Job Ad for H-1B Filipino Teachers in California

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 2:40 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

This job ad for California special ed teachers specifically requires
that you must be a Filipino with an H-1B visa.

An article follows the job ad that reveals that the list of
credentialing requirements under new federal law would likely eliminate
opportunities for many of the teaching graduates that Palm Springs
usually hires. There are new standards, part of the 1,100-page No Child
Left Behind law, that requires every public school teacher and aide to
meet the definition of "highly qualified" by the 2005-06 school year.

You can bet that H-1Bs from the Philippines will all be "highly
qualified" - and of course the schools won't be able to find U.S.
citizen teachers that are qualified to hire. Expect stories to appear
soon that California has a dire shortage of special ed teachers -
despite the fact that 25,000 teachers recently lost their jobs. The
teacher layoffs represent about 20% of the state's public school
teachers.

http://www.teachers.net/jobs/jobboard/SW/09.27.03.21.03.01.html

FILIPINO SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS FOR U.S.A. - CA ()

Posted 09/27/03
Closes:
Salary:
HealthPro Staffing Solutions, LLC is currently in need of Special
Education teachers from the Philippines to be employed and sponsored
for working visas (H-1b) directly by US schools.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The credentials of Special Education teachers will be forwarded to
different school districts in the United States. Districts promote
inclusion, and the candidate will be expected to collaborate with
general education teachers, as well as provide resource room
instruction as indicated on the Individualized Education Programs.
Candidate must be an independent self-starter, able to contribute as an
inter-disciplinary team member in conjunction with behavior analysts,
school psychologists and school administrators.

Must possess excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal
skills as well as strong written and oral communication skills.
Effective communication with parents is required. Candidates should
have Bachelor in Special Education or Masters Degree or equivalent
with concentration in Special Education or at least 33 credits/units.
Interviews are done directly by school officials. Candidates must be
willing to undergo a course-by-course evaluation of their transcript of
records by accredited agencies as prescribed by the States Board of
Education. We assist our candidates in seeking their US certification,
working visa sponsorship, relocation, permanent residency and
continuing education in the US (i.e. Masters or PhD). We have 100% BCIS
approval since schools sponsor the teachers directly.

Please e-mail your resume (in word document format) at
joedecastro@healthrpross.com or gracereyes@healthpross.com as soon as
possible for consideration. You can also visit our website at
www.healthpross.com

Contact Information
Mail: 10 Beaver Lane West Babylon, NY 11704-5105
E-Mail: joedecastro@healthpross.com , gracereyes@healthpross.com
Phone: (631) 680-4487
Fax: (908) 822-1150

http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories2003/local/20030928030113.shtml

No Child Left Behind leaves teachers in bind
New law requires educators meet highly qualified standards by
2005-06 school year

More stories about education

New Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act

By the 2005-06 school year, every public school teacher of a core
academic subject must meet the definition of "highly qualified."

The definition of highly qualified means a teacher must be certified or
licensed to teach in the state. They must hold at least a bachelors
degree and must show mastery of subjects they teach. They must have
full state certification and licensure as defined by the state.
Requirements vary by experience level and grade level.

New elementary school teachers must pass a rigorous state test to
demonstrate teaching skills and knowledge in math, reading and writing
and other ares of the basic elementary school curriculum.

New high school and middle school teachers must pass a rigorous test in
all academic subjects that they teach. The alternative standard is that
they must hold an academic major, the coursework equivalent of a major,
a graduate degree or advanced certification in all subjects they teach.

Teachers who are not new to the profession have the same options as new
teachers to prove they are competent in what they teach.

Teachers of core subjects must meet definitions of "highly qualified"
now if they work at jobs in Title One schools, which are supported by a
federal aid program for poor students.

Teachers who have temporary, provisional or emergency state
certification or licensing will no longer be considered "highly
qualified."

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Post or read comments in our online forums

By Mike Perrault
The Desert Sun
September 28th, 2003

Teacher Michael Rosenfeld worries his district will lose the best and
brightest graduates whove long been depended upon to return to the
community and teach.

Teachers aide Donna Kearns, a single mother with two sons, worries
she wont be able to keep up with rent, utilities and other basic
survival expenses if she has to pay for classes and $50-plus textbooks
in order to keep her job.

Rosenfeld and Kearns are like most educators across the Coachella
Valley in that theyre bracing for the impact of new federal
standards that teachers and teachers aides must meet to remain in
the classroom.

"Some of our very best students, several of our valedictorians,
theyve gone to school for five years, earned excellent grades and
have returned to give back to the community and work in our schools.
They relate to our students really well," said Rosenfeld, president of
the Coachella Valley Teachers Association.

But the list of credentialing requirements under new federal law would
likely eliminate opportunities for many of the graduates that the
district has come to depend upon.

"Under these new rules, we can no longer sort of generate our own
devoted professionals," he said.

The new standards, part of the 1,100-page No Child Left Behind law,
require every public school teacher and aide to meet the definition of
"highly qualified" by the 2005-06 school year.

Some requirements already are kicking in. On Oct. 3, teachers in Title
One schools serving low-income students no longer will be issued
emergency permits or credential waivers. Thatll affect more than 55
Title One schools in the valley.

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing recently voted to
phase out those permits to bring the states teacher-credentialing
process in line with the new federal laws.

About 20 percent of the states teaching force -- some 50,000
teachers -- worked on emergency permits last year, according to the
California Teachers Association.

In the valleys three public school districts, nearly 200 teachers
had emergency permits.

Other requirements range from degrees necessary to teach specific core
subjects to rigorous tests and special certifications. The bottom line
is that, like it or not, many teachers will be heading back for more
schooling.

"I think teachers are really upset with the way the law is coming down
and the requirements that are built in," said Dom Summa, local
representative for the California Teachers Association.

For now, most teachers are simply too busy preparing for falls
classes and coping with the laws other accountability measures to
spend much time worrying about new credentialing requirements,
Rosenfeld said.

"I dont think its hit them yet," Summa agreed. "Right now its
the Title One schools, then statewide."

For the three valley school districts, the new standards are likely to
thin the ranks of teachers aides and certain teaching niches. And it
may mean stepping up recruitment efforts in other states, district
officials said.

In the Palm Springs Unified School District, the biggest impact is
likely to be to teachers aides and special education teachers, said
Mauricio Arellano, the districts assistant superintendent of human
resources.

While many teachers aides say they love their jobs and want to
contribute to kids educations, they wonder if jumping through all
the new credentialing hoops is worth it for the low pay.

Teachers and teachers aides, in general, say they dont disagree
with the premise of the law: that kids should have qualified teachers.

But Kearns, who works in the Palm Springs district, and many others
dont believe the fast-track implementation requirements of the No
Child Left Behind law and costs associated with meeting them are the
way to go about it.

"No one cares that my children are being left behind," Kearns said.

Mounting frustrations

One of the most frustrating aspects of the law is that theres not
enough information being disseminated, Summa said.

So theres more fear than talk right now.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Education said information
increasingly is being made available about the federal requirements. On
Sept. 8, for example, a 56-page "No Child Left Behind: A Toolkit for
Teachers" document was released.

During a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla., the day after the
packet was released, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said the law
"protects teachers from being forced to teach what they dont know
well and ensures that all students are taught by someone who has the
expertise to help them succeed."

Paige said the law is intended to be "bold," and that $4.5 billion in
federal monies will be made available in 2004 to begin supporting
teachers through "training, recruitment, incentives, loan forgiveness
and tax relief."

But most teachers in the valley say they expect to foot the bill to
meet new credentialing requirements, and that includes teachers with 10
or 20 years in the classroom.

"You could be teacher of the year 10 times and all of a sudden youre
no longer highly qualified under some definition that Washington
decided to impose," Summa said.

Many of the states estimated 50,000 teachers on the bubble of
retirement are wondering if they should remain in the classroom,
according to the California Teachers Association.

Burden on districts

Under the new law, teachers of core subjects must be "highly qualified"
now if they work in schools supported by federal aid.

A science teacher, for instance, must have a science degree or take a
test showing mastery of the subject or pass a state evaluation.

Teachers with minors in their subjects are considered out of
compliance.

All schools will have to begin evaluating credentials before the 2005
deadline. Among the present difficulties for schools is that there are
few guidelines to conduct evaluations, and -- in an era when budgets
are tight -- theres no extra money and little time to get them done.

Possibly the most devastating local impact will be requirements for
teachers aides.

In the three valley districts, many aides work with Spanish-speaking
kids and provide one-on-one attention to free up teachers.

"They tend to be the local people who live in the community, who
understand the culture, the language, who know the students," Summa
said.

"When you lose them, where are you going to find replacements?" he
asked.

The new law requires teachers aides to have an associates degree
or two years of post-secondary education or pass a state or local
assessment in reading, writing and math.

"Its going to be really a hardship for those people who try to get
that kind of education in that amount of time," said Genny Smith,
president of the Palm Springs Teachers Association.

Michael Perrault covers education for The Desert Sun. He can be reached
at 778-4634 or via e-mail:
michael.perrault@thedesertsun.com

http://www.workersparty.org/california_teachers_4-11-03.html

California Teachers Face Massive Layoffs

April 11, 2003

At the end of March, school districts throughout California sent out
layoff notices for the next school year (2003-04) to 25,000 primary and
secondary school teachers -- 20% of the state's public school teachers.

These layoffs are a result of drastic budget cuts imposed by Democratic
Governor Gray Davis who is slashing $1.6 billion in state financing for
public education.

Obviously these cuts will have a disastrous effect on California's
schools. Class sizes will be increased (perhaps to as high as 40-50
students in certain districts) and the curriculum will be drastically
curtailed with many districts planning to eliminate or slash classes in
music, art, physical education, language studies, computers, after
school programs, etc. Nurses, librarians, and other professionals will
also be dismissed as well as janitors, kitchen workers, and others.

These cuts are coming at the worst possible time, when the state is
projecting years of increasing student enrollment and a growing
shortage of teachers especially in such areas as math, science and
special education.

In districts across the state, teachers, parents and students are
building coalitions and already unfolding a variety of actions to fight
against these cutbacks. These struggles are vital not only for
defending the livelihoods of teachers and other school employees but
also for the future of the public school system.

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