Filipino teachers help ease shortfall of special educators

Three years ago.

Upon learning that my sorority sister, Iris Llavanes, was able to leave the country and work in California as a Special Education Teacher, I immediately got the number of the agency where she applied and grabbed the opportunity.

CSKR International, at Greenhills San Juan, is the agency that I went to. The staff there was very helpful and supportive; Jackie, Gringgo, Michael…they were all professionals in what they were doing. Their point person in the US was Ms. Ligaya Avenida. She is a Filipino American educational leader in California who has spent her career with the San Francisco Unified School District since 1972. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Social Work from the University of the Philippines and later pursued and earned her teaching credentials and Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Organization at the University of San Francisco. A 30-year veteran educator, Ligaya successfully rose from teaching in the classroom of San Francisco schools to serving as administrator in various capacities in the district. Her latest position prior to her retirement 2 years ago was as Director of Human Resources with the San Francisco School. She tied up with CSKR and came up with a professional staffing and training agency, which developed the International Teacher Placement Program. Her credentials made her reputable, we trusted her.

I can never forget my adventures and misadventures during the application period. I kept on telling myself, “I will do whatever it takes”.

I was surprised to see more than 500 eager teachers during the training at the Hotel Peninsula Manila last January 2003. Ms. Avenida’s recruitment program was becoming more and more popular to the Filipino teachers. In February 2003, after my face-to-face interview with the people from the HR Department of the East Side Unified High School District (ESUHSD), I was accepted to teach in San Jose, California. I anticipated and patiently waited for my H1B petition papers.

May 22, 2003, my heart sank when I got a call from Ms. Ligaya Avenida telling me that my slot at ESUHSD was gone because it was given to other Filipino teachers who were laterally transferred from other districts. So I was asked to choose between Florida and Washington DC. I was interviewed by Ms. Avenida at the Manila Pen for Florida that same day.

May 26, 2003, I drove to the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) amidst the strong storm “Chedeng” and the flooded highways. This was the most complicated interview I had in my life. We were interrogated through a video conference; it was awkward seeing yourself in one big screen and the interviewers in another big screen. There were a lot of interruptions because of the typhoon, and there was a two-minute communication delay. I successfully passed the interview to the DC Public Schools. I was going to teach in Washington DC… the world’s capital…the seat of power!

That's my story. Want to know the story of thousands of other Filipino SPED teachers coming to America now?

California districts are turning to the Philippines, which has a surplus of teachers, to fill their special-education vacancies. Filipino special educators in the U.S. can earn nine times what they would make back home. Bloomberg (4/14)