District staff told the board June 26 they will pursue a memorandum of understanding to hire four visiting international teachers through an exchange program to fill vacancies, particularly in bilingual and world-language roles. Staff said the teachers will be hired as union employees and will follow the same district rules and regulations as other staff.

Why it matters: administrators said local applicant pools have been exhausted and that in-person international teachers are preferred to virtual alternatives. Staff said the district has used visiting-teacher programs before and that live classroom teachers were a better instructional fit than remote solutions.

Details: staff said the four candidates under discussion are expected from Spain, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. The district will continue recruiting for specific math and science vacancies, which the visiting international teachers are less likely to fill. Staff said all of the visiting teachers are fluent in English and that the district will provide translation and technology supports as needed during instruction.

Next steps: staff said they will complete the MOU with the union and proceed with onboarding; board members asked for assurances on classroom support and technology for bilingual instruction.

Ending: staff said the visiting-teacher approach places live educators in classrooms where local hiring has not filled all vacancies and is preferable to virtual instruction in the district's assessment.