Teacher Certification and No Child Left Behind

Under No Child Left Behind parents are entitled to know, the following information regarding the professional qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers including, at a minimum:

1. Whether the teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
2. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
3. The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.
4. Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

If at any time your child has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher not highly qualified, the school will notify you.

Many administrators are unaware of this parental right, many more are aware and resist its implementation. Many teachers resent the information being made available to parents. So the request often has to be handled gently. The fact that other professionals have to post credentials, degrees and qualifications by law or traditions is sometime a helpful reminder.

The Chicago Publics Schools sent out a form dated September 15, 2006. This form was to be given to parents in order to notify them of the right and deadline for receiving the material. Additional information is available on the web site.

As a CPS parent I have never been able to get the material requested in a timely manner. Further, I know of very few parents who have received official notification of the right to request the material and have not meet resistance when requesting the information. The purpose of the right, under the act, in part, is to give parents more information and control of the quality of instruction available to each student and more fully participate in the education of the student.

The December issue of Catalyst Chicago Magazine has an interesting article on What Makes A Good Teacher. It identifies factors that can contribute to a better teacher. Most interesting, it indicates that the worst teachers end up in poor and minority schools. If you as a parent require more motivation to request your teachers credentials, I’m at a loss.