Hawaii seeks to identify “unqualified” teachers

 About 2,900 public-school teachers in Hawaii are not considered qualified by the federal government, according to a private consultant. That means about 22% of the state’s 13,000 public-school teachers do not qualify under the No Child Left Behind law. The law defines highly qualified teachers as those with a bachelor’s degree, a state license, and proven competency in every subject they teach.

Oregon-based School Synergy has a $250,000 contract with the state Department of Education to identify unqualified teachers and help them improve their credentials. Under the NCLB law, states were supposed to have all teachers highly qualified by the 2005-06 school year. None made it, so the federal Education Department demanded new state plans. School Synergy says Hawaii needs to graduate more teachers from universities, encourage high school students to become teachers, and develop incentives for teachers to become highly qualified. Read about the situation in The Honolulu Star Bulletin online.