Latest news with #MabuhaysaAlaska
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Hiring teachers from the Philippines could mean brain drain for Filipino schools
Kids at Pajo Elementary School, a few hours drive from Manila. (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT) Alaska school districts hiring from the Philippines are taking some of the country's best and brightest teachers. It's a win for Alaska kids, but what does that mean for students back in Southeast Asia? KMXT's Brian Venua explores brain drain and brain gain in Part 5 of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska. When Alaska school administrators toured Pajo Elementary School, each class greeted them by welcoming them to the Philippines in both English and in Filipino. The administrators were there to see what the teachers they hire from the Philippines experience before moving to Alaska. But the students are the other side of that story — These are kids that get left behind when Filipino teachers are hired abroad. When recruiters opened up appointments for screening, all 720 spots were filled in just 16 minutes. The only advertising was a few posts on social media. But one consequence of hiring abroad is fewer quality teachers in the Philippines — a phenomenon known as brain drain. Conversely, Alaska gets brain gain. Hiring teachers has largely been a success for the state's kids. Recruiters on the 2025 trip picked some of the most highly educated teachers from the island nation. Kodiak Island Borough School District, for example, has more doctorate degrees from its 30 or so Filipino teachers than it does from its over 300 American hires. 'We were impressed with the quality of teachers that we met over there. And we were able to choose – from there – the top of the top,' said Cyndy Mika, the district's superintendent. She said there have been more remarkable candidates than they can hire during recruiting trips. It's hard to say what the impact is on the Philippines, though. Mika said that so far, a surplus of workers in the Philippines is helping address her district's shortage. 'A lot of the teachers that we interviewed in the Philippines, when they first got their start, it was as a volunteer teacher,' she said. 'They weren't being paid because there weren't jobs. They're producing too many teachers.' But Mika is concerned that taking so many highly qualified teachers could create a sort of skill ceiling there, if the country's best teachers keep leaving for Alaska and other destinations. That doesn't change that her priority is the kids in the community where she works. 'My number one concern as a superintendent in Kodiak is getting the best quality teachers we can in front of our students,' she said. 'If we didn't have these Filipino teachers, who would we have?' She said that without international hires, vacant teacher positions would lead to smaller teacher-to-student ratios and more burnout for her staff. Remittance and returning teachers It's not a one-way street, though. Many Filipinos working abroad send a lot of money home – 8% of the country's economy, according to some reports. Their experience, professional development and cultural knowhow gained in the U.S. is valuable, too, and sometimes comes back. Edna Auxtero is the administrator for Tagaytay Christian Academy, a private school about a two-hour drive from Manila. She said hiring Filipino teachers is a huge compliment to the country's educational system. 'I'm so proud that they're even interested to get Filipinos,' Auxtero said. 'That's always my dream – that the priority for employment in other countries are Filipinos.' TCA's principal, and many of its teachers, are alumni. Auxtero hopes some of them will go to Alaska someday and return with new skills. 'My hope is that they will come back to build the nation and impart all their knowledge, experiences to the next generation so that Philippines will rise up also,' she said. 'They can expect that for teachers under J1 visas,' said Serjoe Gutierrez, a Kodiak music teacher and one of the district's first direct hires from the Philippines. J1 visas require international hires to go back to their home countries after a few years. But Gutierrez, and many others, are on potential paths to permanent residency through H1B visas. But he still thinks about kids he taught at a private school in Iloilo City. 'I do worry, sometimes,' Gutierrez said. He thought about it even before coming to Alaska. 'I was thinking about it before resigning, but I told myself it's for me. The kids, they would gain more experience – they're still young. But I'm not getting any younger, so I need to do something for myself, too.' Kodiak is his home now. 'I do love my country. I do love the Philippines, but I think being a teacher in Kodiak – being here in Alaska – opened a lot of opportunities for me,' he said. He said he's not sure he would have had the same chances to travel and play piano and violin publicly in the Philippines. He hopes to be one of the first to get a green card through the school and stay in the U.S. indefinitely. This story was originally published by KMXT, as part five of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
New teachers are latest wave in the centuries-long history of Filipinos in Alaska
Thelma Buchholdt's book on Filipino history in Alaska (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT) Alaska school districts are hiring teachers from the Philippines, but it's not the first time employers in the state have looked to the island nation to address a labor shortage. In part 4 of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT's Brian Venua reports that this is just the latest wave in more than a century of ebb and flow. The first Filipino known to visit Alaska came in 1788, aboard a Spanish trading ship called the Iphigenia Nubiana. The ship passed by Kodiak Island, where Russia had founded one of its first permanent settlements in Alaska a few years earlier. That's according to research by Thelma Buchholdt, the founder of the Filipino Heritage Council of Alaska and the first female Filipino American legislator in Alaska and the U.S. According to Buchholdt, that sailor's name was lost to time. He's listed in the captain's journals only as 'Manilla man.' Ship records note a handful of 'Manilla men' coming to trade with Alaska Natives before the 1800s. At least 27 more came on whaling ships through the 1800s. The Alaskeros establish the first organized communities The U.S. bought Alaska in 1867, and the first big waves of Filipinos to make the territory their home came late in the century, when the salmon business went industrial. 'They were coming for education, they wanted to follow the American dream,' said Katherine Ringsmuth, Alaska's state historian. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, cutting off a source of cheap labor. In 1898, Filipinos became U.S. nationals when the United States annexed the Philippines as a colony after the Philippine-American War. By then, Ringsmuth said pre-Exclusion Act Chinese migrants were aging out of the workforce. That set the stage for American companies to hire Filipino people. 'So the Filipinos, who could speak English, who understood American ways of doing things, fit right in there perfectly and really began to dominate the cannery workforce right up through the 21st century,' she said. In the early days of the territory's commercial fisheries, one of the first groups to organize were the Alaskeros, or Filipino salmon cannery workers 'Filipinos would be the ones to really lead the way in organizing labor and unionizing,' Ringsmuth said. Even though they were seasonal workers, the unions fought for better food, working conditions, and more equitable hiring practices. The Filipino cannery workers later sued to end segregation in cannery bunkhouses. 'This kind of racialized segregation of the canneries – is it constitutional?' Ringsmuth said 'And they end up winning that case.' Canneries used to separate workers by country of origin but switched to numbers after the union won its lawsuit. The legacy of the Alaskeros set the foundations of organized Filipino communities in Alaska – now the state's largest group of Asian Americans. The number of new Alaskeros cannery workers wound down after Congress further curbed immigration from Asia with new restrictions in 1924. Still, the Filipino diaspora reaches everywhere across the state. The Kodiak Island Borough has some of the highest concentrations – about a quarter of the population has some kind of Filipino heritage. Anchorage has a population of 18,000 Filipino people, with thousands more across the state totaling to around 35,000 people. World War II created a new labor shortage 'During World War II, the United States asked for assistance with the Filipinos to help them,' said Gabriel Garcia, a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He's teaching a course on Filipino history and community, which starts in the fall. Under the Second War Powers Act of 1942, military service gave U.S. nationals, who can't vote or run for office, a path to citizenship. 'That was one of the perks that was promised to the Filipinos at that point,' Garcia said. 'And so many Filipinos from all over the Philippines enlisted as members of the military here in the U.S.' After WWII, the Philippines received its independence, becoming its own nation in 1945. Immigration after Independence Filipino immigration boomed again about 20 years after that, when the federal government lifted immigration restrictions from Asia. 'The ban was lifted in 1965, so post-1965, that's when immigration numbers again significantly increases, specifically in the Filipino community,' Garcia said. Many of these new immigrants were engineers, doctors, educators, and other professionals. Filipino nurses in particular immigrated in droves through the Exchange Visitor Program. Schools there primarily teach in English, which makes an immigrant's transition easier than it might be from many other countries. '(The) Philippines is a good country to look into particularly because the type of educational system they have in the Philippines is very much Westernized,' Garcia said. Now, as the U.S. faces a national teacher shortage, school districts are looking at the Philippines once again. Garcia said it's not surprising that the island nation is supplementing another U.S. workforce, largely for the same reasons as for nurses and other skilled professions. 'With the historical connection of the Philippines and the United States, and the educational system being very close to the United States, I think the Philippines is a natural choice for labor shortages,' he said. Jobs in America tend to pay better, so many emigrate to send money to their families back home. 'The natural choice is to look for better opportunities for them – financial specifically – so that they can provide for their family back home in the Philippines,' Garcia said. This story was originally published by KMXT, as part four of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
From island nation to an island in Alaska: how Filipino teachers adjust to their new lives
Manila's skyline seen from a hotel near the airport. It's one of the biggest cities in the Philippines, as well as the island nation's capital. (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT) Moving to rural Alaska takes a lot of adjustment — especially when you're coming from a city with a population of 13 million. In Part 3 of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT's Brian Venua reports on how teachers who have made the move from the Philippines are navigating their new lives in Alaska. Carmela Sison is one of Kodiak's new special education teachers from the Philippines. She grew up in Manila, with a metropolitan population of over 13 million people. Kodiak has less than 13,000 people. 'It's not the same as in Manila because I lived in the highly urbanized part, but I wanted to slow down – it's easier for transition,' she said. Easier, but not seamless. Before she came to Kodiak in August, Sison worked at an international school in the Philippines. She said the kids there were more competitive. 'In the Philippines, I love that drive, I love that motivation for my students, but it was always coming from a place of 'I have to.' Here, 'I want to,'' she said. 'It's not about competition, it's not about getting ahead.' That was one of the biggest surprises for her – she had to figure out new ways to motivate students. 'I did not anticipate that at all,' Sison said. 'I stayed up many nights changing my lesson plan because it will not connect with students.' Sison said being in Kodiak has meant a lot of adjustments. She's one of Kodiak's third batch of teachers to come from the Philippines. Cyndy Mika, the Kodiak Island Borough School District's superintendent, said each batch of recruits has started supporting the next. 'Now that we've had, really, three groups of Filipino teachers coming in, they have become the support for each other,' Mika said. Serjoe Gutierrez came to Kodiak in December 2022. He struggled with students at first, too. He said that back in the Philippines, his private school students were more focused. 'You wouldn't have a hard time with discipline for those kids because I think they're afraid of the teachers – they respect you more there,' Gutierrez said. Not all of the adjustments are in the classroom. The cost of living in small towns is much higher than it is in the Philippines. Sison used to hire cleaners and home chefs or get massages for a fraction of what it would cost here. 'Massage is $10 an hour, home service,' she said. 'So I used to get at least a two-hour or three-hour massage every week.' Gutierrez said comparing grocery prices still blows him away sometimes. He took his family shopping on a recent trip to the Philippines. 'Our cart was full, like overflowing full, and it only cost me like $350,' he said. 'Like here, when you get out of Walmart or Safeway – it's not like the whole cart.' Mika, the superintendent, said some of her employees have had to learn to use amenities that most Americans take for granted, like microwaves, thermostats and space heaters. 'We've had to learn through mistakes that we've made with onboarding,' she said. 'How far do we start on the integration? Just into our conveniences of life and teaching them how to use those.' She even offers to teach new recruits how to drive. 'They don't own vehicles in the Philippines – they have such a robust system of public transportation,' Mika said. Some things are familiar, though – about 25% of Kodiak Island Borough is Filipino, and the community is organized. The Kodiak Filipino American Association regularly holds events that celebrate heritage from the island nation. 'FilAm is for everybody, and it's an organization that is focused on helping the community – building a community,' said Mark Anthony Vizcocho, the nonprofit's president. One of his goals this year is to reach out to more of the new teachers as he plans cultural events like Flores de Mayo, a traditional flower festival and parade in the Philippines. 'People don't know why we always have parties. It's because we want them to know that we like to have fun,' Vizcocho said. It's a reminder of the island nation, here on this island in Alaska. This story was originally published by KMXT, as part three of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
For teachers from the Philippines, getting hired to work in Alaska is only the first step
Julieth Tapado has met with recruiters each time Kodiak Island Borough School District held a screening event in Manila. (Photo by Brian Venua/KMXT) Alaska school districts are ramping up international hiring. For some, that means sending their own recruiters to the Philippines. In Part 2 of this five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska, KMXT's Brian Venua reports that the process can be pretty complicated, and it's only getting more stressful. Julieth Tapado was one of hundreds of teachers waiting for the chance to impress recruiters from Alaska school districts earlier this year. She drove about an hour from Cavite City to the recruiting event in Manila, then waited even longer to get in. She said Alaska was at the top of her list — she hadn't applied anywhere else in the U.S. 'I'm curious and excited to work in Alaska because I believe the tradition and the culture is still not like other states,' Tapado said. She said she's heard the people are more genuine in places like Kodiak. This is Tapado's third attempt to get a job in Alaska. She has friends and family that have been successful in Alaska, and she wants to join them. 'There are a lot of school districts looking, so I might be one of those blessed aspirants!' she said. Serjoe Gutierrez has taught in Kodiak for the last three years. Now he also helps Alaska districts fill vacancies with teachers from his home country. 'This is the start of your dreams,' he told Tapado and 120 of her peers at the start of the event. They were the first of six groups about that size that the recruiters would meet on their 2025 recruiting trip. The administrators asked candidates about classroom management and how they connect with families. They were also looking for skills like English fluency and the ability to respond to questions quickly. Each candidate had less than 10 minutes with recruiters. They could earn more time through a callback, but less than a third were asked for one. That's where the process shifts to the bureaucracy around immigration. 'You need to go through (the) Visa Application Center, get your biometrics, get your pictures done,' Gutierrez said to the crowd of applicants. 'And once you're done, you need to schedule a U.S. Embassy interview.' Teachers also have to pay hundreds of dollars in application fees to the U.S. embassy and work with the Philippine government's Department of Migrant Workers and its licensed agencies. After arriving in the U.S., but before starting in classrooms, new teachers have to file for teacher certification and Social Security numbers. All of the paperwork gets pretty complicated. That's why at least seven Alaska districts, including Kodiak's, work with immigration lawyer Russell Ford. Ford, of FordMurry Law, is based in Maine but has public school districts and private schools across the country as clients. He helped his Alaska clients figure out which visa was most appropriate. 'When we met them, most of their teachers were on J1,' Ford said. J1 visas are supposed to promote international cultural exchange. They allow foreign nationals to live and work in the United States for three years and can be extended up to five years. A former J1 visa holder can reapply after returning to their home country for two years. In the past, many Alaska school districts hired from abroad through third-party recruiting agencies that used J1 visas. Now that administrators are recruiting directly with Ford's help, many have shifted to using H1B visas. Those are designed for high-skill jobs like teachers and allow for longer careers in the U.S. 'If everything is working out, then there's the possibility of sponsorship for permanent residence or a green card,' Ford said. That opens the door for districts and communities to build long-term relationships with international hires. Neil Frank Rivera Ferrer is the Philippines' consulate general in San Francisco and provides immigration services for Philippine nationals across 10 states, including Alaska. He said switching to the H1B visa is the right call. 'We would prefer if those that are coming to Alaska and coming to the U.S. in general, for work purposes, should get a work visa – the H1B visa instead of a J1 visa, which is really more of a temporary, cultural, short term visit to the U.S.,' Ferrer said. But U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services issues a limited number of H1B visas each year. And President Donald Trump's administration has sworn to deport millions of illegal immigrants. Some legal immigrants have been caught in his crosshairs, too. Ford said that's left his clients with more uncertainty about living in the U.S.. 'I'm having conversations that are a little tougher – it's about people's fears,' Ford said. 'It's about – 'Can I go home? Should I go home? Can I travel? Do people want me here?' So I'm doing more counseling, and not from a legal sense, but just having someone to talk to.' Ford said H1B applications have had a few more delays than before, but he's trying to run business as usual. He just makes sure to remind clients to be extra careful to follow the law and avoid attracting negative attention. At least one Filipino migrant in Kodiak was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, in April. Elsewhere, ICE has deported legal Filipino immigrants. But for candidates like Julieth Tapado at the recruiting event in Manila, the work is worth it. This wasn't her year — again — but she's already planning to try again next year. 'I'm still hoping that somehow, in God's time, in God's beautiful time, I could be able to achieve my dream working in Alaska as an English teacher,' Tapado said. This story was originally published by KMXT, as part two of a five part audio series, Mabuhay sa Alaska.
