Act
lets parents check teacher quality
By Gina Ponce
On-line Forty-Niner
A
new option has been given to parents, which
started at the beginning of this school
year, through the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001, which grants parents permission
to request their child’s teacher’s qualifications
in school districts nationwide.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was
implemented this school year in the Long
Beach Unified School District, which reauthorizes
education of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
This new law may affect Cal State Long Beach
graduates when they start their job hunt.
James Suarez, assistant director of Special
Project Services for the Long Beach School
District, said the law specifically states
that teachers have to be highly qualified
which started after the first day of this
school year.
Gail Mcullogh of the Special Project Services
in the Long Beach Union School District
said a survey was given to teachers in the
district to see where they stood in their
qualifications. She said teachers not within
the highly qualified category have until
the end of the 2005 school year to get fully
credentialed by the state or into an internship.
More than $4 billion will be given to schools
for teacher training and recruitment.
Candice Kaye, associate professor of teacher
education at CSULB, said she sees the role
of newly credentialed teachers in the classroom
as one of informed professionals.
She said she feels they will be able to
discuss concepts with understanding such
as charter schools, supplemental education
services, the Reading First Plan and issues
relating to accountability of performance
by schools.
Four reform principles make up the act,
including accountability for results, increased
flexibility and local control, expanded
options for parents, and an emphasis on
teaching methods that are proven to work.
Suarez said the act is encompassing and
that all departments in the district have
taken a portion to focus on.
To implement the plan, Suarez said the Long
Beach Unified School District has put together
processes for the school of choice, monitored
more closely the credentials of teachers,
talked to them about their credentials,
and has made sure parents have more rights
to inquire about teachers.
“This law is so new, all districts are trying
to come up with practices that comply with
the spirit of the law,” Suarez said. “We
are trying to make sure it is done the right
way with the support provided, but answers
are not coming quickly from the government
about intricate parts of the law.”
Mcullogh said she could not give a final
opinion on the act yet because it is still
in the process of being implemented, but
said it has definitely changed the hiring
of teachers and also the hiring of college
student aides.
Laurie Shaw, a director in the human resources
department at LBUSD, said college student
aides now have to have 48 units, an AA degree
or have passed a college level rigorous
test. Seniors and juniors have priority
of being hired first.
Applicants were required to take a test
before the act was passed that was a reading
and writing test equivalent to the eighth
grade. Shaw said the test is no longer a
prerequisite because the district is using
college tests as evidence of qualifications.
“Just applying is way better than taking
the test,” said Roberta Cook, a senior at
CSULB who has applied for a college student
aide position using both processes.
Cook said the test is better because people
need to be more qualified and anyone could
have passed the test that was administered
before.
Suarez said schools are being held a lot
more accountable for what they do and this
is a more radical approach to get them to
do that.
“We’re incredibly busy. I agree with a whole
lot of the pieces of this act,” Suarez said.
“It is the central goal to put resources
in all the right places.
“The one thing I have a hard time with is
there are a lot of questions going unanswered.
As an educator and a citizen, it is my intent
to make sure students get a quality education.”
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