Nov. 27, 2007 – Teachers with at least a bachelor's degree who were hired prior to 2001 can become highly qualified in their content area through the High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE), according to a press release from the V.I. Department of Education.
"The HOUSSE is an assessment that may be used to verify a veteran teacher's competency if the teacher has not met either the content or the testing requirement in a specific core academic subject as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001," said Alscess Lewis-Brown, education human resources director. "The HOUSSE project is a joint initiative between the VI Department of Education and the Virgin Islands Board of Education (VIBE) and has been approved by the United States Department of Education. Veteran teachers in the U.S. Virgin Islands have until July 30 of 2008 to take advantage of this one time opportunity to demonstrate their subject area competency. Close to 800 teachers territory-wide are eligible for participation in this initiative," she said.
Mandatory meetings for teachers have been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, at the St. Croix Educational Complex Auditorium and on Friday, Nov. 30, at the Charlotte Amalie High School's Ruth E. Thomas Auditorium, St. Thomas. Both meetings will begin at 4:30 p.m. Representatives of the Department of Education's Division of Human Resources as well as district superintendents and representatives from the Board of Education will be on hand to respond to questions.
"Each teacher eligible for the HOUSSE will be provided with a handbook along with the specific template which is based on the review of each teacher's credentials. These tools will enable each teacher to begin taking a look at the building materials they will need to meet the requirements of the HOUSSE," said Brown.
For more information, contact the Human Resources offices at 772-3848, on St. Croix or 774-0100 ext. 8052, on St. Thomas.