Carolyn's Corner

March 26, 2004
Life around the district is busy, as usual, amid the controversy and conflict. One thing's for sure…PVUSD is never boring! One of the hottest topics this month is going to be what the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements under NCLB look like. Because it is so new and sounds so dire, I am going to address only HQT in this column.

The Highly Qualified Teacher requirements are dictated by everyone's favorite legislation, No Child Left Behind. The feds want every student taught by a "highly qualified teacher" and direct that parents be notified if their child's class does not have one. After much discussion and negotiation, the requirements were recently agreed to between the state and the feds. Because PVUSD has so many Title I schools, the district must have all teachers qualified by June, 2004! Any teachers that have received their credentials after July 1, 2002 are already qualified under NCLB. For veteran teachers there are a variety of ways that you can qualify. If you have a major in the subject that you teach, or have taken a test to qualify for the credential to teach it, you qualify. If not, there is H.O.U.S.S.E. (High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation) which will get you qualified. Part 1 of H.O.U.S.S.E. is based on 100 points which can be accrued through experience, coursework, professional development, and leadership.

Human Resources has recently sent out a worksheet for you to fill out. They are going to take your information and research it for you with your personnel file. Their best guess is that 98% of all teachers will qualify under this worksheet.

But even if you don't qualify with Part 1, there is Part 2 of H.O.U.S.S.E. which is an evaluation/portfolio option which will qualify you. Under Part 2, you can be evaluated by someone who is "highly qualified" in your content area either through observation or a portfolio. Through this process you can also be certified to be "highly qualified."

When you are certified to be a "highly qualified teacher" you will receive a Certificate of Compliance that will be valid in every state in the USA for the rest of your career. If you want further information on this, you can go to the California Department of Education website where you will find the "NCLB Teacher Requirements Resource Guide" which will tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

Just keep in mind that this process does not have anything to do with your credentialing, and if you do not qualify for some reason, there is no penalty. You can not lose your job or be transferred because of this. This is merely another mandated and unfunded federal hoop for the district to jump through to keep its funding!

Carolyn Savino