US jobs open to primary schoolteachers

One hundred teachers from Trinidad and Tobago are being offered the opportunity to work in the US through Participate Learning – a global professional development organisation that invests in early childhood and primary schoolteachers with at least two years of experience in the classroom.

“We’re inviting teachers to come and teach not only math, English, science and social studies, but also the culture of your country. Your traditions, your food, everything,” recruitment co-ordinator of Participate Learning Ronald Ramirez told Newsday in a Zoom interview.

He said interested teachers can apply through the link: https://bit.ly/3ovcxy8 which will be open until March. The process is free and there is no age limit. Once applicants meet the basic requirements, they will go through the interview process to try to get into the programme to teach from K to fifth grade (children ages five to 11) at one of the 450 public schools in North and South Carolina and Virginia for five years.

“Teachers must have a bachelor’s degree in education, at least two years of teaching experience, a driver’s permit with a perfect record for at least one year. They will need to be able to drive because public transportation in these states is limited, so they must have their own vehicle to make the commute from home to school and back.”

In the first interview, he said, teachers will be asked about their professional and about their personal life. They will also talk about how they operate in their classrooms. The second interview is a group interview with other teachers from around the world.

“We will throw in different educational topics to talk about and test the ability of each teacher on their responses on the specific topics. How they handle discipline in classroom, their strengths and weaknesses in classrooms, things like that,” Ramirez said. At the third interview, teachers will present a sample class and teach on any topic for at least ten minutes. “They have to make sure they have all the elements – objectives, content, evaluation of the class.”

Once they pass the interview stage they will be required to upload their specific documents to a Share Point, and once Participate Learning is satisfied, they will be offered a position and given the relevant documents to take to the US embassy for a J1 visa, allowing them to work in the US for the stipulated period.

“Applicants will have their visas, legal documentation, housing and transportation to and from their respective schools arranged by Participate Learning. They will get the same benefits as any American teacher. Salary, holidays and insurance…They can also take their spouses who can also work legally in the US, and their children under 18 will be enrolled in school. If they are taking their family with them, then they must have been teaching for no less than five years…Once they get the visa we will send them an airplane ticket, but it is only for the teacher. Family members will have to pay for their own tickets.”

He said when the teachers arrive at the Participate Learning headquarters in North Carolina, they undergo a full week of orientation to learn about the school system, logistics (house rentals) and transport.

He said the programme is funded through the various schools districts which pay Participate Learning to invite teachers from around the world to teach at their schools. He said the schools have different policies, by which the teachers must abide, but they can add a different “ingredient” to the lesson, as long as it complies with the school’s policy.

“We’re not trying to change the curriculum. The teachers are going to learn how to teach that curriculum in a different way by incorporating their culture into the curriculum…They will make connections between both countries.”

Ramirez said since the programme began in 1987, there have been over 20 teachers from TT participating. Ten of them are still actively teaching, among them Nalini Rhambarath who was recruited in 2018.

Rhambarath, a former teacher at the Clarke Rochard Government Primary School, Penal, lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children. She teaches second grade at College Lakes Elementary in North Carolina and told Newsday the experience has been “tremendous.”

“It took me two to three months, setting up a new life and learning a new curriculum, but it has made me a better teacher…The technology is different, there is so much more resources in my classroom that I never had back home. The experience is dynamic and evolving and Participate Learning was and still is with me every step of the way.”

Rhambarath said she was an early childhood teacher for approximately 14 years and was searching online for new opportunities in the field when she came across the Participate Learning website.

“When I started the programme my goal was to find different ways to teaching and learning to bring back to TT.”

Ramirez said the aim of Participate Learning has always been to bring a diverse pool of effective teachers who wish to travel and are interested in positive learning outcomes as well as cultural exchange to the US.

“Our aim is to strengthen student experiences but also provide the successful applicants with multicultural experiences, soft skills that are valued by the labour market, and a solid network of professional contacts…This year we want to expand the TT talent pool significantly.”

To apply click on: https://bit.ly/3ovcxy8 or for more information visit participatelearning.com