View Content #619
| Contentid | 619 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | DOE and OELA Working to Find Ways to Recruit Bilingual Teachers |
| Body | From: DOE The U.S. Department of Education and OELA are exploring ways to help school districts recruit teachers internationally and to standardize immigration procedures for teachers from foreign counties. A meeting between Eduardo Aguirre, Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, Deputy Under Secretary and Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), other members of the BCIS and OELA staffs, and educators from around the U.S. regarding the International Teacher Recruitment Initiative took place on September 4,2003, at the OELA offices at the U.S. Department of Education. Participants explained that because the growth of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the last decade has been great and the number of teachers who speak a foreign language is so few, individual states, school districts, and organizations around the United States have had to recruit international teachers to teach students in dual language programs. OELA is spearheading recruitment efforts and the uniformity of regulations. Some of the challenges other programs have faced in recruiting international teachers are (1) finding a way to tap into the enormous pool of international teachers right here in the United States, (2) providing those teachers who know little about teaching ELLs or come from an altogether different field with a high intensity training program prior to the start of their service, (3) orienting international teachers to the American education system, and (4) sensitizing international teachers to classroom cultural issues in the United States. The Georgia Project is an example of a successful program. Teachers attending the University of Monterrey in Mexico take courses to prepare them to teach in the United States. Upon completion of these courses, the teachers travel to Georgia on a H1 Visa to teach American Spanish-speaking students. Participants also discussed potential methods to assist groups in need of international teachers with expediting the immigration application process. One possibility was some form of pre-certification that would certify an individual was pre-approved to teach in the United States. A representative from BCIS said that the best action states could take was to make certain they had a good understanding of the materials BCIS needs to approve an applicant before submitting applications. Another possibility discussed was getting international teachers placed on the Department of Labor's Schedule A list, for this would remove the need to prove international teachers were not taking the places of American workers. Other possible solutions were Congress' making a special Visa for international teachers and OELA's working to eradicate statutory barriers that slow up the process. OELA and BCIS will continue to work together in the future on this issue. |
| Source | DOE |
| Inputdate | 2003-09-30 13:45:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2003-09-30 13:45:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
