To fill teaching positions, Aztec looks towards contracted teachers from the Philippines

[TexasTowelie]

AZTEC — It was a cold Monday morning at C.V. Koogler Middle School in Aztec. Students stumbled into Shannon Albores’ history class and take off their rumpled jackets. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, they greeted their teacher by saying in unison, ‘magandang umaga!’— which is Filipino for ‘good morning.’

Albores was born and raised in a city called Cebu in the Philippines. There she earned a teaching credential and started teaching kindergarten and elementary school. She liked it, but after learning of an opportunity to teach abroad — and with it, the chance to earn a higher salary — she took the opportunity.

Albores, along with seven other teachers from various parts of the Philippines, started working in the Aztec Municipal School District at the start of the 2019 school year to fill persistently unfilled vacancies at the school district, especially in special education departments in all grade levels.

“These are positions that had been vacant for seven years,” said Tania Prokop, the Deputy Superintendent of the Aztec Municipal School District, “luckily we found a local company to bring teachers here from the Philippines.”

Read more: https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/2019/10/15/new-mexico-teacher-shortage-aztec-school-district-hires-from-philippines-special-education/3937307002/
(Farmington Daily Times)

[comradebillyboy]

1. Hobbs started doing that a couple of years ago. Odd that it's the NM

towns with a big gas/oil industry economic base that are bringing in teachers from overseas. There are teacher shortages outside the three largest cities in the state.

[abqtommy]

2. I've lived in places that I considered UN towns/cities/states and New Mexico qualifies for my

description of a varied, mostly tolerant and friendly population.