Six officials from the Paterson public schools are heading to Puerto Rico this week seeking Spanish-speaking teachers willing to move to New Jersey and take a job in the state’s third-largest city.
It is a follow-up to last winter’s recruitment trip to Puerto Rico that resulted in the hiring of six teachers that remain on the job in Paterson, school district spokesman Paul Brubaker said.
The delegation from Paterson is flying to Puerto Rico on Monday and returning Friday. Starting Tuesday, they will be visiting four university campuses in three days in a bid to fill around a dozen teaching vacancies in bilingual, English as a second language (ESL) and world language classes.
Moreover, the district is seeking to fill up to 10 Spanish-speaking teacher positions in the upcoming ‘newcomers’ program launching this fall at Eastside High School.
A recruitment poster from the Paterson school district shows upcoming events in Puerto Rico
While New Jersey has reported a shortage of bilingual educators since 2004, according to the state education department, the need is especially pressing in Paterson. More than 61 percent of the city’s 148,000 residents are Hispanic, according to U.S. Census figures.
Of the 4,885 students enrolled in English Learner Language (ELL) classes in Paterson, a total of 4,167 speak Spanish, Brubaker said. Of the rest, 332 speak Bengali, 279 speak Arabic and 7 speak other languages.
Paterson is not alone in seeking teaching recruits from Puerto Rico, which in recent years has attracted recruiters from across the nation.
In 2013, the Perth Amboy school board approved a four-day, $5,808 trip after traditional methods, such as job fairs and advertising, failed to draw enough bilingual math and science teachers.
David Fuentes, an associate professor at William Paterson University whose academic specialties include teacher workforce diversity, said the need for bilingual educators in New Jersey is trending upward.
“There’s been a shortage in that area for a very long time, arguably since the inception of bilingual education. We know that, in the next 10 years, we expect that to continue,” Fuentes said.
Paterson’s school board approved the trip to Puerto Rico, totaling $13,700, on Jan. 22.
The school district is sending deputy superintendent Susana Peron, assistant superintendent Sandra Diodonet and bilingual/ESL/world languages director Lourdes Garcia, as well as human resources employees Karen Dever, Susette Chavez and Licerda Munoz.
Brubaker said the district has taken a multi-pronged approach at recruiting over the years, including job postings and providing a bilingual and ESL endorsement program for teachers.
Currently, the district has 87 bilingual teachers, 41 bilingual/ESL teachers and 48 world language teachers, he said.
The average starting salary of Paterson is $52,865.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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