AT RURAL SCHOOLS, A VISA CRUNCH

For small, underfunded districts, Trump's H-1B changes are pinching a key source of labor: teachers from abroad

- BY MICHAEL MELIA

Like many school systems facing teacher shortages, South Carolina's Allendale County has looked overseas for help. A quarter of the teachers in the rural, high-poverty district come from other countries.

The superintendent praises the international educators — mostly from Jamaica and the Philippines — for their skill and dedication.

But she is preparing to lose some of them as the Trump administration reshapes visa programs.

Facing higher visa sponsorship costs and uncertain immigration policies, Supt. Vallerie Cave said it feels too risky to extend some international teachers whose contracts are up or bring on others.

"Some of my very best teachers are having to return to their countries," Cave said.

For rural schools especially, President Trump’s immigration crackdown is pinching a pipeline used widely to fill staffing shortages that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rural districts can struggle to attract American teachers to remote areas that lack plentiful housing, shopping and services such as healthcare, especially for lower salaries than some bigger districts offer.

"I can't really do competitive pay," she said. "For rural America, impoverished America, it is still a problem recruiting teachers."

Cave is hoping to hire local teachers to fill the gaps left by several teachers’ impending departures. If she can’t, she may expand the district’s use of online teachers.