PINAL COUNTY, OTHER OFFICIALS SEEK INDIAN TEACHERS FOR HARD-TO-FILL JOBS

By Susan Randall
Casa Grande (Arizona) Dispatch
March 26, 2003

Pinal County School Superintendent Jack Harmon has returned from India with names, resumes and CDs for about 50 teachers of math, science, special education and social studies, and elementary teachers that he and three other school administrators recommend for employment in the United States.

Harmon said he went to New Delhi, India, with Paul Street, the Yavapai County school superintendent; Will Williams, superintendent of the Superior Unified School District; and Brenda Hummel, principal of Natalia (Texas) High School, who hired an Indian teacher last year and would like to hire two more, one for her district and one for a neighboring district.

The four interviewed roughly 80 experienced elementary and secondary teachers who would like to teach in the United States, Harmon said.

Each candidate was interviewed by at least three of the four administrators, and their scores were compared to select the best candidates.

"I interviewed people there every bit as competent as anyone I have interviewed here," Harmon said. "Several were outstanding."

The 80 had already been screened from a pool of more than 800 applicants by USA Employment, a Houston-based employment agency that recruits teachers and nurses.

Harmon said the lack of qualified teachers, especially of math and science, is severe in Arizona's rural areas.

High school chemistry, physics, calculus and trigonometry teachers are difficult to find, he said, because they can earn more working in industry - and because many don't want to live in a rural area.

A new federal law, No Child Left Behind, requires that all teachers be certified in their teaching areas by 2005. This year the school districts have to send letters to parents naming the teachers who are teaching outside their endorsement areas.

"Three thousand teachers in the state are teaching outside their certification areas," Harmon said.

The Morrison Institute recently reported that there are plenty of teachers in Arizona, Harmon said - except in the rural areas and in those subjects.

There are a lot of very small schools in this state who have not been able to recruit those specialized teachers, he said.

He added that he does not believe the majority of Indian teachers will leave the rural areas and move to U.S. cities, because they have been living in overcrowded conditions.

"It will depend on how they are treated in the local community," he said "and how they acclimate themselves to the local community."

Bombay has 25 million people living in a city the size of Phoenix (population 3 million), he said.

"That's five times the number of people who live in Arizona living in one city the size of Phoenix."

Harmon said every Indian teacher he interviewed has 50 to 65 students in a classroom. They earn between $2,000 and $3,000 a year (and some still afford maids). Some had traveled 16 hours by train to attend the interviews.

"They really want to come to America," he said. "The people we interviewed just love America."

Several of the teachers have spouses who are doctors or engineers with good jobs, and they are still willing to uproot their families and come to the United States.

Harmon said he does not believe the Indian teachers will have a difficult time gaining Arizona certification. Most have already taken all the required course work except Arizona Constitution.

He will let school districts in Arizona know that he has the resumes and CDs available for them to review, Harmon said.

The school districts can contact the prospective teachers. If they want to hire one, USA Employment will help the teachers secure work visas and settle in the United States.

The teachers pay the employment agency, Harmon said. There is no additional cost to the districts. The employment agency also paid the four administrators' expenses for the trip.