Chicago's efforts to encourage and support National Board Certification in its public schools serve as a model for a broad community focus on teaching and learning. Thanks to a coalition of Chicago public and private organizations committed to promoting National Board Certification, the number of National Board Certified Teachers in the nation's third-largest public school system rose from 11 to 1,200 in less than a decade. Incredibly, nearly 90 percent of all Chicago teachers who have become NBCTs in the past decade remain in the school system, and school leaders say they are one of the factors behind the improving achievement trends throughout the district. In addition, as NBCTs take on more leadership positions both at the school and district levels, they have begun to spread best practices and help sustain reform. In his role as U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan has focused on building human capital in schools and praised the work of NBCTs in Chicago and nationwide. This paper talks about the success of Chicago in its efforts to support the National Board Certification in its public schools.