LAURINBURG — The state of North Carolina is facing a teacher shortage, and one way schools are dealing with it is by bringing in international teachers who not only bring experience but also bring a new culture to the classroom.

In Scotland County Schools, there are 27 international teachers in the 11 schools throughout the district. Most of those teachers are from Jamaica, with others coming from the Philippines, Guatemala and Spain.

The school system works with Educational Partners International, Global Teaching Partners, and Participate to bring international teachers to Scotland County. The companies find the international teachers who want to teach in the United States, then give the schools a pool of candidates to interview and chose from. The companies also make sure that not only are the teachers certified in their home countries but also certifies them to teach here.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for Scotland County Schools Cory Satterfield said this is the sixth year the schools have done this and looks to continue with the program.

“We would love to keep on getting the teachers — what we want is we want to find the best and most qualified teachers to put in front of our students,” Satterfield said. “That’s all it’s about, finding the best teachers to put in front of our students. We always say Scotland County Schools wants to grow greatness and, with a certified fantastic teacher in front of those students, that can be accomplished.”

Satterfield explained that the teachers come here on a J1 Visa that allows them to teach for three years with a possible two-year extension. The teachers then return to their home countries but can apply to come back again after two years.

At the January Committee of the Whole meeting, Satterfield got permission from the board to begin the process with an immigration lawyer to find out what could possibly be done in order to keep some of those teachers more permanently.

For Satterfield, he believes that bringing in all the international teachers into the classroom is a benefit to all stakeholders in the schools, from parents and students to faculty and administration.

“It’s really good for our children. First of all, we’re getting certified teachers in the classroom that have experiences with children and the content that they have to teach,” Satterfield said. “Our children are also learning about other cultures, about other countries, and it’s really important for the well-roundedness of a child that they might not get in Laurinburg, North Carolina.”

The Laurinburg Exchange was able to talk to two of Scotland County’s international teachers to learn more about what they bring to the classroom and their experiences.

Originally from the Philippines Michael Sabunod has been teaching for just over eight years and came to Scotland County Schools at the start of the 2018-19 school year. While this is his first time teaching in the United States, he had taught abroad before, teaching in Thailand.

“It all started from Facebook when I was taking my master’s program,” Sabunod said. “I had never heard of EPI and I was skeptical. I thought it might be a scam because it was on Facebook. But I decided to look into and it took two years of interviews and everything, but I wouldn’t change anything.”

Now he’s part of the eighth-grade team at Carver Middle School, teaching science, and is thankful to have such a supportive team in Scotland County Schools.

“There’s a very supportive administration and eighth-grade team,” Sabunod said. “I’ve heard that other counties have some issues with their international teachers, but I’ve always felt the love and support. Everyone is very approachable and very accommodating.”

While Sabunod might be used to being in the classroom he said had some issues at first due to the cultural differences, and the fact he was used to teaching older students.

“Younger kids are a lot more rowdy and unruly where in high school they’re a bit more mature,” Sabunod said. “The students also have to ask to leave the classroom and we have to walk them to the cafeteria for lunch. In the Philippines, they have all the freedom like an hour and a half for lunch where they can go wherever they want. You don’t have that here.”

Despite teaching a younger age group, Sabunod says the biggest difference he has seen is with technology and the students access to it.

“They all have technology at their fingertips, the kids are really privileged to have that,” Sabunod said. “I was teaching at a public school and we didn’t have direct access to the internet.”

Scotland High School earth sciences teacher Keniel Bowen, who is from Jamaica, also says that technology is the biggest difference for him as well.

Bowen has been teaching for 15 years and came to Scotland County Schools in January 2018. While he had been trained for teaching with technology, the technology was very limited in Jamaica — but he is able to see the benefits of 21st century learning in the schools.

“Every student here has a computer so it’s easy for them to research on their own,” Bowen said. “In Jamaica, the students don’t have that and rely on what you show them in class. There’s a lot more opportunity for the students here.”

Despite the helpfulness of the technology, Bowen still uses a hands-on approach when teaching and has students doing hands-on projects or looking at various rocks that go along with the curriculum.

“They’re so used to doing everything on the computer, I want to work with giving them more hands-on projects,” Bowen said. “By doing things hands-on it stays with them longer.”

For Bowen, the biggest difference he has noticed with students is that they don’t take school very seriously compared to those in Jamaica, since students in Jamaica pay to go to school. He also coaches jayvee basketball and uses that as a teaching opportunity.

“I have a lot of students who want to be pro football players or pro basketball players and I always remind them that they could get injured and no longer be able to do that, so they need their academics to fall back on,” he said.

At the start of the semester, he has them fill out a piece of paper with things about them, like what they want to be, etc. So if they want to be a doctor and they’re acting up during class, he reminds them that if they want to be a doctor that they can’t act like that.”

Since coming to Scotland County he has given his students a taste of Jamaican culture. He has taught them about food, dances, and music from Jamaica — even bringing in some Jamaican food for the students to taste along with having them do a walk-through of Jamaican culture.

“We even will take assignments where they would typically look at things that happen in North Carolina and instead compare it to things in Jamaica,” Bowen said. “That way they’re able to learn about experiences of what has happened in my country rather than just in North Carolina.”

Bowen said he is looking forward to being able to bring what he has learned in Scotland County back to Jamaica and is enjoying being able to show students what it’s like in other parts of the world.

Reach Katelin Gandee at 910-506-3171 or at [email protected]

Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Keniel Bowen teaches Earth Science to students at Scotland High School. Originally from Jamacia Bowen has been teaching for 15 years and started at Scotland High in January of 2018.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1__DSC0049.jpgKatelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Keniel Bowen teaches Earth Science to students at Scotland High School. Originally from Jamacia Bowen has been teaching for 15 years and started at Scotland High in January of 2018.

Katelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Michael Sabunod is originally from the Philippines and began teaching eighth-grade science at Carver Middle School in the fall.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1__DSC0283.jpgKatelin Gandee | The Laurinburg Exchange Michael Sabunod is originally from the Philippines and began teaching eighth-grade science at Carver Middle School in the fall.

Katelin Gandee

Staff writer