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Highly Qualified Teachers

States receiving Title I, Part A funds must develop a plan to ensure that all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified no later than the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Each school district must ensure that all teachers of core academic subjects hired after the first day of the 2002-2003 school year, and teaching in programs supported with Title I, Part A funds, already are highly qualified. The district must also have a plan describing how it will meet the state's annual measurable objectives. Highly Qualified has been defined as holding a bachelor's degree in the subject taught, passing a rigorous state test, and holding a teaching credential. States are establishing specific criteria for this provision and plans for strengthening teacher quality in all their schools.
Guidance, Regulations, Legislation, and Announcements

Guidance
Non-Regulatory Guidance, Title II, Part A, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants (Word)   
For specific information on English Language Learners, refer to sections A-C7.

USDE: NCLB—A Road Map to State Implementation   
This U.S. Department of Education publication is a user-friendly guide to help navigate the road ahead in education reform. It describes ways the Department—together with parents, educators and state and local policymakers—is making NCLB work for students and educators. The law sets the same requirements for all states, while recognizing that the paths they take to get there will vary. The road map breaks down a 670-page law into clear principles for success, and it recaps and frames how states have adapted those principles to raise student achievement. For specific information on highly qualified teachers, refer to pages 22-25.

Regulations
Final Regulation, Part 200—Title I—Improving The Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged   
For specific information on highly qualified teachers, refer to pages 71730-71732.

Legislation
Final Legislation, Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; Title II, Part A, Sec. 2101. Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals   

Announcements
Letter from Secretary Paige Regarding Opportunities For Flexibility In Meeting The Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (March 2004)   

Secretary of Education Letter on Highly Qualified Teachers Enforcement & Expectations (October 2005)   


Related Resources from SchoolsMovingUp

Useful Links
California Department of Education's NCLB Teacher Requirements Resource Guide   
This guide, developed by California Department of Education, is intended to provide information for principals, teachers, and district office personnel to help them determine which California teachers currently meet the federal requirements and what steps need to be taken to assist all California teachers in meeting the federal requirements.

National Center for Alternative Certification   
This USDE-supported site provides comprehensive resources and information about alternative routes to teacher certification, including a searchable database of alternate routes and programs in each state. Information is geared towards individuals interested in becoming teachers, as well as organizations wanting to facilitate alternate certification routes.

New Teacher Center   
This site focuses on teacher induction, school leadership, research, and policy to support teachers from preservice through their entire teaching careers. It provides models, scopes of work, resources, services, and publications for teacher induction and school leadership.

Quality Matters! Getting Our Best Teachers Where They Are Needed Most WestEd sponsored   
This WestEd Regional Invitational Conference web site provides a useful resource library focused on critical issues of teacher quality and closing the teaching gap, including teacher preparation and induction, incentives, and professional development. It also houses an archive of session handouts from the conference presenters.

Teacher Quality (TQ) Source   
This Web site provides information on teacher quality, featuring publications, policy information, and initiatives on preparing, certifying, recruiting, and retaining quality teachers, as well as a searchable database of national and state data on teachers. It is a collaboration between the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) and the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

Title II Technical Assistance   
This USDE Web site provides information on Title II requirements and reporting. Title II supports improved recruitment, preparation, and support of new teachers, as well as requires the reporting of teacher preparation and licensure in every state. Included: contact information, online forums, FAQ, reporting guide and schedule, and links to relevant reports and presentations. In addition, states and institutions of higher education can access technical assistance from Westat through this site.

TQI: A Teacher Qualification Index for California's Schools   
The TQI is a standardized rating system that reflects the credential status and experience level of teachers at California public K-12 schools.


Events
Keeping Quality Teachers: The Art of Retaining General and Special Education Teachers WestEd sponsored
May 25, 2005

In this interactive presentation, Karen Mikkelsen, Program Associate with the Northeast Regional Resource Center at WestEd, will provide an overview of Keeping Quality Teachers: The Art of Retaining General and Special Education Teachers. This powerful, user-friendly tool provides school leaders with resources to address retention of all teachers, but especially those in special education. It contains a framework for action that includes practice that, if implemented, will promote the retention of quality teachers. School and district leaders at all levels can use the resources and strategies to strengthen their efforts to ensure that students learn with quality teachers.

Staffing Low-Performing Schools with Highly Qualified Teachers
April 14, 2004

This interactive event with Ken Futernick, professor at CSU Sacramento, focused on practical strategies that can lead to higher ratings on the Teacher Qualification Index and, in turn, to increased student achievement.


Readings
Career-Long Teacher Development: Policies That Make Sense WestEd sponsored
Author: Joan McRobbie
Publication Date: 2000
Publisher: WestEd

Eight Questions on Teacher Recruitment and Retention: What Does the Research Say?
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Education Commission of the States

Focus on Teacher Quality WestEd sponsored
Author: WestEd
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: WestEd

Good Teaching Matters ... A Lot
Author: Haycock, K.
Publication Date: 1998, Summer
Publisher: Education Trust

How States are Responding to the Nation's Goal of Placing a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom
Author: Walsh, K., Snyder, E.
Publication Date: 2004, December
Publisher: National Council on Teacher Quality

Keeping Good Teachers: Why It Matters, What Leaders Can Do
Author: Darling-Hammond, L.
Publication Date: 2003, May
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Keeping New Teachers in Mind
Author: Johnson, S.M., Kardos, S.M.
Publication Date: 2002, March
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Keeping Quality Teachers: The Art of Retaining General and Special Education Teachers WestEd sponsored
Author: Northeast Regional Resource Center, Learning Innovations at WestEd
Publication Date: 2004, November
Publisher: WestEd, OSEP, NCPSE, NASDSE, Syracuse University, & NY State Ed Dept

Lifelines to the Classroom: Designing Support for Beginning Teachers WestEd sponsored
Author: Zimmerman, J., Stansbury, K.
Publication Date: 2000
Publisher: WestEd

Qualified Teachers for At-Risk Schools: A National Imperative
Author: National Partnership for Teaching in At-Risk Schools
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)

Qualities of Effective Teachers
Author: Stronge, J.H.
Publication Date: 2002
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

Tapping the Potential: Retaining and Developing High-Quality New Teachers
Author: Alliance for Excellent Education
Publication Date: 2004, June
Publisher: Alliance for Excellent Education

Teacher Quality Improves Student Achievement
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Learning Point Associates

The Challenge of Teacher Quality
Author: Hurwitz, N., Hurwitz, S.
Publication Date: 2005, April
Publisher: National School Boards Association

The Quest for Quality: Recruiting and Retaining Teachers in Philadelphia
Author: Neild, R.C., Useem, E., Farley, E.
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Research for Action

Things to Remember During the Teacher Hiring Season
Publication Date: 2005, May
Publisher: Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement

Toward a Fair Distribution of Teacher Talent
Author: Haycock, K.
Publication Date: 2002, December/2003, January
Publisher: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

WestEd Policy Perspectives: Finding the Teachers We Need WestEd sponsored
Author: Hess, F.M., Rotherham, A.J., Walsh, K.
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: WestEd


Other Resources
CEC Resources on "Highly Qualified" Requirements for Special Education Teachers
Author: Council for Exceptional Children
Publication Date: 2005

Innovations in Education: Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification WestEd sponsored
Publication Date: 2004
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education

Measuring Teacher Success: Innovative Developments in Assessing Teacher Performance
Author: Harvard University's Government Innovators Network; USDE's Office of Innovation and Improvement
Publication Date: 2005, July

No Child Left Behind: A Toolkit for Teachers (PDF)
Author: Office of the Deputy Secretary
Publication Date: 2004, May
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education

The Secretary's Fourth Annual Report on Teacher Quality
Author: Office of Postsecondary Education
Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education


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