The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has announced that Chanel Vaughan Leslie has achieved National Board Certification in the area of Literacy: Reading-Language Arts for Early and Middle Childhood.

The certification process requires that teachers demonstrate standards-based evidence of the positive effect they have on student learning in alignment with the Five Core Propositions. National Board Certification identifies teachers who meet those standards through a performance-based, peer-reviewed series of assessment components. Teachers must exhibit a deep understanding of their students, content knowledge, use of data and assessments and teaching practice. They must also show that they participate in learning communities and provide evidence of ongoing reflection and continuous learning.

National Board Certification was designed to develop, retain and recognize accomplished teachers and to generate ongoing improvement in schools nationwide. It is the most respected professional certification available in K-12 education.

Leslie is a 1983 graduate of Cumberland High School. She received a B.S. in Liberal Studies from Longwood College and a M.Ed. from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville, Alabama. She has been teaching for 12 years at The Academy for Academics and Arts where she has taught first and third grade. She is currently a Girl Scout leader and serves on the Diversity Advisory Council for Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville. She is the daughter of Douglas and JoAnn Vaughan of Cumberland.