Ninety-four Mississippi teachers participating in an MSU enhancement program are earning national honors.

They are being certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to raise teaching standards in elementary and secondary schools. Teachers earning national board certification have completed a lengthy, voluntary process that demonstrates accomplished teaching practices.

The teachers were assisted in their efforts by Mississippi State's World Class Teaching Program. Created by the Legislature in 1996, the program was expanded in recent years to include five other Mississippi universities.

Mississippi teachers with the certification receive a $6,000 annual bonus for the life of their certificates. For completing the process, they also are reimbursed the $2,000 national board registration fee, regardless of whether or not they certify.

Completing the assessment also qualifies teachers to receive six graduate credit hours from MSU that can be used to extend their state certification for five years.

Including those accredited this year, Mississippi now has 356 national board-certified teachers, the fourth highest certification rate among all states, said WCTP director Peggy Swoger.