I have recieved a lot of emails lately from readers who want to know more about National Boards and my process as well about my thoughts on a graduate program so I thought I would write a post about it. So far the National Board process has been wonderful. I work in a district that does not pay you to complete the process however they did a few years back. I wish I would have been eligible to begin boards when they were still paying for it. I have mapped out a timeline of when to complete each entry and I have had several friends who are very supportive and read my entries for me. I am lucky because I have so many friends from my reading program that are able to help as well as another teacher on my grade level who recently became certified. If you are thinking about starting boards I really recommend it. So far the process has been seamless, although I have not started video tapping anything yet (this is the scary part for me). My advice to those of you who are thinking about beginning the process is to visit the National Boards website and read over each option. Then make a timeline for each entry and when you would like to complete it. I have been overwhelmed with the amount of readers who have said they would help me through this process.

As far as the graduate program is concerned, the hardest part about the application process in my eyes was the testing. I had to take both the GRE and the MAT and I am a terrible test taker. If you are looking for some help in those areas here are some helpful places to start gmat prep and veritas prep. Also I went to the bookstore and bought every thing I could think of to study with. I bought vocabulary cards (so not helpful or worth your money) and many practice workbooks. I am terrible at math so everyday I took a practice test. My poor husband! He spent many hours tutoring me.

I thoroughly enjoyed my reading program, I feel like I learned a lot about the research behind strategies and I made lots of friends. If you are debating getting a masters, I would say go for it. I am so glad I did!
I hope this answers some of our questions, and doesn't bore the rest of you too much! Once again thanks for reading.