When I was a first-year teacher, my assistant principal came to my classroom one afternoon and handed me a letter to distribute to my students. The letter notified them and their caregivers that I was not a “highly qualified teacher,” as defined by the state department of education. I had passed two subject area tests that granted me a temporary teaching license and was enrolled in a master’s degree program, but I had not majored in education and still had to take several graduate-level courses to attain a professional certificate. The assistant principal assured me my temporary status was insignificant, but the hundred pieces of paper I held in my hands felt weighty. Embarrassed, I buried them under other papers to be dealt with later