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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, November 13, 2008

Foreign teachers heavily recruited

 •  More students take ACT, SAT

By Emily Bazar
USA Today

A growing number of school districts are hiring teachers from foreign countries to fill shortages in math, science and special education.

The trend is most evident in poor urban and rural districts, according to educators. Segun Eubanks, director of teacher quality at the National Education Association, the United States' largest teachers union, says many of those districts have trouble keeping teachers for reasons including low pay, disruptive students and a lack of books and materials.

"American workers are not willing to do the work for the conditions and pay we offer," he says. "So we're recruiting them for the same reasons we recruit farm workers and day laborers."

The National Council on Teacher Quality, a think tank, says a new teacher is generally paid $30,000 to $45,000.

The U.S. Department of Education does not track foreign teachers. The American Federation of Teachers union estimates at least 18,000 of the nation's 3.7 million teachers were hired elsewhere.

Kate Walsh, NCTQ president and a member of the Maryland State Board of Education, says it has become more common to hire overseas. "All poor districts have a harder time recruiting," she says. "Anytime you're teaching poor kids in the inner city, it's very hard to get teachers to stay."

Walsh says foreign teachers can enrich students' education by exposing them to other cultures. Eubanks agrees but says the United States must address the underlying shortage by training more teachers and improving schools.

Foreign teachers must pass state tests and meet federal requirements. Around the country:

  • Prince George's County public schools in Maryland, with a teaching staff of 10,000, have 556 Filipino teachers and uncounted others from other countries.

  • Los Angeles has 326 foreign teachers out of 33,529.

  • Wichita, Kan., public schools have 43 foreign teachers, all Filipino, out of 4,000.

  • Baltimore public schools have 593 foreign teachers from Jamaica, India, the Philippines and elsewhere out of 7,000, says George Duque, staffing director. "Retention has been excellent. We've only had 20, max, who have not been renewed or who have chosen to leave."

    Duque says Filipino teachers are a good fit because English is one of the country's official languages and its academic system is similar to the U.S. system.

    HAWAI'I ABLE TO FILL NEED WITH LOCAL APPLICANTS

    By Loren Moreno
    Advertiser Education Writer

    Judy Toguchi, head of recruitment for the state Department of Education, said Hawai'i has been able to fill its vacancies without reaching out to foreign countries.

    "We're able to fill our needs through our local applicants. And when we need to, we go to the Mainland," Toguchi said.

    She also said the high costs of foreign recruiting prevents it from being a viable option for the DOE.

    "We aren't really able to do that. A lot of these people would have to be sponsored to work in the U.S. With sponsorship comes costs," she said.