September 29, 2003               

Dear Parent/Guardian:

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is our country’s most important Federal education law. Last year this law was revised and is now called, The No Child Left Behind Act. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was designed to make changes in teaching and learning that will help our students achieve more in school.

The law requires that all schools receiving federal funds must inform parents of their rights to ask schools about the qualifications of their child’s teachers. Our school receives federal funding and we are happy to share this information with you.

We believe that nothing is more important to your child’s education at school than having a well-prepared and highly qualified teacher. The law requires that all teachers must meet a specific, legal definition of "highly qualified" in order to teach in schools that receive federal funding. The legal definition of a "highly qualified teacher" has three parts. It states that the teacher must have:

New Jersey has some of the most qualified teachers in the country and we are extremely proud of the quality of the teaching staff in the Fair Lawn School District. All of our regular teachers have college degrees and many have advanced degrees. The State of New Jersey has always required a teaching certificate/license for all teachers. In addition, every teacher continues his or her own learning through professional development activities and our teachers are evaluated each year to make sure that their teaching skills remain at the highest possible level.

Most teachers already meet this legal definition of "highly qualified." All teachers hired after the beginning of the 2002-03 school year were required to meet this definition. However, one challenge New Jersey teachers face is that the State does not yet have a test of subject knowledge for the middle grades. This means it is impossible for middle school teachers, or those teaching a specific subject in elementary school, to fully satisfy the legal definition of a "highly qualified teacher" until new test become available. These tests are expected to be available early in 2004. Veteran teachers, hired before the 2002-2003 school year, who do not yet meet the legal definition of "highly qualified" will have until the end of the 2005-2006 school year to do so.

To ensure that every child in every classroom has a highly qualified teacher, the State of New Jersey and our school district are working together to help teachers meet the requirements of the federal law by providing several options. Teachers will soon be able to take a new test, or they can demonstrate their expertise through a combination of college coursework, professional development activities and experience.

A highly qualified teacher knows what to teach, how to teach and has a full understanding of the subject matter being taught. We believe that every teacher in our school is fully qualified and dedicated to teaching your child and we will do everything possible to help our teachers who may not yet meet the legal definition required by the federal government.

As always, I continue to encourage you to support your child’s education and communicate with his or her teacher on a regular basis. For more information on the No Child Left Behind Act, and the role of Title I parents, please visit our website at www.fairlawnschools.org.

Very Truly Yours,

How Can I Learn More?

A presentation on teacher quality for parents is located at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/hqt/index.html

Additional information on the new law and Title I Parent/Family Involvement is located at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/pntinv.html

A Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind is located at:
http://www.nclb.gov/next/parentsguide.html

A section on helping your child be the best student s/he can be is located at:
http://www.nclb.gov/parents/index.html