ADE Director's Communication Memo Form


Memo Number : LIC-09-017

Date Created : 10/27/2008

Attention:

Superintendents
Co-op Directors
Elementary Principals
Middle School Principals
High School Principals
other: Co-Op Coordinators

Type of Memo: Informational
Response Required: Yes
   
Section:   Human Resources/Licensure - Beverly A. Williams, Assistant Commissioner
Subject:
LEA Plan for Highly Qualified Teachers

Regulatory Authority:
NCLB

Contact Person:
Beverly Williams

Phone Number:
683-4095

E-mail:
Beverly.Williams@arkansas.gov

Pursuant to the United States Department of Education, all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are to submit a plan for meeting the requirements for 100% Highly Qualified Teachers to the state agency. Schools and districts completed this data for the first time in January 2007. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), is required to continue to monitor how the local schools and districts will obtain the national and state goal to insure that 100% of all core academic classes are taught by highly qualified teachers. However; since all Arkansas schools have not met the national standard of 100% HQT, this monitoring process must continue for all Arkansas Schools and Districts. (This will be done every other year, since the USDOE is expecting the state to monitor the progress of each LEA every two years.)

The form for Arkansas, which was designed and approved by the federal government in 2006, has been updated and is attached.

On Friday, December 5, 2008, the Department will be hosting a compressed interactive videoconference (CIV) to assist all principals, district HQT designees, and superintendents with the completion of the LEA plans for both schools and districts. ADE is requesting that each school/district have at least one or more persons in attendance at this videoconference. The directors and coordinators of the Educational Service Cooperatives Co-operatives have agreed to assist all schools/districts with this process. Please register for the videoconference with the local cooperative or contact Belinda Kittrell at Belnida.Kittrell@arkansas.gov

Pages one (1) and two (2) of the plan are to be completed from total district data compiled from the Cycle 2 reports during the last two school years. Please notice under Item #1, Table A is the data on the ‘Total Number of Teachers in Core Academic Areas.’ These teachers are those defined by No Child Left Behind and teaching the following areas: mathematics, English/language arts, science, social studies, reading, art, music and foreign languages. (Special education teachers and alternative learning environment teachers who are teachers of record in these areas shall also be included.)

Table B under Item #1 should list the number of core academic classes (sections); i.e. a first grade teacher may have 5 classes, one each in math, science, English/language arts, social studies and reading, and more if they also teach music or art. Similarly a seventh grade English teacher may have five sections of English and thus would be counted as 5 classes, etc. No conference periods or non-core academic classes that these teachers teach are to be included in this count.

Responses to Items #2 and #3 on the second page may be submitted as lists and should be concise.

The information and table on Page Three (3) of the plan is to be completed for each individual school in the district. On the first portion, the individual schools are to compute the percent of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers in the school. This is similar to the District data in Table A of Item #1. The individual teachers of core academic areas not highly qualified are then to be identified with the additional information requested. Individual teacher plans to become highly qualified for each of these teachers listed under Item #4 are to be included. (A form for providing an individual teacher plan for becoming highly qualified is attached.) If the school/district has submitted this form for the teacher with a waiver request in the past two years, please do not create a new form; but, attach a copy of the original form to Page 3. If the school/district has not submitted an individual plan for each teacher not highly qualified, please use the attached Individual Teacher Plan to become Highly Qualified.

The completed LEA Plan for Highly Qualified Teachers with both district and individual school information should be submitted to Frank Wimer, Standards Assurance Unit Leader, and a copy to Beverly Williams, Assistant Commissioner for Human Resources/Licensure, by the close of business on Friday, January 30, 2009.

Please address questions to Beverly Williams, Assistant Commissioner for HR/Licensure at (501) 683-4095 or Beverly.Williams@arkansas.gov

Attachments:

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