ROUND ROCK, Texas — The teacher staffing shortage has pushed many Central Texas school districts to hire teachers from abroad.
At least nine school districts in the Austin area have an international teachers program, and most started because of the difficulty of finding teachers locally. These include:
Clay Robison with the Texas State Teachers Association said teachers leave for various reasons, but a significant cause is teacher pay.
"We think the overall overriding issue for the teacher shortage is the fact that they are just flat not paid enough," Robison said.
Robison said teacher pay in Texas is $7,700 below the national average.
"And we're what? The second largest state. That's pathetic," Robison said.
This is the second year of Round Rock ISD's Visiting International Teacher program. The teachers are hired through an agency that helps them navigate the process and get a J-1 visa.
Eddie Curran, chief human resources officer for Round Rock ISD, said the district now has 50% fewer vacancies than at the start of last school year.
"Necessity breeds invention," Curran said. "I think a lot of school districts have had to come up with new programs and pipelines in the lack of, you know, any real financial support from the state, unfortunately."
Curran said Round Rock ISD is expanding the 3-year program this year from five international teachers mainly focused on dual language to 22 international teachers in various subjects, from math to dance and special education.
"We're super excited," Curran said. "We are definitely seeing the benefits not just for our principals in terms of staffing, but really for our students. That cultural exchange is so important. With the global economy the way it is and getting exposure at a young age to people with different perspectives of different cultures, it's just such an awesome program."
Teacher Paulina Jaramillo is entering her second year in the program. Walking into a new class can be scary for students, so Jaramillo is making the room as homey as possible because she also knows the uneasy feeling of being in an unfamiliar place.
"I'm from Colombia, from the city of Medellin," Jaramillo said.
Over 2,000 miles from her home, Jaramillo just kicked off her second year as a dual language kindergarten teacher at Gattis Elementary School through Round Rock ISD's visiting international teachers program.
"I'm going, to be honest – it was really hard at the beginning because everything is so different from what we're used to in our countries," Jaramillo said.
Jaramillo got a degree in Colombia to teach Spanish and English and has about 10 years of experience, but the change in curriculum took some time to get used to. She said the one thing that stayed the same was her bond with the students and parents.
"This experience has been great so far," she said. "You grow not only professionally, but also personally. You grow as a human being. I feel so happy."
It's Spanish immersion, so most of the class is taught in Spanish, but 40% of the kids are solely English speakers.
"That's really cool because they learn from each other," Jaramillo said.
Jaramillo sets up video calls with her old students in Colombia so they can truly immerse themselves in the culture.
"They're like, so in love, just like, with Colombia. And at the end of the year, parents were like, 'They are obsessed with Colombia,'" Jaramillo said. "The other day I asked them, 'Do you want to go to Disneyland?' and they said, 'No, I want to go to Colombia.' So it's so funny, and I love it."
Something so joyful was brought on by the challenge of the teacher staffing shortage. The biproduct of this challenge is a home away from home, not just for Jaramillo but her students as well.
"I love this community," Jaramillo said. "I feel like it's going to be a great year."
Austin ISD staffing
AISD said as it faces the challenging landscape of education, the district has attracted qualified educators through several recruitment efforts.
As of Aug. 16, the district has a 95.61% teacher fill rate. The district has 207 teacher vacancies. It partnered with Alliance Abroad and the Spain Visiting Teacher program from Region 13 for several years. This year, it's welcoming 11 teachers from the Philippines and Colombia and 17 from Spain.
During the 2022-23 school year, the district welcomed 29 Alliance Abroad Teachers and 18 teachers from Spain.
Hays CISD staffing
Hays CISD said it has 1,500 teachers working and is down to 12 vacancies. The district is effectively 99% staffed. This school year, the district has eight international teachers.
Pflugerville ISD staffing
As of August, PfISD has hired about seven candidates for the 2023-2024 school year.