MIDLAND, Texas —
Midland ISD plans to bring fresh faces to teaching roles in the district, some coming from as far as out of the country.
“We're trying to grow the program. We have in the past recruited one or two teachers from out of country, but this year we're starting a new program with cultural exchange programs," said Nelly Jimenez, recruitment and retention coordinator at MISD. "So it's with the J1 visa and that allows us to bring more teachers at one time.”
The district said the cultural exchange program allows them to find qualified candidates for high needs areas in a reasonable amount of time. High need areas like math, science, bilingual classes and special education.
Varaprasad Vejju, also known as Mr. V by his students, came to the Permian Basin from India and now teaches math at Legacy High School.
Despite coming from a different culture, Mr. Vejju said he gives his students his all to make sure they do well.
“So, international teachers like we are learning while we are teaching. We are learning the culture, we are learning the technology, we are learning the system, we are being friendly with the community, we are knowing the people," Mr. Vejju said. "So, like we are raising our children here. So that's one of the best benefits and the next thing is like we are trying to make a difference in the community, especially in the students. We are making them to graduate, we are making them to pass the state test; like we are giving our 100% best.”
International teachers like Mr. Vejju usually come to West Texas on a visa for about five years.
However, this doesn't mean that the district has stopped looking for qualified candidates in the Permian Basin.
"So this just one of the pipelines that we're using to recruit teachers. We of course are trying to recruit locally. We recruit all over the state, we have programs with the university. We're trying to grow our own, people in the district that we could grow into these teaching positions," said Jimenez.