Did you get this letter from DCPS? No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Highly Qualified Teachers

Anonymous
I got a letter from DCPS yesterday saying my child "has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks, by a core subject area teacher
who has not met the 'highly qualified' definition." We've been in DCPS for many years and have never seen anything like this. Are these letters new this year? Is my child really being taught by an unlicensed teacher? She's new to the school but has been teaching in a PCS for many years. Do Charters allow unlicensed teachers?


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http://righttoknowhq.dcps.dc.gov/

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Highly Qualified Teachers

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires school districts to notify parents or legal guardians when their child has been taught, for four (4) or more consecutive weeks, by a core subject area teacher who has not met the "highly qualified" definition.

According to NCLB, a "highly qualified" teacher:

has obtained a bachelor's degree or higher; and
has obtained full state certification—in the District of Columbia this means that the teacher has either a Provisional, Standard, Professional, Regular I, or Regular II license*; and
has demonstrated competency in the core subject(s) that he/she is teaching.

* It is possible to have a valid teaching license and still not meet "highly qualified" requirements. This is because there may be a teacher who is licensed to teach in the District of Columbia but is teaching outside of the subject area of his or her license.

District of Columbia Public Schools is working closely with all teachers to ensure that (1) they complete the steps necessary in order to meet the "highly qualified" definition, and (2) they receive support in providing high-quality classroom instruction.

To access information on the non-highly qualified status of your child’s teacher(s) enter your username and password below exactly as it appears in your letter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school principal.
Anonymous
We got one. We also got one last year for our first year teacher (who was amazing) who hadn't had her license transferred yet. It mentioned her name and was addressed to the Parents of (my kid's name).

The odd thing this year is that the letter was addressed simply to our address and it doesn't mention the teachers name. With multiple children at multiple schools I have no clue which child it is! Then it says I can log on with the child's name and ID number. Like I have a clue what their ID number is! So annoying.
Anonymous
I received letters too. All my children have unlicensed teachers for a total of 8 teachers. All core subject teachers except one. We receive this letter every year. Last year and the year before we had 5 unlicensed teachers.
Anonymous
This does not necessarily mean the teacher is unlicensed. They might be teaching out of a core subject area (i.e., they are certified to teach math, but are teaching science).
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I received letters too. All my children have unlicensed teachers for a total of 8 teachers. All core subject teachers except one. We receive this letter every year. Last year and the year before we had 5 unlicensed teachers.


How do you feel about that? Are you concerned?
Anonymous
Mine, all 8 of the teachers are unlicensed, according to the result from the website. I am concerned, but then again I don't know what it takes to get a teaching license. Some says it doesn't mean anything. But if it doesn't mean anything, then why would the city require it? It must mean something. For that reason, I'd rather have licensed teachers, but we don't get to pick and choose.
Anonymous
DCPS did a summer program 1 1/2 years ago to train anybody who wanted to teach there (with no teaching degree or certification). My lawyer friend did it. I think anybody ait any degree can teach there - no experience necessary.
Anonymous
This is why my DD will go to FCPS.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:This is why my DD will go to FCPS.
It's an NCLB issue. Like AYP, "highly qualified" has nothing to do with being a good teacher. It also has nothing to do with "highly effective". You can be one and not the other.

Don't assume the burbs are a panacea.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:DCPS did a summer program 1 1/2 years ago to train anybody who wanted to teach there (with no teaching degree or certification). My lawyer friend did it. I think anybody ait any degree can teach there - no experience necessary.


Hi, I am curious to learn more about the program you are speaking to. I, also came into the teaching in DCPS through a summer program, the DC Teaching Fellows, and would not describe it only using the phrase 'no experience necessary'. There are legitimate issues you can have with the fellows programs, or other alternative certification programs like TFA- but it is best to give them a fair representation. You are correct, that I was not a teacher prior to joining up, but was a lawyer, just like your friend. I had significant experience working with children and was even in the college of education for a stint as an undergraduate, but left because to be honest there was not meat in the courses I was allowed to take. I was also in the program with people who went on to become amazing Math and Science teachers at the HS level, and had made the change to teaching from the private sector.
The summer program involved student teaching and courses in instructional design and delivery. During my first three years of teaching I had several mentors who would watch my teaching practice, help me analyze data, and plan for instruction. I also obtained a Masters in Education, from American, while completing my first two years of teaching. During this time I was also not highly qualified under NCLB, and my parents received letters. The reason for being not highly qualified was that under alternative certification programs you need two years of classroom teaching to become highly qualified.
I have a bias here, clearly, but the letter itself would not alarm me. Listen to your child and track their progress. Keep up with their homework and at home reading. If there are issues with the academic portions of the day- then let that drive your concern.
Anonymous
The letter does not mean your child's teacher does not have a license. To teach in DCPS you have to meet the qualifications for at least a temporary license, which cannot be renewed and is only good for 2 years max. Teachers with temporary licenses also are required to be currently enrolled in coursework that leads to a permanent license, like a graduate degree program. You can find those details on the OSSE website. Sometimes these letters actually go out about teachers who have a ton of experience, and like others have said, are coming from another district or a charter school. The license application process takes several months even if your child's teacher DOES qualify for a full license, so it may just be that he/she applied when offered a job and the license has not been processed by OSSE yet, which would trigger that letter. Also teachers switching grade levels can cause this issue -- My certification is Grades 1-6 for example, but if I was asked to teach Kinder I would technically not be "Highly Qualified" until I took a different Praxis exam -- but that would be the only thing standing in the way of me being "Highly Qualified" for Kindergarten. I hope this helps.
Anonymous
Very helpful. Thanks. I do have concerns about the content of the classroom experience, but agree those are separate from the licensing issue. Just a little disconcerting on top of the other problems.
Anonymous
Fwiw, I taught in dcps for a short time, and was fully certified in dc with a masters etc... a letter went out saying I wasn't certified! I was livid! They took care of it very shortly, and apologized. But it must have been veerrrryyyy disconcerting for all the parents! This apparently happens often.
Anonymous
Another piece of information: experienced, licensed educators in DCPS have been riffed in order to make spaces for unlicensed Teach for America teachers
Anonymous
I got one for my DD. It appears that the issue for these teachers is licensure transfers from other states.
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