Hazelwood School District aims to hire international teachers

ST. LOUIS COUNTY , Mo. - The Hazelwood School District is looking abroad for international teachers to help with a shortage.

The Hazelwood School District is recruiting international teachers from firms after deploying numerous strategies to help fill teacher positions, a problem that has been recurring since the pandemic.

According to our partners at the Post Dispatch, the district applied for bids for international teacher recruitment firms, aiming to hire more than 50 teachers and aides, but the number may not accurately represent the needs of the school district.

The district could pay $4,700 to $18,000 per international teacher depending on the agency the school district chooses and which services they opt into. Records show that the school district has received six responses for bids, with two from law firms offering to help with the visa process. Others were from recruiting agencies that would bring teachers from countries like Turkey, India, Kenya, Venezuela, and more to the United States.

The St. Louis Public Schools and Riverview Gardens have also looked to recruit teachers from around the world. Officials say the teachers have brought years of experience to the classrooms, but there have been complaints from parents that students have had to use their phones to translate for some instructors. There were also challenges for teachers finding housing and food when arriving in the U.S.

The Hazelwood School District has used multiple strategies in an attempt to fill the teacher shortage. In August 2022, the school district contracted with Stride, a for-profit education organization, for virtual teachers to teach students remotely from screens, but the school district plans to cut down its use significantly due to students lack of engagement.

The school district has also implemented "voluntary course assignment teachers," which had instructors rotate between classes to teach an in-person class in one room and a virtual class in another.