AS US educators leave the classroom in droves, Jamaican teachers are seizing the opportunity of securing better working conditions as well as higher paying jobs abroad.

The Washington Post newspaper describes the shortage of teachers in the United States as critical, stating in an August story headlined ‘Never seen it this bad: America faces catastrophic teacher shortage’ that “rural school districts in Texas are switching to four-day weeks this fall due to lack of staff. Florida is asking veterans with no teaching background to enter classrooms and Arizona is allowing college students to step in and instruct children”.

The reasons for the crisis are said to lie in “pandemic-induced teacher exhaustion, low pay, and some educators’ sense that politicians and parents — and sometimes their own school board members — have little respect for their profession.”

It’s against that backdrop that Jamaicans are being wooed by recruiters offering incentives too good to turn down.

The Jamaica Observer caught up with a number of teachers who arrived long before the current escalation of recruitment and they shared their perspective on why the job of teaching US students is a carrot they cannot refuse.

A grade four teacher who is now starting her third year in the US told Caribbean Business Report, “Living conditions are way better and the pay is at least four times what you would get in Jamaica, or more, depending on the state and qualifications, plus the benefits are better and incentives.

“Your child goes to school free and insurance [is given to] your family.”

She shared that in the elementary school in which she is currently employed, 20 are Jamaican teachers, noting that there are more on two other campuses.

She commented, “They [the school] wanted more teachers, but they have a limit as it relates to how many teachers a sponsor can take, since they are not training teachers but employing them.”

The grade four teacher continued to explain, “Teachers leave for better salaries and opportunities for their children. They are respected and highlighted for their work as well as they get incentives for students’ performance.”

Caribbean Business Report spoke to a teacher of English at the high school level, who has been working in the US for a year.

“The cost of living [in the US] is better (food, utilities, rent not too high). Everything is more affordable. After getting a salary, your pay may last throughout the month (depending on your expenses of course).”

In the classroom, she stated, “There are better resources, readily available resources. Every child is awarded a chromebook, every teacher receives a laptop, every class has a projector, TV, smartboard, among other resources. There is always air conditioning.”

Added benefits

The teacher outlined how she received bonus pay every two semesters, other monetary incentives, and salary increases each year. In conclusion, she said that the experience involved cultural exchange and other opportunities connected to living in the States.

One Jamaican teacher who became principal at her school in the US in the last school year, now in her eighth year of migration, said that her reason for leaving the island was “lack of professional development, financial constraints, health care [needs], and a [better] sense of security and safety”.

She added jovially, “In Jamaica I could not buy grapes and that’s my favorite fruit.”

The best motivator, she concluded, was upward mobility.

Another teacher, a grade three educator who this month clocked 7.5 years in the United States, told Caribbean Business Report that her reasons for migration were “better living conditions, professional development, and exposure to a new culture (especially the food), cost of living, quality of health benefits, and accessibility, plus chicken back cheaper a foreign.”

Chronic shortage

In an August update on the crisis www.universities.com outlined the condition in each state, noting how “Nevada students started school on August 8, 2022 with a shortage of over 1,400 teachers. Florida is recruiting military veterans to teach without a licence to help the teacher shortage, and Polk County has hired 60 international teachers. Georgia is attempting to recruit retired teachers — with little success.”

The site noted as well, “New Jersey is implementing a pilot programme to allow individuals with workforce experience to pursue a teaching certificate, even if they don’t have the grades or higher education requirements. Houston, Texas, currently has over 2,200 teaching vacancies.”

It was noted that New York City is promoting large incentives to recruit retired educators and those who left the profession, accelerating the teacher certification process, and providing school districts with billions in funding.

The site said that Daly City, California, is offering affordable housing to their teachers with “greatly reduced rent prices”, adding that school districts across the country are “planning to spend billions on staff retention, attrition, bonuses, and pay increases”.

In the Washington Post article written by Hannah Natanson and published on August 4, the author stated, “The teacher shortage in America has hit crisis levels — and school officials everywhere are scrambling to ensure that, as students return to classrooms, someone will be there to educate them.

There is no national database, but everywhere there are reports of a deficit. The Washington Post report quoted the Nevada State Education Association as estimating that 3,000 teaching jobs remained unfilled across the state’s 17 school districts as of early August. About 2,040 teacher openings were either empty or filled with a “less-than-qualified” hire. In the Houston area, the largest five school districts are all reporting that between 200 and 1,000 teaching positions remain open.