Posted on 04/05/2011 3:53:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Labor Department officials ruled Monday that Prince George’s County schools shortchanged more than 1,000 teachers recruited from foreign countries and ordered the district to pay $5.9 million in back wages and penalties.
School officials recruited the foreign instructors for classes such as math and science that were hard to fill but then required that the teachers cover thousands of dollars in expenses related to getting temporary work visas — expenses that, Labor Department officials said, should have been covered by the system. That violated laws requiring that U.S. and foreign teachers be compensated equally.
..Prince George’s began recruiting foreign teachers in 2005 because officials had trouble filling jobs with American teachers who could meet the tougher certification standards imposed by the federal No Child Left Behind law, said Synthia Shilling, the district’s human resources director. Two-thirds of these educators teach in critical areas, such as high school math and science, as well as special education.
The overseas recruiting effort was unusually intense, and the district used the federal temporary work visa, called H-1B, far more often than most school systems nationwide.
A complaint from one of the recruited teachers, lodged in 2007, prompted the federal investigation. It found that 696 foreign teachers used their own money to pay a $500 anti-fraud fee to the Department of Homeland Security. Others paid a $1,000 attorney’s fee and a $3,500 placement fee, among other expenses.
Federal investigators found that 1,044 foreign teachers paid fees that should have been covered by the school district. Prince George’s has nearly 9,000 teachers.
...A 2009 report from the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers’ union, estimated that there were more than 19,000 foreign teachers working in U.S. schools on temporary visas in 2007. That was up from nearly 15,000 in 2002...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Nice.
Is PG county one of the most dysfunctional counties in the country?
And you have to realize that guest visa covering these type of workers is not nearly as complex as the visa covering the ag worker.
” Federal investigators found that 1,044 foreign teachers paid fees that should have been covered by the school district. “
Is there a Federal Statutory Requirement that the school district pay these fees, or is this yet another case of bureaucratic over-reach, with ‘investigators’ making determinations which are best left to the courts, or, even worse, determinations which ‘make up’ law??
A lot of states hire foreign teachers for the “hard” subjects. >>>>>>>>>
Like teaching Spanish to Spanish speaking students.
They had to hire foreign teachers because the American ones were too stupid?
62.7% black, 27.04% white, 89.1% voted for Obama. Does that answer your question?
Foreign teachers? Temporary work visas? Didn’t the unions just tell us that those fat pension plans put money back into the local economy?
Is this really true? I am not saying that you are wrong because of my personal reading and observations about the value of a degree in Education.
As are all places that have been controlled by Democrats.
I don’t know the answer to that, but when the employment figures for a school district show that 10% are hired from foreign countries, we have a larger problem.
And I'm sure that Schools of Journalism and Schools of Government sit about the same place on the meter of excellence.
One more gem from the People’s Republic.
Excellent point.
But, alas, it is now a “global” economy.
” but when the employment figures for a school district show that 10% are hired from foreign countries, we have a larger problem “
Oh, I’m aware of the issues raised in the story, and I’m outraged, but not surprised, at yet more evidence that the teacher-education system in this country seems geared to putting Marxist Indoctrinators in every classroom —
But, in terms of long-term detriment to our nation and our way of life, our transition from ‘Representative Government’ to ‘Government by Unelected, Unaccountable Bureaucracy’ certainly can’t be so easily dismissed....
This is because the Philippines was previously a Spanish colony so Spanish language and Catholicism became common. After the Spanish American war the Phillipines became an American colony and English language became common. They also have a top flight educational system.
So we have many permanent and temporary immigrants from the Philippines who are Spanish/English bilingual and have technical educations.
Indeed we do. And the election being held today for a judge in WI will be yet another nail in the coffin of representative government if the union candidate (bought and paid for social justice advocate) wins.
I guess PG County and Detroit are the models of what a truly progressive form of government can bring to the table.
Take a look America.
Given that the majority of the foreign teachers are “underrepresented minorities” that are very difficult to fire or discipline, it's more of a wonder that their aren't more of them.
Many of the certifications can be “earned” in the home country making their already dubious value even more suspect.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a white man teaching in an all black inner city school. My subject matter is technical in nature. There are two kinds of teachers here, the kind that teach because they “can't do” and those that are called to it. I'm called to it and I'm frequently reminded that I could be working in a MUCH more lucrative industry with significantly lower stress.
Even with all the attendant issues I still love it. Nothing makes me feel better then watching that little light bulb pop into existence over their a student's head. Quieting a room with a glare and a throat clear is a close second, however.
I see the kinds of folks they import for these jobs. Most of them are varying degrees of ineffectual because they have little to no idea of how to control a classroom. All the subject knowledge in the world doesn't help you in the slightest if the students are ignoring you. I always get a chuckle out of the new teachers “asking” the students for respect. If you can't DEMAND it by virtue of your very presence and demeanor, you aren't going to get the kids to do much of anything.
(To those of you who experience a savage and exquisite delight in illuminating and correcting any teacher's grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes, thank you. I always learn something. To drive the lesson home, and ensure immediate memorization, I will flagellate myself like a repentant Arthur Dimmesdale.)
How many retired teachers in the states that have generous pension plans move out of state when they retire to avoid the high cost of living and property taxes they helped create?
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