According to district documents, the majority of international teachers – 11 of them – work at Deming High School. Of the others, one teacher works for the Special Services Department, one at Bell, one at Chaparral, two at Columbus and two at Ruben Torres.
DPS Executive Director of Human Resources Nancy Patterson said people are not pursuing a career in education as in past years, adding that the district has been hiring bilingual teachers from Mexico for a while.
Patterson said this school year they had to hire teachers from the Philippines to fill many of the openings they had last summer.
Administrators from the schools with international teachers commented that the teachers have a lot of energy, drive and excitement for teaching.
Ruben Torres Elementary Principal Connie Maag said the international teachers bring diversity and new ideas that allow for more outside-the-box thinking.