M E M O R A N D U M         

        

TO:	Indiana School Superintendents
FROM:	Caterina Cregor Blitzer, Director of International Education
DATE:	January 4, 2008
RE:	Opportunity for Chinese language instruction through Visiting Teachers from Taiwan Program

We are pleased to inform you of an opportunity to offer Chinese language instruction through the Visiting Teacher from Taiwan Program. This program, a joint venture between the Indiana Department of Education and the Ministry of Education, Republic of China (Taiwan), enables local school districts to hire a highly-qualified native Chinese speaker.

The Taiwan Ministry of Education extends an invitation to a superintendent or principal interested in hiring a teacher from Taiwan for the 2008 – 2009 school year, to travel to Taiwan April 4 – 13,  2008 to interview potential candidates at the Ministry, visit university language centers and elementary or high schools and receive an orientation to education and culture in Taiwan.  Interested school leaders must complete the form below.  Deadline for submission of proposal to hire:  January 18, 2008.  The Taiwan Ministry of Education will cover the travel expenses for Indiana school leaders prepared to interview and hire a Visiting Teacher from Taiwan. 

Through this program, school districts are able to recruit bilingual teachers from Taiwan to teach Chinese language and culture at elementary, middle and high school levels.  With the growing interest in the Chinese language, this is an opportunity to address the immediate need to place highly qualified teachers of Chinese in schools where positions may be hard to fill. The Visiting Teachers make a one to three year commitment to teach in the United States, provided that the school district agrees to rehire them. Participating districts employ these teachers in accordance with state regulations and policies, and pay them according to their experience and certification level. J-1 work visas are issued to the Visiting Teachers by the Indiana Department of Education.

The Visiting Teachers are responsible for their own housing arrangements and their immediate expenses until they receive their first pay from the district. However, schools must assist Visiting Teachers by securing a temporary host/welcome family for the initial days following the teacher’s arrival in the United States

Please disseminate this information to school principals, the district’s director of human resources, and the district’s department chair for world languages. If you wish to discuss this and other programs offered by the IDOE-Taiwan partnership, please contact Caterina Cregor Blitzer, Director of International Education, by phone at 317.234-2375 or by e-mail at cblitzer@doe.in.gov.