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PHOENIX (AP) — Schools in some of Arizona's more rural districts are going global in the search to fill a gaping teacher shortage, the Arizona Republic reported (http://bit.ly/1rFItuy ).
Several school districts have recruited applicants from abroad to fill what they say is a statewide scarcity of qualified teachers. School administrators such as Casa Grande Union High School District Superintendent Shannon Goodsell say the teachers he hired have proven to be capable.
"They have master's degrees and most have bachelor's degrees in the subjects that they teach," Goodsell said. "It has been working very well."
Goodsell said the district, which serves 3,800 students, was faced with 19 vacant faculty positions at the end of the last school year. He was put in contact with candidates from the Philippines through an agency. After Skype interviews, he ended up hiring 11 math and science teachers.
The teachers say they benefit from learning about American culture and education. In addition, they say the salaries are more than five times what they were earning back home.
"It was very easy to accept the job," said Rizza Casabuena, who was previously teaching at a private school in her native Philippines.
According to Casabuena, the 11 teachers save money by sharing apartments, food and being voluntarily driven to and from school by a retired U.S. Marine. They all have visas good for three years and foreign teaching certificates from the Arizona Education Department.
Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association, said looking abroad for new teachers isn't a permanent solution to the shortage.
"If we are going all the way across the world when we have qualified teachers right here in Arizona, we should be asking why they are leaving," he said.
Experts say low pay and difficult standards have driven numerous teachers to leave the classroom. A 2012 report from the Arizona Education Association states the average starting salary for a public school teacher was nearly $32,000. Teachers in the Casa Grande district with a bachelor's degree start at $33,550. Starting pay in the Phoenix Union High School District, considered one of the highest-paying statewide, is $38,828.
"You can do almost anything else for $30,000," said Mari Koerner, dean of Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
The shortage has been further aggravated by the retirement of 21,000 teachers in the last five years.
A little over half of 95,000 teachers certified in Arizona are actually teaching this year, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
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Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
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