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.
-
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.
-
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
