CAT Tracks for September 30, 2006

Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 30, 2006

HOUSSE & HIGHLY QUALIFIED

Did not see the original "September 15th Memo" referred to below, but evidently ISBE must have ORDERED veteran teachers to use/enter HOUSSE system data to prove that they were "Highly Qualified" under the NCLB mandate. Apparently, IEA interceded and got the "requirement" lifted. However, IEA joins with ISBE in urging compliance by October 31st. A link to the "clarification memo" is provided below.

Incidentally...if you have not yet used the new Educator's Certification System (ECS) - which replaced CeRTS - you might want to do so. It is "new and improved"...and more complicated. It's not bad...after you use it a few times, but definitely different in appearance.

Also, as of now, there is no "EDIT" option...only "REMOVE"...and start all over again. So...try it out...but enter the information CAREFULLY.

From the IEA Insider...

State Board Clarifies HOUSSE Memo
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is clarifying the status of HOUSSE, an option that veteran teachers (teachers who have at least 1 full year of experience) can use to demonstrate that they are highly qualified.
A new ISBE Memo clarifies a memorandum distributed by ISBE on September 15. In the new memorandum, ISBE urges but does not require teachers to submit HOUSSE data via the Educator's Certification System (ECS) by October 31, 2006. The main reason is that staff will be using this data to report the information to the United States Department of Education (USDE) by December 1, 2006. We urge you to comply if at all possible. If teachers do not meet the October 31 timeline, however, they will still be able to use HOUSSE, at least for the foreseeable future, to show highly qualified status.
When reporting the HOUSSE information on ECS, use this process to avoid confusion:

Log on to www.ieanea.org (IEA Website) and access the HOUSE worksheet.

Print the information from the IEA worksheet.

Log onto the ECS system at www.isbe.net and transfer that information into the ECS system.

If you are have already passed the content area exam, or have passed the Elementary/Middle Grades exam, you are automatically highly qualified in Self-Contained as well as the middle grades subject areas and you do not have to go through HOUSSE. Teachers who teach in a core subject area or those who may teach the core subjects in the future should go through HOUSSE to show that you are highly qualified.