Education

School District Plans To Import Foreign Teachers Amid Staffing Shortage

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To address its teacher shortage, a Virginia school district is considering bringing in foreign teachers beginning in the 2023-2024 school year to staff its classrooms, according to WTOP News.

Fairfax County Public Schools is working on a partnership with the Barbados Ministry of Education to hire teachers for its school district from the Caribbean island, according to WTOP News. The school district is set to meet in October with the Barbados teachers union to discuss the partnership, which would span from June 2023 until June 2024, with the school district helping to provide housing for the teachers.

Teachers from Barbados have been applying to the program since September and can continue to apply until March, WTOP News reported. To apply, teachers must present a degree and transcript approved by the Virginia Department of Education.

The teachers must also get a letter of qualification from the state and be able to receive their teaching license through one of the state’s approved methods, WTOP News reported. The school district is planning to meet monthly with the teachers union to discuss the deal.

In August, Fairfax County Public Schools announced it was about 99% staffed and hoped to have an educator who is “currently licensed, or working to attain their licensure” in every classroom.

Other states facing teacher shortages are turning to veterans and retired teachers; Florida is allowing veterans to teach if they meet several requirements such as having completed 60 college credits while maintaining at least a 2.5 grade point average and at least 48 months of military service with an honorable discharge, according to the Gainesville Sun.

In New Jersey, teachers who have been retired for more than six months can return to the classroom, and in New Mexico retired teachers can work for three years without work hour limits, Education Week reported.

Fairfax County Public Schools and the Barbados Ministry of Education did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.