Anonymous wrote:I'm an administrator who was assigned one of these teachers to work at my elementary school this year as a SPED teacher. I finally met them this past week and it took them two hours to get to our school from their apartment in Silver Spring. While the teacher is experienced in the Philipines, they don't have much experience with technology which is now a huge component of the job. On a personal note, I'm appalled that MCPS has four grown adults sharing one bedroom apartments with no concrete plans for transportation. These individuals are expected to utilize public transportation to travel all over the county? It's utterly ridiculous. We provided our teacher with Giant gift cards after we were told they had been relying on canned food donations since their arrival.
This is going to be next disaster MCPS has to clear up.

Anonymous wrote:Administrators covering up rape cases and firing hard working teachers who challenge the pathetic staus quo is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:Mcps has burned out so many americans there are none willing to teach in this unsupportive abusive district. This is called chickens coming home to roost or reaping what the sow etc. I hope the filipeno ladies know about this site and what they have gotten themselves into.

Anonymous wrote:Let’s not forget all of the fees as part of this program. The agency charges participants $2,500 for a consultancy fee, a fee to check their credentials, visa fee, international flights to get here, plus thousands of dollars of their personal money to cover living expenses until their first paycheck.

http://www.fcec-inc.com/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"The cohort of 42 educators, assigned to schools throughout the district, is part of a cultural exchange program that allows J-1 visa holders to teach in the U.S.

In partnership with Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc., these distinguished educators from the Philippines are provided with comprehensive support, including assistance in arranging housing accommodations and essential needs such as food, household goods, transportation, and security. This support is aimed at ensuring a stress-free transition, allowing them to focus on preparing to teach our students on the first day of school. Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc. also offers financial and informational support to the exchange teachers, further ensuring a positive experience while living in the U.S.

Cultural exchange teachers are compensated using the same pay table as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teachers, based on education and years of experience. They also receive the same benefits afforded to MCPS teachers.

Good to hear that they will be paid the same as regular teachers. But then is MCPS paying extra to the contracting company? I guess so

I'm curious where they are starting on the salary scale? I'd hope that they would start based on their years of experience but I have a feeling that they're starting out as a year one teacher. I'm also curious how these teachers are expected to get from their apartments in Silver Spring to schools much further north like Gaithersburg and Germantown via public transportation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"The cohort of 42 educators, assigned to schools throughout the district, is part of a cultural exchange program that allows J-1 visa holders to teach in the U.S.

In partnership with Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc., these distinguished educators from the Philippines are provided with comprehensive support, including assistance in arranging housing accommodations and essential needs such as food, household goods, transportation, and security. This support is aimed at ensuring a stress-free transition, allowing them to focus on preparing to teach our students on the first day of school. Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc. also offers financial and informational support to the exchange teachers, further ensuring a positive experience while living in the U.S.

Cultural exchange teachers are compensated using the same pay table as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teachers, based on education and years of experience. They also receive the same benefits afforded to MCPS teachers.

Good to hear that they will be paid the same as regular teachers. But then is MCPS paying extra to the contracting company? I guess so

Anonymous wrote:"The cohort of 42 educators, assigned to schools throughout the district, is part of a cultural exchange program that allows J-1 visa holders to teach in the U.S.

In partnership with Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc., these distinguished educators from the Philippines are provided with comprehensive support, including assistance in arranging housing accommodations and essential needs such as food, household goods, transportation, and security. This support is aimed at ensuring a stress-free transition, allowing them to focus on preparing to teach our students on the first day of school. Foreign Cultural Exchange Consultants, Inc. also offers financial and informational support to the exchange teachers, further ensuring a positive experience while living in the U.S.

Cultural exchange teachers are compensated using the same pay table as Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) teachers, based on education and years of experience. They also receive the same benefits afforded to MCPS teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why Philippines and not other countries?

1) Many middle class Filipinos already speak English and are somewhat familiar with American culture.

2) Filipinos have a long history of working abroad and sending remittances home. They understand they will be homesick, miss children’s milestones, and lose parents while away.

3) They actually have a good education system there. Two of my kids had Filipino immigrant teachers for advanced math classes. They were amazing.