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Education Week reported yesterday that the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is mounting a new effort to increase the number of Board-certified teachers in hard-to-staff schools.  (See the National Board's website for more information on this initiative.)

The National Board recognizes teachers who successfully complete its process of "intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review."  It has long acknowledged that only a minority of the teachers they certify work in the schools that need them most.  According to recent research, Board certification raises student performance. In light of this evidence, the National Board's renewed focus on hard-to-staff schools is heartening.

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By the way.... If you're a conspiracy theorist preparing for an imminent attack by space invaders, you will be gratified by a reader comment on this Education Week story. "Those who have done the research know that the underbelly of the Illuminati is Satanism," the reader writes:"This is why they censored the extraordinary eruption of Comet Holmes in October....[A former NASA official] has admitted to seeing a 8 to 9 ft tall alien on his monitor...," etc.  I'm not sure how long this comment will last, but EdWeek has--for the time being at least--created a big tent for commentators