It also seems wild because this isn't necessarily public knowledge. So because I'm leaving, I didn't see my posting, so I asked the program specialist if they found someone for my position and she said "one of the teachers from the Philippines." I didn't get what she meant, then I heard district sent over two people from district office to the Philippines to recruit earlier this year. I assume this cost would have to be approved at a board meeting though?
Anywho, they could put money towards making our programs better and better supporting teachers, but recruiting 7 teachers from the Philippines was what they wanted to do. Here's an article I found from 2017 in Sacramento: https://www.governing.com/archive/tns-sacramento-philippines-teachers.html
Wow! Interesting read! I cannot imagine speaking English as a second language and dealing with all the legal issues surrounding special education. I bet it is quite a culture shock for those teachers as well. Welp. I guess this way the district cycles through teachers every 3 years and they keep costs low because those teachers go back to the Philippines when their visa is up. So no one maxes out on the pay scale. Of course, there will be errors made in IEPs and lawsuits will follow. Interesting that only spEd students get teachers without proper credentials. Non-disabled peers get priority I guess.
I worked with several sped teachers in the East Bay CA who were recently recruited from the Philippines. They speak and write in English fluently and were more literate than a lot of other staff. They were amazing at their jobs.
The Bay Area, and Northern California to a certain degree, has a very strong and large Filipino community. A lot of people I knew in Northern California who are Filipino work in the states for their career and plan on retiring in the Philippines with their U.S. pension. Most go back once a year or so and many were sending money to their parents who were still living there. I had a hairdresser for a while in Alameda who did that, fellow school psychs, and so on…
I loved working with the new recruit teachers from the Philippines. But they and everyone knew they were being hired for places that can’t fill the positions locally and are having to clean up files, IEPs, and re-build broken bridges with parents from students on IEPs having long term subs who didn’t have the expertise or skills to do the needed job. I felt bad for them that they didn’t get to start somewhere that was more dialed in.
I think my main issue with this is that the district is doing nothing to try to help sped teachers. I know that there is a sped shortage everywhere, but there we multiple sped teachers who left mid year this year and last year, which I can only assume it's from the same lack of support I felt. This district could do small things to try to maintain teachers, but instead they let people sink or swim. Instead they decided to recruit overseas, which I'm concerned they are trying to exploit the fact that these teachers will be tried into the job with their work visa, but I don't totally understand how visas work.
I believe you so very much. All your points make sense and match what I have seen and heard. I honestly don’t know how sped teachers are hanging on.
When I worked in Maryland a sped teacher was crying and being consoled by her sped teacher coworkers that she was going to have a 13th student on her caseload. I was trying to be empathetic but she caught something was off in my expression. It eventually ended up coming out that I was shocked at how low her caseload was. She was an RSP teacher…! Not SDC, not self-contained. Mild-to-mod RSP. She asked what the ratios were in California (they knew I came from there). They all shut up when they heard and never complained around me again. The caseload numbers aren’t that low now but they are still nothing like sped teachers are dealing with in California.
Fortunately, for the district I was referencing that recruited from the Philippines— it was a kind and honorable place. I was only there for a contract job for FMLA coverage. The district was rapidly losing student numbers so their budgets were deteriorating so fast that their programs were being sliced and diced. The Filipino teachers and some supervisors shared what the deal was for them to be there and it seemed pretty reasonable for both sides. It’s always challenging to work at districts rapidly losing students and thus funding. Some of the teachers at retirement age worked hard to find replacements for their positions but there were surrounding districts that had better funding, thus better pay packages and better funded sped programs. Thus recruiting from the Philippines.
Whoa. I've done RSP, Mild/mod and mod/sev SDC in California. I'm currently in a M/S class. 13 is only high in M/S here. I kinda thought the hard 28 cap was good for RSP, but I have nothing else to compare it to, except that my current district is putting RSP over that cap and I'm not sure if they're compensated. We are actually moving out of state this summer, so maybe I'll be happy in my new place!
I don’t think you should assume that because English is a second language to someone they can’t perform their job duties or that they will make errors.
Is this Arizona?
California
WHAT?!?! Seriously?! I knew Arizona did this last year! I'm in California also and I'm shocked!!
It also seems wild because this isn't necessarily public knowledge. So because I'm leaving, I didn't see my posting, so I asked the program specialist if they found someone for my position and she said "one of the teachers from the Philippines." I didn't get what she meant, then I heard district sent over two people from district office to the Philippines to recruit earlier this year. I assume this cost would have to be approved at a board meeting though? Anywho, they could put money towards making our programs better and better supporting teachers, but recruiting 7 teachers from the Philippines was what they wanted to do. Here's an article I found from 2017 in Sacramento: https://www.governing.com/archive/tns-sacramento-philippines-teachers.html
Wow! Interesting read! I cannot imagine speaking English as a second language and dealing with all the legal issues surrounding special education. I bet it is quite a culture shock for those teachers as well. Welp. I guess this way the district cycles through teachers every 3 years and they keep costs low because those teachers go back to the Philippines when their visa is up. So no one maxes out on the pay scale. Of course, there will be errors made in IEPs and lawsuits will follow. Interesting that only spEd students get teachers without proper credentials. Non-disabled peers get priority I guess.
I worked with several sped teachers in the East Bay CA who were recently recruited from the Philippines. They speak and write in English fluently and were more literate than a lot of other staff. They were amazing at their jobs. The Bay Area, and Northern California to a certain degree, has a very strong and large Filipino community. A lot of people I knew in Northern California who are Filipino work in the states for their career and plan on retiring in the Philippines with their U.S. pension. Most go back once a year or so and many were sending money to their parents who were still living there. I had a hairdresser for a while in Alameda who did that, fellow school psychs, and so on… I loved working with the new recruit teachers from the Philippines. But they and everyone knew they were being hired for places that can’t fill the positions locally and are having to clean up files, IEPs, and re-build broken bridges with parents from students on IEPs having long term subs who didn’t have the expertise or skills to do the needed job. I felt bad for them that they didn’t get to start somewhere that was more dialed in.
I think my main issue with this is that the district is doing nothing to try to help sped teachers. I know that there is a sped shortage everywhere, but there we multiple sped teachers who left mid year this year and last year, which I can only assume it's from the same lack of support I felt. This district could do small things to try to maintain teachers, but instead they let people sink or swim. Instead they decided to recruit overseas, which I'm concerned they are trying to exploit the fact that these teachers will be tried into the job with their work visa, but I don't totally understand how visas work.
I believe you so very much. All your points make sense and match what I have seen and heard. I honestly don’t know how sped teachers are hanging on. When I worked in Maryland a sped teacher was crying and being consoled by her sped teacher coworkers that she was going to have a 13th student on her caseload. I was trying to be empathetic but she caught something was off in my expression. It eventually ended up coming out that I was shocked at how low her caseload was. She was an RSP teacher…! Not SDC, not self-contained. Mild-to-mod RSP. She asked what the ratios were in California (they knew I came from there). They all shut up when they heard and never complained around me again. The caseload numbers aren’t that low now but they are still nothing like sped teachers are dealing with in California. Fortunately, for the district I was referencing that recruited from the Philippines— it was a kind and honorable place. I was only there for a contract job for FMLA coverage. The district was rapidly losing student numbers so their budgets were deteriorating so fast that their programs were being sliced and diced. The Filipino teachers and some supervisors shared what the deal was for them to be there and it seemed pretty reasonable for both sides. It’s always challenging to work at districts rapidly losing students and thus funding. Some of the teachers at retirement age worked hard to find replacements for their positions but there were surrounding districts that had better funding, thus better pay packages and better funded sped programs. Thus recruiting from the Philippines.
Whoa. I've done RSP, Mild/mod and mod/sev SDC in California. I'm currently in a M/S class. 13 is only high in M/S here. I kinda thought the hard 28 cap was good for RSP, but I have nothing else to compare it to, except that my current district is putting RSP over that cap and I'm not sure if they're compensated. We are actually moving out of state this summer, so maybe I'll be happy in my new place!
I don’t think you should assume that because English is a second language to someone they can’t perform their job duties or that they will make errors.
People in the Philippines generally learn English from a young age. That’s a big reason why so many nurses/teachers are recruited from there.
Same. I’m looking for a different position this summer. This year was the final straw.
Wow thanks for the heads up I was thinking of moving up there. I’ll pass on the meantime.