The purpose of this study was to determine how Florida (FL) private, middle
school (MS) leaders define highly qualified (HQ) MS science teachers, and how
congruent their definitions are. The study also determines how congruent these leaders’
definitions are with FL, national, and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
definitions. Lastly, the study determines the major challenges these private MS leaders
have in hiring MS science teachers who meet the NSTA definition of HQ.