Going beyond the state’s requirements.

That’s how Maggie Hernandez, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Calhoun County ISD, described the accomplishment of two instructors who earned National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification.

The accomplishments of Fjola Briscoe and Brittney Rothmann were acknowledged by the CCISD school board during its Jan. 17 meeting. They are the only National Board certified teachers in the district.

The certification is recognized as the gold standard, and the board believes higher standards for teachers mean better learning for students. It was established in 1987 and is an independent, non-profit organization working to advance accomplished teaching for all students, according to its website, www.nbpts.org.

“National Board Certification is the most respected professional certification available in education, providing numerous benefits to teachers, students, and schools. The certification process consists of approximately 200 hours of gathering evidence and reflecting on the individual’s teaching practices,” said Hernandez.

Rothmann said it was a huge accomplishment to join the ranks as one of the very few National Board Certified teachers.

“Approximately three percent of teachers nationwide are National Board Certified. There were only 89 new NBCTs in the entire state of Texas this year, and only 0.32 percent of all teachers in Texas have obtained this certification,” she said. “To be a National Board Certified teacher is incredibly special to me. I am so proud to represent HJM Elementary and Calhoun County ISD as one of the few who have obtained this level of achievement.”

Briscoe echoed Rothmann’s sentiment. “Only myself and one other teacher in CCISD hold this certification,” she said. “I am very proud of all the efforts our cohort put forth during this process, and I am proud of myself for reaching this personal goal and accomplishment. It was a grueling time for all of us who attempted the National Board Certification, but with Angela Tullos as our glue, we were able to submit all four components in less than a year.”

HOW IT STARTED

A few years ago, CCISD provided information on the Teacher Incentive Allotment and the National Board Certification, as well as information on a National Board cohort, according to Briscoe.

“Being that at the time I was a practicing interventionist/dyslexia teacher, I did not qualify for TIA, and therefore I went forward with pursuing National Board Certification through the CCISD cohort led by Angela Tullos,” she said. “Myself and a handful of others started our National Board Certification journey in the fall semester of 2021, and it gave me the ability to demonstrate my professional knowledge and hone my knowledge in literacy.”

Rothmann decided to pursue the certification as well when the cohort was offered.

“This has actually been a personal goal of mine for a long time. I first learned about National Board Certification over 10 years ago when I was teaching in Virginia. A couple of my colleagues were in the process of obtaining certification, and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the timing just wasn’t right for me to pursue it then,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to seek this certification because I felt it would make me a more reflective teacher and Improve my classroom performance.”

CCISD helped with the fees for the four components of the certification, said Hernandez.

The four components are 1: Content Knowledge Test; 2: Differentiation in Instruction; 3: Teaching Practice and Learning Environment; and 4: Effective and Reflective Practitioner.

It took around a year for the teachers to complete the requirements before the exam.

“I joined the cohort in August of 2021, and after careful analysis of the requirements, I started working on the component writings and recording myself teaching before Christmas,” said Briscoe.

Rothmann started the process in May 2021.

“Although candidates can take up to four years to certify, our cohort group completed all four components in one year. I decided in May of 2021 that I was going to pursue certification the following school year. I spent the summer reading, planning, and preparing. We formed our cohort in the fall, and that is when we began the serious work of digging into each component and collecting evidence,” Rothmann said.

It was a challenge for both Briscoe and Rothmann.

“I created my electronic organizational system in January of 2022, and I worked during the evenings and weekends to compile and write my components. The most challenging component was 38 pages made up of written commentary, data, and evidence,” said Briscoe. “I submitted my portfolio in mid-May of 2022 and then focused on Component 1, which is the proctored literacy test. I went to Rosenberg and took my exam on June 1, 2022. It was then time for the long waiting game, as results were not coming out until Dec. 10, 2022.”

Rothmann said without the support of her family, her husband, friends and colleagues, and her cohort, she found it difficult to continue.

“I will admit that it was very difficult at times to keep going. I actually considered quitting when I lost my dad unexpectedly last February. I had gotten a little behind in my writing, and my heart just wasn’t in it at that moment,” she said. “My family, specifically my mom and my husband, encouraged me to continue and complete the process. I made a detailed plan and stuck to it. It took many nights and weekends of nonstop work, but I followed through and completed everything.””

BENEFITS

National Board Certified teachers are actually a win for everyone.

Rothmann said the process reminded her of what she does daily in the classroom and that it matters.

“It has strengthened my instructional skills and made me a more reflective practitioner. I have also earned a Recognized designation through the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program, which will provide a monetary award,” she said. “But my students have a teacher that has demonstrated accomplished teaching at the highest level.”

Briscoe said the certification is a benefit as she works to support the teachers at Seadrift School.

“When teachers are National Board Certified on a campus, it benefits the students greatly because it directly impacts the teacher’s instructional practices. These shifts include adjusting lesson plans and meeting the needs of individual students, using data in new ways to assess student progress and learning goals, and deepening their content knowledge,” she said.

“Teachers by nature are lifelong learners. I continually learn new things, and I try to apply what I’ve learned every single day,” said Rothmann. “A huge part of this process is understanding the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching. It’s all about knowing your students, knowing where to begin, setting appropriate goals, implementing an effective instructional sequence to achieve those goals, evaluating learning, reflecting on the outcome, and then setting new goals to move students forward,” she explained.

Both Rothmann and Briscoe encourage other teachers to go through the process.

“I work with and know so many talented teachers that already demonstrate accomplished teaching every day. I would love to see more teachers in our district pursue this certification and be recognized for the amazing work they already do,” said Rothmann.

“I believe CCISD has a strong cohort foundation to support teachers in their journey. It may seem like an overwhelming amount of work, but with the proper pacing and guidance, it is obtainable for those interested,” said Briscoe. “I want to truly thank CCISD for the ability to complete this career milestone and the financial funding as well to make this goal possible.”

© Getty Images

REDMOND, WA — More than four dozen educators are being recognized this week after receiving or renewing a top teaching certification, according to the Lake Washington School District.

The article 54 Lake Washington Teachers Get Top Certification appeared first on Kirkland Patch.

Feb. 16—Nearly a dozen teachers were honored during the Lee County Board of Education meeting Tuesday night.

The district's National Board Certified Teachers were presented by Lisa Neal, an d the school board acknowledged their efforts.

Jenna Sanders and Kisha Derr, of Lee Early College; Katherine Brown, Jamie Brown, and Mirna Smith, of Lee county High School; Kenneth Neal, Robin Showalter, and Stacia Brink, of Southern Lee High School; Taylor Waters of BT Bullock Elementary; Jan Hurdt of Deep River Elementary, and Graham Rosser of Broadway Elementary, were all honored for the achievements of being National Board Certified.

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

In other businesses, The Clean School of the Month was awarded to JR Ingram Elementary School.

A lengthy discussion over Board Member Sandra Bowen's trip to Tampa, Florida was discussed (see separate article) and a cost of said trip was voted on and approved by the board with a 5-2 vote.

An alternative school schedule for the 2023-24 school year was passionately and unanimously approved, with just one discernment, pushing the exam schedule back to December before Christmas break to allow students to have a better chance with their exam scores while the knowledge is still fresh in their minds.

Cafeteria workers were given pay raises. Managers will earn $1.50 more per hour, and all other cafeteria workers will get a one dollar per hour pay raise.

The next regularly scheduled Lee County Board of Education meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on March 14 at the Jimmy Love Sr. Board Room.

The Commerce Ministry has begun adopting additional onsite measures to check field-level irregularities in organic farming certification. This includes verification of organisations that certify organic farming.

The development follows “various irregularities being observed in the certification activities”, the Ministry said in response to a grievance lodged by Chennai-based service organisation Sri Sri Sri Swamy Vivekananda Trust (SSVT) with the Prime Minister’s office (PMO).

On February 9, the SSVT wrote to the PMO urging that authorities should enforce organic cotton certification to protect consumers and weaker sections of farmers.

‘Strengthening monitoring’

“Based on the severity of the non-compliances, action as per the catalogue of NPOP (National Programme for Organic Production), has been taken by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) against non-compliant operators and certification bodies,” the Ministry said.

Further, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has worked on preventive measures to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents. “APEDA is strengthening the monitoring mechanism using IT-enabled tools and verification of information using validation services with the approval of the NAB,” the Ministry said.

Trade sources said the response came “ironically” two days before Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel, told the Lok Sabha that the Ministry had got “no specific information” on the ongoing scam in organic certification where non-organic produce was being falsely certified as organic.

Loss of Organic India brand

In its representation, the SSV trust regretted that irregularities in organic cotton certification have resulted in the loss of the “Organic India” brand overseas.

Pointing out how organic cotton projects were being certified and how the registration changed many hands between May 2013 and January 2021, the trust said the number of projects so far, have remained unchanged. The certification then went to four agencies. Of these, two certification agencies were suspended in August last year. These are examples of how “the largescale organic cotton certification projects certification has been a “peculiar phenomenon”.

The trust urged the Centre to come up with comprehensive statutory organic textile standards for the value chain.

Stating that the trade was promoting a German-based private label standards firm, it also called for a focus on “the weak organic enforcement” to strengthen the Organic India brand.

The trust also urged the Centre to make public the notice of suspension or termination of organic certification companies, in addition to curbs on organic trade in risky products such as cotton, basmati rice, sesame seed and turmeric.

Restoring consumer trust and the credibility of the Organic India brand as a “vibrant and honest” one is more important than losing income from the trade for some time, it said.

© Trisha Crain/al.com/TNS First-grade teacher Jordan Rivers practices sounding out "ar" with Liam Gulesarian to help him learn to read.

Research shows that children learn better when teachers have a specific type of training – the ‘gold standard’ of National Board Certification.

But dramatically fewer teachers in Alabama achieved that license during the pandemic – slowing the progress of what had been strong growth year over year, according to a state report tracking the impact of increased state funding for incentives last year.

“A student learns one to two months more being in a national board certified teacher’s classroom,” Alabama NBCT Network President Krista Marcum told AL.com.

Beyond becoming a better teacher, board certification has monetary perks, too.

Read more Ed Lab: Some Jefferson County aides surprised by new enforcement of job requirement.

All national board certified teachers who are currently teaching in a classroom earn a $5,000 state-funded stipend, and beginning in 2018, those who teach certain subjects in hard-to-staff schools earn an additional state-funded $5,000 every year.

State lawmakers allocated more than $15 million for the current year to pay stipends and help grow the number of National Board Certified Teachers. Lawmakers began funding annual monetary stipends for NBCTs more than 20 years ago, but the current year’s allocation is the highest funding to date.

The number of Alabama teachers earning National Board Certification dropped to 135 in 2021, according to a report covering the 2021-22 school year. The Alabama Department of Education prepared the annual report for lawmakers ahead of the start of the legislative session.

That annual number is just over half of what it was two years ago.

The state’s 1,700 NBCTs aren’t evenly distributed across the state. Of Alabama’s 139 school districts, 18 districts - most in rural areas - had no NBCTs last year. Another 20 districts had only one NBCT in the entire district. Fifteen districts have two NBCTs.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Chairman Travis Bristol said while having one or two NBCTs in a school is good, learning is really only improved for the students in those one or two classrooms.

“To create school transformation, you’re going to need to have a cluster of teachers,” he said, “and that’s something that the state could create some incentives around.”

Alabama’s $5,000 targeted supplement aims to attract NBCTs to hard to staff, high poverty schools.

And while the targeted supplement hasn’t proven to be a magnet, the number of board certified teachers working in hard-to-staff schools and earning the additional $5,000 stipend rose slightly from 151 in 2020 to 156 in 2021.

Authors of the report called the targeted supplement a “wonderful incentive,” but claim only three districts - Huntsville City, Jefferson County and Mobile County moved NBCTs from a “non-failing school to a failing school.”

The number of teachers applying for state-funded scholarships to help with the $1,900 cost of becoming board certified dropped, too, from 332 in 2020 to 251 in 2021. Scholarships were awarded in four of the 18 school districts without NBCTs:

• Clarke County - 3 scholarships,
• Macon County - 1 scholarship,
• Perry County - 1 scholarship, and
• Phenix City - 3 scholarships.

Decline in interest?

The drop in interest in pursuing board certification was likely due to a number of factors, Marcum said.

“I feel like there was just a lot going on in our state at the time. Elementary teachers were working on LETRS [literacy training], and that was a huge endeavor,” Marcum said.

COVID played a part, too, she added. “I saw a lot of teachers trying to learn how to teach online. It was a lot.”

Alabama’s decline mirrored a national trend.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Chairman Travis Bristol agreed there was a lot going on for teachers over the past couple of years.

“People were literally just trying to attend to their children,” he said. “I can imagine that many decided to, instead of attempting to pursue this application that is for them in service of their children, that they were just trying to ensure their children had some of the basic needs.”

He said he believes the numbers of new NBCT candidates will rebound moving forward.

And the latest numbers appear to support Bristol’s forecast. Alabama had 189 newly-certified NBCTs in 2022, according to newly released numbers. The next report will be issued in December.

©2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Teacher merit pay based on evaluations does not get love from Oklahoma lawmakers, but a bonus stipend based on national certification gets bipartisan support in the House.

Republican Mark McBride authored HB2558, which would deliver a pay bonus stipend from $3,000 to $5,000 depending on the total years of being certified. The bonus would be earned each year on top of the minimum salary for five years.

“I believe in raising the base pay and allowing teachers to have things like this that they can go through to raise their own pay,” said McBride.

The bill passed through the House Appropriations and Budget Education Subcommittee with unanimous bipartisan support.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is the certification that would be required to earn the stipend.

“I don’t know in the education system how you actually come up with some kind of merit based that that works,” said McBride. “But we can have individual programs like a board certified teacher or other things that deliver you a bonus, a stipend if you complete their program.”

It takes two to three years to complete your certification.

“It is rigorous, it’s challenging, and it’s rewarding,” said Claudia Swisher.

Swisher is a retired teacher and spent nearly 40 years in Oklahoma classrooms. She said there are four components teachers go through in order to get certified.

Teachers take multiple choice tests and get evaluated in the classroom on video.

After five years, teachers go through a maintenance training which requires additional hours of writing, analysis, and videotaping.

“I know now I have held my practice up to the very highest standard in the nation,” said Swisher, speaking about the certification.

3,128 Oklahoma teachers have received their certification, according to the NBPTS website, and there are 145 candidates in Oklahoma right now.

The bill differs from a proposal by State Superintendent Ryan Walters because his proposal was based on teacher evaluations done in each district.

“Those who know how to play the game, those who know how to suck up to their local administration are the ones who will take advantage of it or will who will see the results of that close relationship they might be maintaining with an administrator,” said Andy Fugate, Democrat from Oklahoma City.

McBride’s HB2558 has bipartisan support because Democrats see it as a more equitable way of rewarding teachers.

“This process is far different because the evaluation and the effort, quite frankly, is being monitored by a third party national organization and a board of individuals who help a teacher become better in the classroom,” said Fugate.

Feb. 14—LOWELL — The Lowell TeleMedia Center, a nonprofit that provides local programming and broadcasts government meetings, announced its staff are now certified as a union.

After a National Labor Relations Board election Feb. 3, a majority of the station's staffers voted to unionize with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Local 18, bringing them one step closer to negotiating a contract with the board of directors. The LTC Staff Bargaining Unit shared the news in an email Monday night.

This comes after six of seven staff members signed union cards in early December, hopeful that the board would voluntarily recognize them, which they did not. In the announcement, LTC staff stated the board sought counsel in Littler Mendelson, "the largest anti-union law firm in the United States."

Kris Macneil, a municipal producer for LTC, said he was dismayed to hear about the board's vote, but he believes they "realize the mistake they made" and will now come to the bargaining table.

"It was depressing," Macneil said of the board's decision. "You work for an organization and you have opinions of these people who run this organization and you think that they have the same goals as you, and then you come to realize that that might not be true. But I think they've seen how determined we are, how united we are, how serious we are, and how serious the people of Lowell are as well."

Workplace conditions are the staff's main priority in their unionization effort, Macneil said. That looks like just-cause and Weingarten rights, things that "are just common sense," he said.

Macneil said they'll soon put out a bargaining survey for staff to guide the direction of negotiations, which they hope will happen soon.

Before the NLRB vote, staffers reported a board member passing out "anti-union" flyers around the office. LTC Media Specialist Wednesday Klevisha said the papers contained statements citing disadvantages for joining a union, none of which were fact-checked or contained sources.

The flyer contained bullet points, stating that "first contract negotiations take 409 days on average" and "44% of the time a contract cannot be reached," Klevisha said. The messaging was "confusing to receive," Klevisha added, but didn't impact the union's vote at all.

Of the board's vote, Klevisha, who was initially optimistic about their support, was disappointed.

"I think it was definitely sobering to see that response," Klevisha said. "You go in with idealistic notions of, 'These aren't unreasonable requests.'"

Karen Sennott, an LTC board member who sits on the Executive Committee, clarified that it wasn't a flyer but rather a fact sheet. She said the last two months have been "a learning process" for her and the board in understanding the implications of unionizing and what that may look like.

The initial vote in December came at a time when Sennott was preoccupied with the Christmas season, she said. Sennott said she respects the employees' decisions, but the remainder of the process is still unclear.

"We felt that it was our responsibility as a board to allow the election to happen because it wasn't unanimous," Sennott said. "This is a very small staff, we're talking about five, six people, so the whole process was contentious, and it would have been irresponsible for us to voluntarily accept that and not bring it to a democratic process."

When asked why the board retained Littler Mendelson, a firm that has represented Starbucks, Apple and McDonald's to strike down unions, Sennott said it came as a recommendation from someone connected to the board. She said the board received letters from university students calling the firm "anti-union," but she isn't sure about that characterization.

Nevertheless, Sennott said she looks forward to starting discussions. Board members have already sat with staff to stimulate conversation during the process, she added.

"Hopefully, this will allow LTC to still remain and maybe even strengthen their presence in the community," Sennott said.

Courtney Coviello, an LTC production assistant, said the board's vote — held in executive session — didn't come as a big surprise to her. To her, it made sense to go through with an election, given the board's many different voices and backgrounds.

Coviello said she saw the flyer in the office, but that she'd rather not speak on it for fear of retribution.

Having participated in a union previously, in Tewksbury, Coviello said she felt as though she had a voice as a worker and representation that made her feel more secure. But unionizing is also about representing those that succeed her.

"It's really ensuring the future of the organization and making sure future workers of LTC have a voice as well," Coviello said.

As they prepare to start negotiations, likely in mid-March, Klevisha said they'd like to see the board be more transparent, as staffers do not know when or how board members voted when they denied to voluntarily recognize the union.

Macneil agreed.

"I want to see transparency and openness everywhere," Macneil laughed. "Inside the board, outside the board, through all facets of human existence I want to see more transparency and openness."

(c)2023 The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

More than 50 certifications now qualify individuals to sit for the CSCA exam

MONTVALE, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2023 / IMA^®, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, has expanded its CSCA^® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) certification program to professionals from other certification groups who now qualify for the certification and can sit for the exam.

The CSCA certification complements the planning and analysis skills acquired from the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) certification and previously, only CMA-certified professionals were eligible for the CSCA. The skills acquired by earning the accounting and finance certifications that now qualify for the CSCA also provide a strong knowledge base to master the skills of the CSCA. A list of newly eligible certifications that qualify for the CSCA is available here.

The CSCA helps professionals master the concepts and techniques that are required to become key players in driving strategic planning at their organizations. With increased automation in businesses, it is more important for organizations to have strategic professionals leading the finance teams.

"With routine tasks becoming automated, upskilling is essential for all professionals," said Srikrishna Mankal, CMA, Chair, ICMA^® (Institute of Certified Management Accountants) Board of Regents. "Professionals need to learn on a continuous basis to be effective leaders, which is one of the reasons why we are opening the CSCA to select accounting and finance certification holders. The knowledge gained from the CSCA will foster career development for all those that earn the certification."

Those that are interested in earning the CSCA sit for one three-hour exam consisting of 60 multiple choice questions and one case study. Passing the exam qualifies the individual for 30 ICMA CPE credits. The CSCA is available for testing in March and September every year.

Story continues

For more information on the CSCA, visit https://www.imanet.org/en/IMA-Certifications/CSCA-Certification.

About IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants)
IMA^® is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA^® (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA^® (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis) programs, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. Twice named Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, IMA has a global network of about 140,000 members in 150 countries and 350 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.

CONTACT:
Giuseppe Barone
IMA
(201) 474-1681
giuseppe.barone@imanet.org

Brian Sherry
Stern Strategy Group
(908) 325-3860
ima@sternstrategy.com

SOURCE: IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants)

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/739572/IMA-Expands-CSCA-Certification-Eligibility

Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), home to the largest single-day sporting event in the world, the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, is the first sport facility to achieve organizational certification through the Council for Responsible Sport (Council).

Organizational certification became available for the first time in August 2021. The new standard is based on the recognition of the following core principles: power of sport, resolution of climate change, enablement of social justice and business of sport. IMS was the first to commit to the new framework, implementing year-round tracking of environmental and social impacts for the more than 300 events hosted at IMS annually.

Previously, in 2021, the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was certified a responsible event.

The Council provides a structured approach for event hosts and organizers to measure, implement, validate and Improve the social and environmental sustainability of their events and venues. Certification is earned by taking action spanning five categories: planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity and community legacy. IMS ultimately accomplished 210 credits across these categories, earning silver level distinction as a Certified Organization.

“IMS’ commitment to embrace social and environmental realities and to implement a systematic approach to setting goals, adapting operations and measuring progress is outstanding,” said Rico Tesio, Council for Responsible Sport board chair. “Achieving Responsible Sport certification at an organizational level is not only a real milestone in the venue’s own storied history but also demonstrates leadership in motorsport and beyond and should be celebrated as vigorously as any checkered flag waved on the famous Yard of Bricks.”

Key partnerships and the implementation of new tracking technology helped IMS achieve this landmark goal. With the addition of the new organizational certification, the Council implemented ReScore, a system designed to help venues track their progress. WM Sustainability Services was critical in IMS’ sustainability journey, providing support by documenting a variety of resource management credits relating to emissions calculations, waste diversion and energy consumption.

“This is a monumental and impactful achievement for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earned through a comprehensive commitment to innovation and hard work that safeguards our community and leads the way in our sport,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We learned a lot in 2021 when we received our event certification for the Indy 500. That process helped us get to this moment, where we are now tracking the impact of our events throughout the year and implementing systemic programs that yield results.

“We remain committed to becoming the most sustainable motorsport venue in the world, and we are grateful for the support and enthusiasm shown by our fans as we continue to identify new opportunities to encourage their participation in this journey.”

As part of the new certification, IMS implemented new standards and procedures. This includes the development of a diversity, equity and inclusion plan, along with a public commitment to the measurement and mitigation of environmental impacts. IMS expanded waste diversion efforts beyond the Indianapolis 500 to include events hosted at IMS year-round. Additionally, IMS adopted new procurement policies and protocols, eliminating single-use plastic and Styrofoam in office spaces, in addition to prioritizing purchases from women- and minority-owned businesses and businesses with sustainability related certifications.

IMS will host three NTT INDYCAR SERIES events in 2023: GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 13, 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 28 and the Gallagher Grand Prix on Saturday, Aug. 12.