Baltimore Says It Will Rehire Tutors
February 13, 2008 -- Got something to say?
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The assurance was made during a January 11 meeting between Baltimore city school officials and some 300 Filipino teachers teaching in the area. The meeting was also attended by a team of Philippine embassy officials led by Consul Rico Fos and ATN (Assistance to Nationals) lawyer Loy Cortel, and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) officer Oliver Flores.
The meeting with Baltimore officials was to take up, among other issues, the case of 12 Filipino teachers who are working in Baltimore that are in danger of being sent home because the Baltimore Public School Board will no longer sponsor their employment visa due to lack of funding.
But there was no word from the embassy whether it had met with officials of Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS). BCPS, which is independent of the Baltimore city public school system, has announced that it will not rehire more than 10 teachers whose contracts have expired because it was too expensive to renew their work visas.
During the meeting with the teachers and embassy officials, BCPSS official clarified that while it is true that the city lost its funding for some of its programs, it does not mean that they will not rehire the Filipino teachers in the affected programs.
They said that the affected Filipino teachers will instead be transferred to other schools where teachers are needed and where their teaching specialization matches the needs of the intended school.
BCPSS officials further announced that by summer, Baltimore City schools will be hiring an additional 178 new public school teachers from the Philippines.
After being informed that the Embassy regularly holds orientation meetings for newly arrived teachers recruited by Prince Georges County, BCPSS officials promised to coordinate with the Embassy to have similar briefings for newly arrived Filipino teachers.
Fos took the opportunity during the meeting to assure the almost 300 Filipino teachers present at the meeting that the Embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Willy C. Gaa will continue to closely monitor the situation and is ready to render its assistance.
On the other hand, there is no news about the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) not renewing the visas of about a dozen teachers because there is no longer a shortage of teachers in the county.
BCPS officials have reportedly refused to renew the working visas of about a dozen Filipino teachers after their 3-year contract had expired because they said it was too expensive to assist the teachers transition to the next level of the US visa process.
The Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABC), who sympathizes with the Filipino teachers, said the teachers affected have been fully certified to teach in US schools and have successfully passed evaluations during their three-year stint. It said they might have to look for work in other school districts so their visas can be renewed or they will be forced to return home.
The same fate may be in store for the hundreds or thousands of Filipino teachers who have already been recruited from the Philippines to teach in other public schools in the United States if their visas are not renewed.
While Baltimore county schools claim there are no more shortages of teachers, Prince Georges county, also in Maryland, continues to recruit teachers from the Philippines. It is expecting more than 170 new recruits to arrive and teach in its schools this year.
Recruiters here and around the United States have been making frequent trips to the Philippines to recruit more teachers because it has become one of the most lucrative recruiting ventures for US-based firms. Each teacher pays up to $10,000 each to have papers approved and working visas obtained.
Arrowhead Inc. is one of the many recruiting organizations that help school systems recruit Filipino teachers. Robert Gaskin, the countys recruitment officer, says teachers can teach in the county for six years with temporary citizenship. After that period, teachers must seek citizenship or return to the Philippines, Gaskin said.
Cheryl Bost, president of TABC, said that for the past several years, the teachers union has attempted to work out the issue with BCPS but to no avail.
She said the teachers have had successful evaluations, but the school board has refused to cover the costs of extending their visas.
They go over there [to countries like India and the Philippines] and recruit the teachers, give them money for their expenses, provide extra training to acclimate them to the U.S.,” she said.
Bost added: Then after three years, the school system says they can no longer sponsor them. Its a revolving door of highly qualified teachers who have had successful evaluations.”
She said each time shed address the county Board of Education, officials have said it would be too costly to assist the teachers transition to the next level of the visa process.
This has been going on for six years and theyre letting go of good teachers who are needed in the areas of math and science,” Bost said.
In effect, theyre adding to the teacher-retention problem.
To help offset Marylands yearly shortage of between 6,000 and 8,000 teachers, recruits are routinely imported from other states and countries. The Filipino teachers, who earn an average $40,000 a year for first-time teachers, are paid significantly less back home.
BCPS spokeswoman Kara Caulder said the teachers were aware when they were hired that their visas would expire in three years.
We have met our obligations, Caulder said, adding the teachers would probably have to return to the Philippines.
Maryland State Department of Education spokesman William Reinhard told The Examiner this past summer that most shortages are in special education, science and mathematics. He said the schools particularly look for more male and minority teachers.
Schools spokeswoman Kara Caulder said the teachers were aware when they were hired that their visas would expire in three years. The visas are negotiated by the state department.
She said the school system has met its obligations and that the county may no longer be a need to look outside the country for teachers.
We opened this school year with a surplus (of teachers) in math and science, which are tough areas to recruit in,” Calder said.
While this is going on, other states have continued with recruiting teachers from the Philippines.
In Kansas, for instance, 40 Filipino teachers arrived there recently to fill teaching vacancies in Math, Science and special education classes.
According to Superintendent Winston Brooks, they choose Filipino teachers over other nationalities because most regular teachers in the Philippines are also college professors. Many have applied for overseas jobs to earn better wages and provide well for their families in the Philippines.
This month, reports said representatives of Topeka Unified School District 501 will be traveling to the Philippines to recruit teachers who can provide instruction in areas where US schools are finding it increasingly difficult to fill for the next school year.
Springfield, Missouri-based HealthQuest Enterprises will finance the recruitment trip.
Currently, 18 teachers from the Philippines are employed in 11 other district schools in Kansas. Seven of them work as middle or high school science teachers, four as math teachers, five as special education teachers and two as elementary teachers, one of whom is certified to teach English second language learners and the other with math concentration, the report said.
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I just want to ask what agency that the arrowhead inc. connected here in the Philippines for recruiting teachers for Maryland
Thanks
Pls give the exact address of the recruiting agency here in the Philippines for applying in the Maryland. thank you