Among the 19,491 teachers from 114 countries who taught in the United States within that six-year period, the greatest numbers have come from:

• Philippines, with 4,338;
• Spain, with 3,614;
• Jamaica, with 2,213;
• China, with 1,816; and
• France, with 1,431.

For districts hiring international teachers, the talent pipeline has been especially critical for hard-to-fill positions in math, science, and special education.

But beyond the numbers are the complicated stories of individual teachers who leave their homelands to teach in a foreign country for a finite amount of time, and the school administrators who hire them.

District administrators interviewed for this story reported instances of international teachers flourishing in their schools—not just filling teacher vacancies, but also helping to improve overall academic standings of schools and winning teaching awards. The teachers who have uprooted their lives to teach in the U.S. mainland share a more mixed experience that includes sacrifice, loneliness, classroom challenges—but also gratitude and the prospect of new opportunities.

Challenging transitions

Teachers from overseas are lured here primarily by the opportunity to experience life in the United States mainland and to earn a salary far higher than they could in their homeland. Multiple years of experience as educators in their homeland—only teachers with a minimum of two years teaching or similar professional experience can apply for a J-1visa—doesn’t always prepare them for living and working in the U.S.

Smitha Pulparambil, 42, arrived in Florida last school year with 15 years teaching experience in her native India and Maldives. She left her husband and teenage son, whom she hasn’t seen since leaving India, to work as an 8th grade inclusion math teacher at Denison Middle School, a high-poverty school in Winter Haven, Fla.

Now in her second year teaching at Denison, Pulparambil recalls her initial experience: “I was alone in the school; I didn’t see anyone from my community here. I was so sad,” she said. “But the school and teachers here were so supportive.”

One of her teacher colleagues offered to give Pulparambil a ride to and from school. This year, that same teacher drives three additional teachers from India—friends of Pulparambil who have joined her at Denison Middle School after she encouraged them to apply for a J-1 visa. The women share an apartment, a more cost-effective option than last year, when Pulparambil bore the expense of renting an apartment on her own.

That was an improvement, however, over her first three months in the U.S., when she says she could find no housing choice other than to rent an expensive Airbnb that lacked basic amenities including a kitchen. She still has no car, but the apartment she shares with the other Indian teachers is within walking distance to Walmart, one of the few places they have gone outside of the school where they work.

Pulparambil has navigated challenges in school as well as outside of it. When asked about classroom management, she acknowledges that she is fortunate to have a lead teacher in her classroom who offers her support. Nevertheless, she describes differences in students’ attitudes toward teachers in India compared to the U.S.

“In India, you cannot disrespect a teacher. Students do not talk back. Here, there are kids who are really good. But some kids,” she said, her voice trailing off before adding: “To get connected with the students takes time.”

But Pulparambil says the challenges are worth it. “If I can save $1,000, that’s a lot there. I am supporting my family [back home],” she said. “I would love to teach here for five years.”

Raising academic achievement

And Denison Middle School would love to continue that pipeline.

Denison’s principal, Teri Christian, says that her school is considered in “turnaround” mode, and its low student achievement and overall performance grade made it particularly challenging to recruit teachers locally.

“Last year, we were able to bring on two international teachers,” she said. “And our school went from a D to a very high C. It was a wonderful, positive experience.”

This year, the school welcomed seven more international teachers. “They work really hard. They give it 100 percent. I couldn’t ask for more committed people,” Christian said.

Read the full report here