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November 2006
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An Electronic Newsletter
for ICNS Member Schools
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ICNS exists to support
quality education for all
children in the state, to bean advocate
for nonpublic education in Illinois and
to actively promote nonpublic
school independence,
mission and parental rights. |
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The Electronic Report is sent monthly to
administrators of member schools in the
Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools
(ICNS). Its purpose is to provide brief
synopses of developments with the Illinois
Coalition of Non-Public Schools, legislative
updates, and information of interest to
our non-public school administrators.
Additional information may be obtained by
following the hyperlinks that are imbedded
throughout the Report. Comments, suggestions
and additional submissions are welcome.
Past issues can be found by accessing the
following links:
September
Electronic Report
October
Electronic Report
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Certified Teachers Need to Be Certain
ISBE Considers Them to be Highly Qualified
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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:
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Go to
http://www.isbe.net.
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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.
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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.
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Click on the first link, “You Can Now
Update Your Subject Areas Online
(HOUSSE)”.
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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.
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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
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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
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Education in the News |
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URBAN TRAGEDY
Mike Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
pens a column about Catholic school closures
and the missed opportunities of federal
education policies. Petrilli, who served
recently in the US Department of Education,
takes particular aim at US Education Secretary
Margaret Spellings for failing to tap the
opportunities of inner- city Catholic schools
and for sitting idly by while these valuable
resources continue to diminish. Petrilli's
article appeared originally in
National Review On-Line.
RENEWED CALLS FOR SEATBELTS ON
SCHOOL BUSES
New national data show school bus-related
accidents send 17,000children to emergency
rooms each year, more than double the number
in previous estimates that only included
crashes. Nearly one-fourth of the accidents
occur when children are boarding or leaving
school buses, while crashes account for
42 percent, the new research shows. Slips
and falls on buses, getting jostled when
buses stop or turn suddenly, and injuries
from roughhousing are among other ways kids
get hurt on school buses, the data found.
Injuries range from cuts and sprains to
broken bones, but most are not life-threatening
and don't require hospitalization. And while
the numbers are higher than previously reported,
they represent a small fraction of the 23.5
million children who travel on school buses
nationwide each year, the researchers said.
The researchers said the results provide
a strong argument for requiring safety belts
on school buses; something industry groups
say is unnecessary and is more than many
school districts can afford.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/11/06/school.bus.injuries.ap/index.html
BUYERS GUIDE
American Association of School Administrators
(AASA) is introducing an education-specific,
comprehensive online supplier’s guide —
the AASA
Buyers Guide for Educators.
The Buyers Guide for Educators functions
as a unique search engine locating a broad
array of education-related products and
services that will aid educators in making
their purchasing decisions.
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School Safety Resources |
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SCHOOL SAFETY - Resources Available
From Recent White House Summit:
In response to the recent spate of school
shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania,
President Bush asked Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales and Secretary of Education Margaret
Spellings to convene a meeting of school
safety experts and other stakeholders to
share valuable lessons from prior incidents
and emphasize what can be done to shield
schools from future violence. (By and large,
schools remain "safe
Places", with children 70 times
more likely to be victims outside school
walls than within them.) The diverse group
met on October 10, with panels on (1) the
scope of the school violence problem; (2)
steps schools and communities can take to
help avert new tragedies; and (3) short-
and long-term needs of schools and communities
following traumatic events. At the close
of the meeting, Gonzales and Spellings summarized
the panel discussions with the President.
"All of us in this country want our classrooms
to be gentle places of learning, where students
not only learn the basic skills necessary
to become productive citizens but learn
to relate to one another," President Bush
said. "The violence we've seen is upsetting
to a lot of people. But rather than be upset,
it's best for all of us...to be proactive."
Specifically, the White House unveiled a
new
web site as a one-stop
source of information, including a fact
sheet, transcripts and videos of the panel
discussions, and a growing list of federal,
state, and local
resource.That
same day, Secretary Spellings also hosted
a special "Ask the White House"
chat on the conference
and other topics.
New Pandemic Flu Planning Guide:
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
and Secretary of Health and Human Services
Michael Leavitt this week issued a letter
to educators reporting on federal plans
to help schools prepare for a possible pandemic
flu. The secretaries also unveiled a new
pandemic flu planning guide for educators
and announced that funds from Title IV,
Part A may now be used for pandemic flu
planning activities. The letter and planning
guide are available at:
http:// www.capenet.org/new.html.
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Certification and Certificate Renewal |
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On September 5 the State Board of Education
unveiled Educator’s Certification System
(ECS). ECS combines OTIS and CeRTS for completing
simplified certification and renewal processes.
The web address is
www.isbe.net/ECS. Educators who had
OTIS log-ins and passwords will be able
to use the same log in and password to access
the system. New log-ins and passwords can
be created. ECS features both professional
development tracking and certificate information
and online application and renewal processes.
Teachers are encouraged to use ECS and administrators
must use ECS to submit Statements of Assurance.
Use ECS to record professional development
and submit a Statement of Assurance. Certificate
Renewal and Registration can be completed
on ECS after the ROE and State Board approve
the Statement of Assurance. |
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Quote |
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Take time to work. It is the price of success.
/ Take time to think. It is the source of
power. / Take time to play. It is the secret
of perpetual youth. / Take time to read.
It is the foundation of wisdom. / Take time
to be friendly. It is the road to happiness.
/ Take time to dream. It is hitching your
wagon to a star. / Take time to love and
be loved. It is the privilege of the gods.
/ Take time to look around. It is too short
a day to be selfish./ Take time to laugh.
It is the music of the soul.
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Traditional English prayer
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