Visiting Teachers from Spain Program

Is your school anticipating difficulty in securing a licensed Spanish teacher for the 2019-2020 school year or beyond? Are you trying to figure out how to staff a Spanish immersion program? Do you want to expose your students to a native speaker and cultural expert? Then the Visiting Teacher from Spain Program may be just the answer!

Massachusetts’ Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Education of Spain was created to promote strong cross-cultural ties between the citizens of Massachusetts´s and the people of Spain and to provide qualified instructors of Spanish in the Commonwealth. Under this agreement, educators from Spain can be brought to teach in Massachusetts schools for a period of up to three years. In addition, a two years extension may be possible depending on the availability of each individual teacher, his or her willingness to stay for an extended period, and the school districts’ interest in extending their visiting teachers’ contracts beyond the initial year.

Visiting International Teachers are licensed to teach in Massachusetts while holding the cultural exchange status described above and are exempt from needing to hold a license issued by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as indicated in 603 CMR 7.15(10)(a).

The process of securing a Visiting Teacher from Spain is not complicated. An interested school or public district must first determine that they have a guaranteed full-time position. Teachers on J1 visas cannot be procured for openings that are uncertain or subject to elimination or change.

Districts can review the qualifications of the prospective educator and can conduct Skype interviews with candidates before making a hiring decision. Please note that these candidates have gone through an intensive screening process by both the Spanish Ministry of Education and DESE to get to this point. The next step is to put their visiting teachers under contract in accordance with any local bargaining unit agreements.

Visiting teachers must receive the same salary and benefits that any other teacher would receive, based on their educational attainment and years of experience. Visiting teachers arrive in MA in mid-August having completed a thorough pre-service orientation provided by The Spanish Ministry of Education and additional orientation will take please with DESE involvement in early September.

The program (as well as 603 CMR 7.12) requires the educator be supported in yearlong mentoring program in his or her school or district and we encourage that the school or district also should be willing to assist the teacher with all aspects of getting settled to their new life and this could include assistance in finding housing, securing a vehicle, obtaining a Social Security Number, and general advice on living in your area (where to shop, get a haircut, medical appointments, etc.).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you want to review some candidates resumes or have any questions or concerns.

View Brochure (If the link does not work directly, please copy and paste it in your browser – https://issuu.com/galicia1/docs/visiting_teachers_from_spain_2019_f.)