This article reports the findings of a study examining the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) members' perceptions of what is required to become and to remain a highly-qualified teacher of the English language arts. An online survey was conducted to ten NCTE members: five teachers, and five university-based teacher educators. Findings reveal that NCTE members who responded to the survey seem to value a type of knowledge base that is currently overlooked in policy debates on defining "highly qualified" teachers: namely, pedagogical content knowledge and the ability to understand and be responsive to individual students' needs as readers and writers, including understanding of literacy development, child and adolescent development, and, perhaps most importantly, how to use these as lenses for developing responsive literacy instruction. English language arts teachers, as evidenced at annual and state meetings, appreciate opportunities to be engaged with each other in conversations about their craft--what is necessary to teach students to be confident writers, speakers, and readers in multiple contexts over time. Highly-qualified Teachers of English Language Arts: Your Opinions, is appended. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)