In the Global Educators Outreach program the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service will issue 50 six-year visas to foreign educators. For the first time, public educators will be included in the same class as computer programmers and other high-tech workers. Gery Chico, president of the Chicago Board of Education, hopes this program can also help the Chicago schools find desperately needed bilingual education teachers. Applicants will receive temporary teaching certificates and must complete requirements for a standard state teaching certificate within four years. Recruiters are using the Internet, advertisements in foreign newspapers and contacts with universities abroad to reach prospects in countries with large English-speaking populations.
Educators say the pool of qualified teachers has shrunk across the nation.
New York City schools hired 31 math and science teachers it recruited from Austria in the last school year. There's another way. Other school donation sites on the Internet include ShopforSchool , SchoolPop and a non profit, HelpOurSchool.org . The percentage of rebates varies depending on the merchant and the deal it has worked out with the site. Software developer James Chadwick got a speeding ticket while on a business trip, lost the ticket, couldn't remember where he got it, hired an attorney to help him figure it out and finally decided there had to be a better way.