Topeka ? School districts are feeling pressure to raise academic performance because of the federal No Child Left Behind law, but students aren’t the only ones under the microscope.

By the end of the 2005-06 school year, the law requires the teachers in every classroom, during every hour of the day, be highly qualified, meaning they must master the subjects they teach, with standards varying by grade.

Kansas is starting from a good position. According to recent statistics, 96 percent of the state’s nearly 33,000 teachers are fully qualified. Education Commissioner Andy Tompkins estimated that fewer than 2,000 teachers will fail to qualify automatically.

Teachers can then qualify based on a formula taking into account years of service, coursework and professional development, such as workshops and seminars. Tompkins described the effort to meet the deadline as a “one-time event.”

“It’s not going to be as great as everybody thinks it’s going to be,” Tompkins said.

Martha Gage, the state’s director of teacher education and licensing, said officials want to meet the mandate while ensuring teachers have a depth of knowledge in content. Her office is developing standards and working with schools, teachers and universities.

She said the mandate gave the state an opportunity to make changes in its licensing system, raising the quality of all teachers and ultimately student performance.

“Everybody’s concerned, but everybody’s pulling together on this,” Gage said.

Tes Mehring, dean of The Teacher College at Emporia State University, said Kansas universities have been turning out highly qualified teachers since 1982. That’s when degree requirements changed, forcing graduates to have 30 hours of coursework in a content area, in addition to 60 to 70 hours in education courses.

Mark Desetti, of the Kansas-National Education Assn., said Kansas also requires teachers to hold endorsements to teach in their subject matter.

“Since we don’t just willy nilly let anyone teach, we’re going to come out pretty darn good, if not perfect,” Desetti said.

California and Texas are going to face the greatest challenges, he said, because of alternative teacher certification systems.

Still, he said, the mandate is troubling.

“We’re hearing from the teacher ranks with a lot of panic about what it all means,” he said.

Desetti said while some teachers will need training, new state licensing procedures should take care of future concerns.

That’s helpful to Darren Sasse, a junior high science teacher in Smith Center. He was recently recertified and worries he will have to go through the once-every-five-year process again.

“I can understand the theory,” said Sasse, 30. “Improving education is not a bad idea.”

But fitting a course into his schedule is tough. Sasse coaches three sports and will have to take any additional courses during the summer months or online.

Mike Bodensteiner, program director for the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center in Greenbush, said the center was awarded a $600,000 grant for a program with Pittsburg State University. The program will help 20 teachers in Parsons earn a master’s degree in history online.

“It’s not a huge number of folks, but it illustrates how we can use online technology to make courses convenient,” Bodensteiner said.