PSS struggling to hire off-island teachers

With the current power crisis and economic downturn, the Public School System is having difficulty recruiting teachers from off island, acting PSS Commissioner Ramon Diaz said Tuesday.

Diaz said he expects 20 off-island teachers to be hired this year, compared to 30 to 35 hired the last two years.

Many potential teachers express interest in PSS, but after they conduct research, Diaz said, they realize the CNMI is not for them.

“Off-island hires expect at least reliable utilities,” he said. ”It’s been a big turn off, it really has been.”

PSS has actively recruited highly qualified off-island teachers for three years, Diaz said.

There is a process the school system usually goes through in recruiting teachers. They typically send out mass advertisements via the Internet or education conventions. At the conventions they promote the tropical climate and ability to travel to Asia as perks of working in the CNMI. They also promote the ability of loan forgiveness. If the teacher is interested, PSS will give the teacher more information. But lately, Diaz said, once the candidate begins conducting their own research on CNMI, they decide not to pursue the job.

“Ours is one of the very few with palm trees and water. That draws them in,” Diaz said. “We start talking to them about the system and they walk away excited. But then they start realizing the daily hardships.”

On Monday, a PSS principal informed Diaz that eight potential teacher candidates had changed their mind and were not interested in teaching in the CNMI, he said.

“What I’ve seen now is, ‘I’ve done the research and I don’t think this is the right point in time for me,’” he said of teachers deciding not to pursue work at PSS.

Diaz said he attributes the change of heart to the tough times the Commonwealth is going through.

“It’s not good, bad or indifferent,” he said. “It’s the reality.”

But PSS has been able to recruit those teachers that are young or well into their career, Diaz said.

“I think we continue to appeal to those that are adventurous,” he added.

PSS has been able to fill some teaching positions with recent graduates from Northern Marianas College, Diaz said. Seventeen NMC students graduated with teaching degrees two years ago and 18 graduated last year, he said.

“If [NMC graduates] want to come, we’ll pretty much take them,” he added.