When Caroline County Public Schools’ eight newest teachers visited the Virginia State Fair last week, they were taken aback by the long lines, daring carnival rides and adeptness of students taking part in various contests.
They shied away from the rides but enjoyed the food and ambiance and received a crash course on life in Virginia, including the black bears who live in the nearby woods.
“Way back in the Philippines we learned if there is a bear, they’re very aggressive,” teacher Dhonna Salazar said. “But the lady told us, if you meet this particular black bear, they’re very shy. That was new to us.”
Salazar and her colleagues from the Southeast Asian country will learn plenty about Virginia over the next few years.
CCPS hired the eight Filipino teachers to assist with a shortage of licensed educators in the county through the Greenheart Exchange Teach USA program. They’re in the United States on J-1 visas, which expire after three years with the chance to renew for two additional years.
Five will teach math, there is one English instructor, one will teach science and one special education. Four will work at Caroline Middle School and four at Caroline High School.
All are licensed educators with a minimum of five years of experience. One has taught for 21 years.
Caroline school officials are hopeful their experience is a boon for the division, which has battled teacher attrition throughout the years.
“I think obviously getting very knowledgeable teachers in during this teacher shortage is great,” CCPS Director of Human Resources Paige Tucker said. “I think just bringing more diversity to Caroline, exposing students to teachers from a totally different country is going to be a wonderful experience for the students.”
Eight new Caroline County Public School teachers hail from the Philippines. During a recent orientation, they were served a catered lunch. (Photo by Taft Coghill Jr.)
Tucker was familiar with the Greenheart program from her experience working in Arlington, which has also taken advantage of the program. The stated goal of Greenheart is to “connect enthusiastic, highly qualified international teachers with U.S. host schools to promote cultural understanding and public diplomacy.”
Tucker noted that most of the eight new teachers have master’s degrees, and each is extremely knowledgeable in his or her respective field.
Brittney Morris, the division’s new teacher support coach, gave the teachers an orientation on Friday and came away impressed.
Morris was tasked with getting the teachers acclimated to some of the resources and technology used by the division. They were instructed on the curriculum, lesson planning and a new behavioral management model currently being implemented.
Morris said the teachers shared some advanced strategies that they used in the Philippines.
“With their content knowledge and the type of questions they asked, you can tell that they already have been doing this. They’re not new to this, which is great,” Morris said. “They’re coming in strong, which is what our students need. They need strong, competent teachers … They’re also going to be great collaborators with their colleagues because we do have a lot of new, inexperienced teachers. So, they will be able to share their knowledge.”
Liezyl Ruba, who will teach English to freshmen and sophomores at CHS, left behind her husband and daughter in the Philippines but said she wants to eventually bring her family with her to Caroline.
Salazar is a newlywed whose husband remains in her native country. The CMS special education teacher has family members in Baltimore, Arizona and New Mexico.
Ruba, who has 13 years of teaching experience, said she’s anticipating “learning and relearning” once her tenure begins this month. She said that she is looking forward to working in the U.S. educational system because it gives access to everyone. She said that in her jurisdiction in the Philippines, teachers are often overworked, serving as advisors, coaches and even custodians.
“They’re expecting you to be a jack-of-all-trades,” she said. “What I love here is that you focus on your specialization. You can focus on your expertise, which is teaching students, involving and inspiring them. That is one of the aspects that inspired me to come here.”
Ruba said she’s most anxious to see how she’s received by the students. There is no language barrier — the Philippines is one of the largest English-speaking nations in the world.
“Being with the administration and the staff, they’re so accommodating and so incredibly generous,” Ruba said. “But what stumbles me the most are the students who are going to test me. That’s very expected. They’re going to see if you really know what you’re teaching. They’re going to see if you can really handle them. They will see if you have consistency in rules and policies … But I love that.
“If you’re nervous or feeling pressured about the thing that you’re doing, that means it has a great impact, it has significance. I love feeling that.”
All the teachers live in the town of Bowling Green with four sharing one home and four sharing another. Ruba said the town is small and appears tight-knit like her community in the Philippines.
Tucker said county stakeholders came together to help find residences for the teachers. An Amazon wish list was created, and community members and churches rallied to purchase everything on the list to furnish the homes. The group is seeking a Catholic church in the area to visit.
Salazar said the welcome to the community from neighbors has been much warmer than what colleagues told her about other localities participating in the exchange program.
“It’s very peaceful here and the community is very approachable, very welcoming,” Salazar said. “That’s what I love about it, and the support we get in this group is awesome. We’re very thankful to work here.”
The division catered breakfast and lunch for the group on Friday. The teachers are learning about the various businesses within walking distance in Bowling Green, including The Corner Store, the community kitchen and a market serving fresh food on Main Street that provided lunch at orientation.
Ruba said the group is waiting until its first payday to venture to Ladysmith to try Tito Mel’s, an authentic Filipino takeout restaurant. They also said they want to provide a home-cooked Filipino meal to the administrators and staff members who were so helpful in getting them started in their new location.
“As a reciprocity, we’re planning to cook something and share with them,” Ruba said. “They’ve been so generous and accommodating. That’s the least thing we could do.”
