dwightdan

Can anyone help me or give me advice?
I am a Primary School Teacher in England and I have recently applied for a job in Nashville as I would really love to work in the States. I went there on holiday recently and loved it so much that I thought that I would give it a go. I have applied to have my qualifications approved by the Tennessee teaching board and am waiting for a reply. I am unsure what to do when and if I do get a job offer. No two people seem to give me the same advice and I'm getting quite stressed and deflated by the whole thing. I've heard so many horror stories. Can anyone give me advice. Is anyone out there a teacher who has done what I am looking to do? Do I need an Immigration Lawyer or are there other, more affordable ways. I have heard that Lawyers can be very expensive. Sorry to be nieve, I would really appreciate some advice. Thank you very much,

Dan Dwight

Rete

You would be better off posting this in the visa section of BE then in the cultural lifestyle section.

I'm not sure that teachers fall within the work visa category. Post again there and someone with info and familiarity with the work visa would be able to assist you.

Rete

Englishmum

You are probably unaware that there are actually some British primary schools in the US which follow the UK National Curriculum (Washington DC, Houston, Chicago, Boston and a new one opening soon in Charlotte, North Carolina. There isn't one in NYC as they can't find suitable premises). You may wish to investigate employment opportunities but for any chance of landing a job you would have to prove that you are a superb teacher

http://www.britishschool.org

On the other hand, there are obviously ways of overseas teachers being able to get jobs in the States....I live in New Jersey and my friend needed a nanny. She employed a Filipina and things were going well for about a month when suddenly the day before the academic year began the woman had just packed her bags and announced that she was leaving (my friend in the lurch)! It turned out that in the Philippines she had been a maths teacher and the NJ State Dept of Education arranged for her to teach over here - she even received a Green Card. It does seem that if you are prepared to work in a deprived area or can teach a subject such as maths or science (where it's difficult for some schools to find teachers) then some States will assist with placement and visas (often via an agency). In NJ about 3 years ago there was one agency which brought teachers in from India - but a scandal broke when the agency wasn't passing on the teacher's wages in full. I understand that NJ uses alternative agencies instead.

I guess you could look at the State Education Dept pages online of Tennessee or any other State you want to work in and see how they recruit and if they use agencies to bring in teachers from overseas.

Good Luck!

Englishmum

This might be of interest:

http://www.vifprogram.com/about/newsarticle.xml?id=133

http://www.vifprogram.com

britchicknyc

Are there any plans to open a school in NY or NJ? I love my future children to go to one of these!

Englishmum

I don't know! A Scottish friend of mine had her children at the British School in the Boston metro area and her kids were very happy there. They've now returned to Scotland and I guess the school was doing something right as she managed to get her children into an excellent private school (where they were tested for admission). I remember that she said to me that they were hoping to open one in the NY metro area but just couldn't find suitable premises.

It's such a pity as there are so many British families over in NY/NJ who are here on work contracts and will definitely return to the UK. I know it's a worry for many UK parents when their children don't begin school full-time in the US until they are rising six. My husband's colleagues moved back to the UK because of these worries. There is a French school in NYC for example but the only international school I know of in New York is the United Nations school. Pupils there have to be fluent in French, I understand.

Perhaps you could send an e-mail enquiry to http://www.britishschool.org ?

Maybe if they deem that there is a strong enough demand for a British school in NY/NJ they may try a bit harder to investigate establishing a school here - and of course British families will flock to the area where there is such a school.