| New Report Shows Schools Increasingly Hiring Foreign Teachers Over Americans |
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| Written by FairUS.org |
| Wednesday, 23 September 2009 03:55 |
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A report released last week by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) entitled "Importing Educators: Causes and Consequences of International Teacher Recruitment" has revealed that "some American school districts have turned increasingly to overseas recruiting to find teachers" to fill teaching vacancies. The findings in the new report raise questions regarding proper levels of legal immigration and, in particular, the H-1B visa program. (AFT Report; The New York Times, September 15, 2009). According to the report, nearly 20,000 teachers were working in the United States on temporary visas in 2007, and that number is increasing steadily. The report contains a case study of the Baltimore Public School District and notes that the city had hired 108 teachers from the Philippines in 2005. Just two years later, more than 600 Filipino teachers are now working in Baltimore classrooms, comprising more than 10% of the district's teaching workforce. The report went on to assert that Baltimore school officials were leaning so heavily on these foreign teachers to fill job vacancies in their district that they were recruiting less aggressively in the United States: "Rather than attending job fairs throughout the Mid-Atlantic, trying to persuade reluctant American teachers to accept positions in troubled inner-city schools, HR officials can meet all their hiring needs in one trip. At a single career fair in Manila, they can interview hundreds of pre-screened applicants, each of whom is eager to pay for the opportunity to work in Baltimore city schools." (Id.). The AFT's findings imply that international teacher recruitment is displacing American teachers. Amid the current economic recession, declining tax revenues have forced many state and local governments to lay off teachers. (The Wall Street Journal, February 3, 2009). Why, then, are school districts across the country increasingly recruiting foreign teachers to come to the United States to fill teaching vacancies? The AFT report suggests a possible answer: in one school district, foreign born teachers were "paid only $18,000 per teacher for their services, well below prevailing wage." (AFT Report). The AFT report also points out that many foreign teachers are being brought to the United States on H-1B visas. The H-1B visa program allows employers to bring foreign workers to the United States to work in specialty occupations that require "the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent in the specific specialty." (Department of Labor). However, some - most notably Bill Gates of Microsoft - have put forth the misconception that the H-1B program exists primarily to bring foreign workers to the United States to work in technology-related fields. Gates has then leveraged this misconception to lobby Congress to increase the H-1B visa cap so that companies such as Microsoft can have access to more cheap foreign labor. (See FAIR's Legislative Update, March 24, 2008). ------------------ [Editor's Note: The question begging to be asked would seem to be that if American teachers have been unwilling/unable to teach American children the history and information of their country which would instill the justified pride in their own American heritage, the great accomplishments this country and it's freedoms have fostered, then what makes anyone think (or believe) that foreigners, many from countries who dislike everything about America except the money and opportunity, could or would be able to teach them about the greatness of the United States of America? H-1B visas (especially for teaching positions) should be eliminated immediately. There are more than enough American teachers for the available positions, HIRE THEM! With American unemployment at almost 10% why are we bringing in ANY H-1B workers?]
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Comments (7)
  written by Don G, September 25, 2009
I am an American who works with a number of H-1B visa holders. Those I know have special skills in a particular field that cannot be found in American personnel. One of the reasons for the lack of domestic talent is the poor level of education right up through Masters programs. Our universities are not up to the levels of schools in academics, although they excel in political indoctrination. Foreign employees also have a higher work ethic than their American counterparts. Before judging the teachers as "cheap labor" I would take a look at the results in the cla*sroom.
 written by Sandra, September 25, 2009
For welfare recipients to vote for the Socialist Party! I worked in IT, but the jobs went overseas, now cla*sroom teaching? No, there "might" be a need for language teachers, but hire AMERICANS FIRST!
 written by nny b, September 29, 2009
These foreign teachers are not being hired to teach foreign languages. They are mostly being used to teach math in schools with persistently dangerous and miserable working conditions like in inner city Baltimore.
Two of these teachers committed suicide because of how bad the work was. These foreigners come from 3rd world countries and they are desperate to get the money and get to the U.S. I guess teaching was a better option than selling their kidney. They are not better educated than Americans. They are just willing to work for less money and they can be kicked out of the country at any time by the school so the school exercises immense power over them, which the districts and principals love. This is a case of school districts obtaining a labor source that they can underpay and abuse even more than they do American teachers.
 written by D. Murray, September 29, 2009
$18000 a year. I wonder what value we get for that money??? We keep putting more Americans out of work who now have to work for cheaper wages. Lets keep increasing the population of this country with foreigners so we will all be at the poverty level. I can understand a few foreign teachers. But I cannot understand starting to staff an entire district with foreigners at the expense of our students and our economy. Bottom line is that teachers are not running from the inner city kids, it is administrations who do not give the teachers any authority that are driving them away.
 written by Judi Purcell, October 02, 2009
Lots of schools keep their budget down by hiring the cheapest most inexperienced teachers there are. The students DO NOT get a good education this way for sure.
Sen Hutchison said we needed techs because we didn't have enough at the same time my daughter couldn't get a job as a tech because of their giving to foreigners with visa. I wouldn't trust them on this issue at all.
 written by Olive, October 06, 2009
It seems that you miss a big predicament that you all citizens have left to your Board of Ed staff to decide...to provide teachers for your children or not to? You may not like the whole idea of giving the teaching job to the foreigners but with few Americans wanting to take the job, you left the staff with little choice but to hire foreigners who are qualified and willing.
If you really think that you can handle the job and is qualified to do so, why don't you and people you know, submit your resumes to the Board of Ed? Go ahead....teach your own children...
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Unfortunately, you are now part of the jobs that "Americans just won't do." There will always be a "critical shortage of labor talent" that's willing to work for 50 cents on the dollar. I hope that your unions are strong. You'll need them to battle big school boards and large business interests.
Good Luck,
Software Developer: Been dealing with this s*** for 10 years now.