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.

[caption id="attachment_938534" align="alignnone" width="280"] Ronald Ramirez, recruitment coordinator Participate Learning -[/caption]

“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, b