HIGHLY QUALIFIED
TEACHERS
The No Child Left Behind Act now requires that
teachers be identified as highly qualified in the subject areas in which
they teach. The Illinois State Board of Education has automatically
assigned this status to teachers in their system based primarily on information
they have from state testing of teachers. The problem is that veteran
teachers who were certified before teacher testing was required may find
they are not identified as Highly Qualified in any area. Teachers
have the opportunity to correct this and add areas for which they are highly
qualified.
If a teacher has taught 4 or more years in the area they are certified they may be considered Highly Qualified. A fifth year third grade teacher would qualify for Elementary Self Contained K-5 plus each subject area taught at that level. (Worksheets to determine Highly Qualified status are available through the HOUSSE information web sites mentioned at the end of this article.)Documentation of the experience would be kept in a personal file and available only if requested by ISBE. This window of opportunity is limited as their is no indication as to how long ISBE will allow teachers to make the necessary changes.
To
update teacher files, you will use the HOUSSE rules. HOUSSE is the "Highly
Qualified" Option for veteran teachers; ?High Objective Uniform State
Standard of Evaluation?)
HOW TO RECORD HOUSSE RESULTS:
- Go to http://www.isbe.net.
- You will see ECS in the upper left corner or you will see ?Click Here to Access ECS? located in the center of the first teacher certification article.
- Account ID (This is the e-mail address you registered with OTIS). Password (The password that you used to enter OTIS). If you do not remember your Account ID or Password, you can click the RESET ACCOUNT button below the login to enter ECS by verifying some basic information about your account. Follow these steps by answering questions and ECS will eventually find your account.
- Click on the first link, ?You Can Now Update Your Subject Areas Online (HOUSSE)?.
- A screen will appear showing any Highly Qualified subject areas on file with ISBE at this time. If you are already HQ in the area you are currently teaching in or have any desire to teach in the future, ISBE already has record of your HQ status and you need do nothing further. You may want to print out the page to keep in your file or give to the Principal to put in your file.
- If there is no HQ subject area on file at this time you must click the link that says. ?Enter subject area(s) for which you are HQ (using the 4 year rule mentioned above) and follow these steps: 1 of 4) NCLB HQ Subject Application (HOUSSE). It will ask you to confirm your name and social security number. 2 of 4) Applying for new NCLB HQ subject area (HOUSSE). This step provides an opportunity to update degree majors that are not currently on the ISBE file. To begin the HOUSSE application process, click on the ?Next? button. 3 of 4) Select the desired HQ subject area(s) from the first list. (4 year rule.) 4 of 4) Verifies that the statements you have entered are true. NOTE: You will need to select and submit each subject area separately.
Why is this important?
After this short window of opportunity, teachers will have to pay for and
take the state teacher test in order to qualify for Highly Qualified status.
Need more information? Here are a few links to the ISBE web site::
Instructions for Using the Educator Certification System (ECS)
http://www.isbe.net/ECS/ecs_instructions.pdf
New
HOUSSE
Information: Clarification of September 12 Memorandum
http://www.isbe.net/certification/pdf/housse_memo_092906.pdf
Illinois State Board of Education -
Update
on HOUSSE: new information regarding veteran teachers.
http://www.isbe.net/regionaloffices/Default.htm
Section 25.Appendix D Criteria for Identification of Teachers as
?Highly Qualified?
High Objective
Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE).
http://www.isbe.net/pdf/25_App_D.pdf