’t always been designed with ESOL students (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in mind. Cheng is setting out on a journey to change that. “I can relate to their stories. I didn’t want to be asked a question because I might feel embarrassed. I was that person. But as a teacher, I believe learning should come with joy. It should not be painful,” she says. Through a new opportunity grant she’s received from OEA geared specifically to BIPOC and Early Career educators, Cheng is in her first year of pursuing the National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) program — a national endeavor to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teaching through a practice-heavy certification process. She’s been interested in the program for years, having first heard about it when she was a teacher in Florida about ten years ago. The cost of the program was prohibitive – around $5,000 at the
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TODAY’S OEA | SPRING/SUMMER 2021
A right triangle of sunlight frames Woodburn High School math teacher Puilan Cheng, who is on a journey to pursue National Board Teacher Certification to improve the effectiveness of her teaching.
