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Staffing the ELD Program with Highly Qualified Teachers

Background

The State of California requires that all teachers of English Learnes be properly traied. The best known form of training results in a California Language Arts Development (CLAD) credential. Other form sof authorization include various programs leading to a certificate of staff development.

What is a "Highly Qualified Teacher?

Definition from Federal Law

The federal definition of a highly qualified teacher is one who meets all of the following criteria: * Fully certified and/or licensed by the state * Holds at least a bachelor degree from a four-year institution * Demonstrates competence in each core academic subject area in which the teacher teaches (OSPI)

English Learner Authorization

English learner authorization is a term used to apply to a variety of credential authoirzations. In short, every teacher who has an English learner in his or her class must have the proper authorization to teach that student.

Challenges

Most of the teachers in the district have their English learner authorization. For virtually all teacher, the authorization is in addition to their existing credential. A couple of teachers have a specific language development credentiall. With few exceptions, the district only hires teachers who already possess the proper authorization. In a few cases, the district has hired teachers with a condition in their contract giving them a limited amount of time to achieve the proper authorization.

There are several types of English Learner Authorizations. The most common credentials are the Certificate of Staff Development and the Cross-Cultural Language Arts Development credential.

For the last several years, graduates of credential programs in California have had the proper training as part of their credential program. This is considered an "embedded" authorization, and completely meets the state requirements.

Key Strategies

The district has employed several strategies for assisting teachers with achieving the proper credential. These include offering staff development courses for free at one of the district campuses, offering a test preparation course during work hours, and paying the cost of the CTEL (California Teachers of English Learners) exam.

Each year the district verifies that all English learners are being taught by properly credentialed instructors.

Interested parties may verify the credential of any teacher in Calfornia. The link for the site is listed below.

Links

California Commission on Teacher Credentialling Teacher Look-Up Web Page. A teacher's credentially is public knowledge. The state of California provides an online srevice that allows anybody to research the credentiallying of any teacher.

California Commission on Teacher Credentialling Teacher Look-Up Web Page. A teacher's credentialing is public knowledge. The state of California provides an online srevice that allows anybody to research the credential(s) of any teacher.

Chart of English Learner Authorizations produced by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

https://teachercred.ctc.ca.gov/teachers/PublicSearchProxy

References

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). State of Washington. "Title II, Part A: Teacher and Administrator Quality." Accessed 11 July 2009 at http://www.k12.wa.us/titleiia/highlyqualifiedteachers.aspx