Bilingual or bust
Local school districts travel overseas and open their wallets to comply with laws governing English language learners

March 23, 2008
By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO STAFF WRITER
Troy School District will send two administrators to Spain next month to recruit two bilingual teachers to teach its growing number of students who speak Spanish as a first language.

The trip will cost up to $3,500.

» Click to enlarge image Second-grader Victoria Soto (above, left), 7, and first-grader Karina Flores, 6, look for animals hidden amid a rain forest ceiling first- and third-graders in a bilingual education classroom made at William B. Orenic Intermediate School in Troy School District.

( LIZ WILKINSON ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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"We were not able to find a certified teacher. We had a couple of failed attempts," said Don White, superintendent of Troy School District.

Plainfield School District has had to go to Texas and Georgia to recruit minority teachers and Spanish-speaking teachers. The district will offer to pay for some relocation costs for candidates who have accepted a position, expecting to pay about $20,000 to find 10 out-of-state hires.

Currently, Plainfield's district has about 71 teachers teaching 2,060 English language learners (ELL) and expects an additional 450 ELL students in the next school year.

"The district has tried going to area recruitment fairs and has had some success, but we need to do more," Superintendent John Harper said in December.

These are just some of the creative ways school districts are trying to meet the needs of students who speak Spanish as their first language and to satisfy state and federal laws.

Rising need
The need is huge. The number of ELL students is on the rise and there is a shortage of people who can teach them.
In one year, the state saw an increase of 26,000 ELL students. In 2006, there were 166,000 ELL students compared to 192,000 ELL students in 2007, said Robin Lisboa, division administrator for ELL for the state board of education.

The state board estimates that in the next three years 1,226 bilingual teachers will be needed statewide.

The law requires school districts to create a transitional bilingual classroom when there are 20 or more students in one school who speak the same language. They are taught in their language while learning English as a second language.

Local school districts feel the pinch as they compete for a small pool of candidates.

School districts across the state are recruiting at universities' teacher fairs while large school districts, such as Chicago Public Schools, hold their own fairs, Lisboa said. Usually large districts recruit from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Italy and China.

"There is a need and it varies from district to district, and they try to be as creative as they can," Lisboa said. "They are making efforts to try to meet the needs they have."

Looking locally
Valley View School District started sending an administrator to Mexico City in 1999 because not many universities here offered bilingual education certifications. Seven years later, one of those teachers they recruited, Ricardo Sanchez-Lopez, is director of the district's bilingual education program.
He said there are now more universities offering English as a second language classes and bilingual endorsements for teachers, so there is no need to recruit in Mexico to hire teachers for the district's 1,200 ELL students. Last summer, Valley View hired 10 bilingual teachers who are in the process of getting their ESL and bilingual endorsements, receiving $3,000 each through federal grants to pay for the classes.

Joliet Grade School District has entered in a partnership this school year with the state board of education that pays for a master's degree in education for bilingual people who have bachelor's degrees in majors other than teaching. While getting their master's degree, the four teachers will teach in Joliet schools with the promise to stay three years in the program.

Going to Spain
This year, Troy School District is one of 11 Illinois school districts sending staff to Spain. Other districts going are based in Chicago, Arlington Heights, Elgin, East Aurora and Carpentersville.
For more than 10 years, the state board of education has maintained an agreement with the Spanish Ministry of Education that provides districts with a pool of highly qualified candidates with master's degrees or two bachelor's degrees. The visiting teachers make a one- to-three-year commitment to teach in the U.S.

As of June, Illinois school districts have hired 212 teachers from Spain. Currently, there are 59 new teachers from Spain.

White said candidates must speak English and have money to find housing and cars.

It will cost Troy School District $3,500 to send two people to Spain, but it won't cost Elgin's school district a dime. The Ministry of Education in Spain covers the cost for airfare, hotel and meals for one recruiter from Elgin because the district has committed to recruit several teachers, said Tiffiny Bolden, coordinator of staffing/recruitment/credentials for Elgin School District.

Troy's tries
White said Troy School District unsuccessfully tried to recruit bilingual teachers through run ads in newspapers and national publications, such as Education Week.
Even though the district has to pay to send two people to Spain, White said it's worth it. He said a newspaper ad cost about $900. Running the ad a few times really adds up, he said.

"You are pretty much spending your resources on things that aren't successful," he said.

The district is trying to certify its current teachers to teach ELL students, and has attended bilingual recruitment fairs, White said.

"We are exploring everything," he said.

White said the district's pay isn't the problem.

"It is because we are competing with Chicago Public Schools with higher Hispanic populations," White said. "You want to live and work in a culture that matches yours."

About 25 percent of Troy's 4,300 students are identified as English language learners. The district provides ELL services to students for half the school day and hopes to expand the program.

Joanne Schochat, assistant superintendent of human resources, and Nan Ochs, director of curriculum and instruction, will spend three days interviewing candidates in Spain. White said it would be cheaper to send one person to Spain, but opted for two.

"We are sending people to a foreign country for the first time, and the recommendation was based on having at least two people travel to make sure there was another person should one person have an emergency and/or health problems," he said.

White said having two people conduct interviews could increase the district's chances of finding better candidates.

Troy School District has three ELL teachers now, but must be in full compliance with requirements by August or risk losing a $29,165 grant. The district needs to establish a transitional bilingual education program of instruction, establish a parent advisory committee and hire at least one certified teacher to provide ESL/bilingual services.

Success in Spain
Elgin School District has gone to Spain for seven years, hiring about 45 ELL teachers. The district of 41,000 students has 6,678 students enrolled in its ELL program. Next year, the district will need at least 52 ELL teachers, Bolden said.
"It's been very successful for us. We've been able to hire excellent teachers who have brought some great knowledge and experiences to our classrooms," Bolden said. "Most of the teachers stay for the maximum of three years. We've been fortunate enough to have some teachers immigrate and obtain other work visas to stay for longer than three years."

Plainfield's efforts
Plainfield School District needs 21 additional bilingual teachers for 2008-09 school year to qualify for grants. In the last two months, Plainfield has sent staff to more than 10 fairs in Illinois.
The district is trying to recruit minority teachers as it enrolls more minority students. The percent of black and Hispanic students has grown from 3.6 percent in 1995-96 school year to 28.5 percent this school year.

The district sent four administrators to the Atlanta job fair this month, interviewing about 20 candidates. Big school districts such as Los Angeles and local districts like Indian Prairie and Kankakee were there looking for teachers, too, said Mark Heiss, director of administration and personnel.

On Thursday, the district invited 40 people who were considered "high consideration candidates" for further screening and interviews.

The school board approved spending $17,600 when an individual accepts a job to provide one-way airfare and a week's lodging for the new hire and to pay mileage for current staffers who assist with new employee's relocation needs, totaling $17,600. Another $2,800 was allocated to send recruiters to Atlanta and Texas to hire minority teachers and bilingual education teachers.



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