In quickly growing Madison County, with the number of students increasing, officials want to make sure to not just increase the number of teachers, but make sure they have the best qualified in the classroom.

The Huntsville Committee of 100 and The Schools Foundation are nearing the halfway point in their goal of having 500 National Board Certified Teachers in Madison County’s three school districts.

The Schools Foundation Executive Director Stephanie Kelley said there are 218 NBCTs in Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County schools combined.

“We have nearly 50 teachers awaiting final confirmation that they are certified,” Kelley said at the National Board Certified Teacher Breakfast at the Jackson Center on Wednesday. “This means the teachers have completed all of their modules.”

Kelley said an additional 150 teachers are “in the pipeline” working toward certification. Kelley said the number of NBCTs has increased by 40% since the Committee of 100 and The Schools Foundation initially began a campaign to raise scholarship funds for 100 certified teachers in 2020.