Filipino teachers who were supposed to start at the Pasadena Unified School District have yet to arrive due to immigration and credentialing process delays.The 20 educators were recruited from the Philippines to teach math, science and special education and were supposed to arrive last August.
But due to processing delays, their trips are still pending. Meanwhile, some of the jobs they were supposed to take have been filled, a school district said in a report. The three teachers who are expected to arrive by early October will still have full-time jobs waiting for them while others might have to start off as substitutes.
A lot of American schools are hiring from the Philippines due to increased teacher shortage in the nation.
Though many thrive in the opportunity to work in the U.S., it's not always the ideal situation for some recruited Filipino teachers. Sources say that they, to start, they have to shell out up to $10,000 in recruitment fees. Once here, they usually are left to fend on their own by recruiters, although this practice is supposedly explained to them before they leave the Philippines.
Apart from the culture shock, a lot of the teachers face unruly students when they start to work in school districts in high-risk areas. One recruit has related an incident when her accent was made fun of by the students. Another one was attacked when students threw books at her when she entered a dimly-lit classroom.
In frustration, some teachers have even tried to become nurses.
In Los Angeles, luckily, they get assistance from a group of Filipino teachers, although not all take advantage of this help.
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