FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2001

SCHUMER, LEVY ANNOUNCE APPROVAL OF H-1B VISAS FOR 162 CANADIAN TEACHERS IN TIME FOR THE 2001 SCHOOL YEAR

Experienced Teachers from Canada to Help Address City's Severe Teacher Shortage

US Senator Charles E. Schumer and New York City Schools Chancellor Harold O. Levy today announced that visa applications for 162 foreign teachers emigrating from Canada have been expedited and approved, allowing the new teachers to move to the United States in time for the new school year. The Canadian teachers represent the second largest group of more than 800 certified teachers recruited overseas by the New York City Board of Education for the coming school year.

During the fall of 2000, the New York City Board of Education's recruitment team visited Vancouver and Toronto, meeting with more than 450 candidates. After conducting second round interviews in March, the Board of Education prepared the candidates' H-1B visa petitions, but could not submit them to the INS until mid- June when the veteran teachers had all submitted their original documentation, including proof of certification.

Since the normal waiting period for H-1B visa petitions is ninety days, the new teachers would not have been able to immigrate to the United States until after the school year began, leaving 162 classrooms and thousands of students without qualified teachers. Therefore Chancellor Levy immediately contacted Senator Schumer, who intervened and aggressively lobbied the INS to expedite the teachers' visa petitions. On Tuesday, July 17, the INS approved the visas, permitting the new teachers to move to New York in time for new teacher orientation designed specifically for the international recruits, which begins on August 13.

"New York City attracts the very best of every profession from all over the world, so it only seems appropriate that we recruit and attract the best foreign teachers as well," Schumer said. "I applaud Chancellor Levy's determined efforts to recruit teachers from across the globe, and I am grateful the INS recognized the dire need to get these teachers in the classroom, where they belong."
Chancellor Levy said: "I want to thank Senator Schumer and his staff for their hard work and the INS for their cooperation in support of our efforts to attract qualified teachers and get them started in a timely fashion. It is crucial that they will be able to teach at the start of the school year this September. While this is no substitute for a good collective bargaining package, it will help to address our need to hire 8,000 new teachers this year."

New York City's schools are currently facing the worst teacher shortage in history, and as more and more senior teachers retire, the problem only grows worse. The Board of Education has estimated that nearly 8,000 new teachers will be needed by the fall of 2001. The Board of Education has mounted a widespread overseas recruiting campaign, interviewing candidates from more than 10 countries, totaling 800 candidates. In addition to Canada, countries targeted by the NYC Board of Education include Austria, Barbados, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Slovakia, Spain and Trinidad.

The 162 teachers recruited from Canada specialize in a range of subjects including Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, General Science, Elementary Education and English as a Second Language.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which has passed the Senate and the House and is currently in conference negotiations between the two bodies, includes two amendments sponsored by Schumer that provide $400 million in new funding to help recruit math and science teachers, including the use of scholarships, signing incentives and stipends to attract qualified professionals into teaching math and science; the development of professional development and mentoring programs to retain teachers; and the creation of a mastery incentive system where experienced, certified math and science teachers demonstrating their expertise through an exam and classroom performance are rewarded.

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