Ten years ago recruiters from the New York City Department of Education wooed Caribbean teachers. It was an inviting offer that many of the region’s most seasoned and qualified educators readily accepted. Today, the promise of living the proverbial American dream has become nightmare. At the Wall Street office of the Black Institute, a public policy think tank, its executive director, attorney Princess Lyles, expressed bewilderment and outrage that a supposedly well-intentioned programme had created a sense of frustration, hopelessness and even fear.
“You must understand that recruiters painted an unrealistic picture to these teachers. This was a more ambitious recruitment drive than the ’97 effort, and provisions were just not in place. They made promises that they could not guarantee,” she said. Lyles identified reimbursement for travel, housing assistance, tuition toward advanced degrees, and a pathway to permanent resident status (concomitant with legal protection for spouses and children), as terms of the contractual arrangement that have not been met.
“Unfortunately, we have children of teachers, turning 21 years of age, who will be deported.” She referred to this scenario as “being aged out of the system,” meaning that these children cannot be legally carried by the parent whose status has not been adjusted to permanent resident. “This is just one of the many issues that are being addressed by us,” she said.
Lyles was later joined by the group’s organiser, Ebony Constant, who is a public policy graduate, and founder Bertha Lewis, former CEO of Association for Community Organisations and Reform Now (ACORN). Together, they painted a picture of desperate teachers finally willing to challenge a system that failed them.
Lack of affordable housing
In 2001, the New York City Department of Education responded to a stark teacher shortage with an international recruitment drive that impacted several Caribbean islands. “They came and attracted the very best. You are talking about teachers with many years of experience and some with a masters degree,” Constant said. Teachers from T&T, Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, and St Lucia soon encountered difficulties in finding adequate and affordable housing.
“Quite frankly, after being housed in dormitories for the first two weeks, the only housing assistance they received was the real estate agents showing up to market their overpriced properties,” noted Constant.
Disastrous issuance of “wrong” visas
However, it is the gross mishandling of visas that has had the most adverse impact. She went on to describe a dizzying array of categories and sub-categories used to label and define immigrant workers. “Initially, teachers were given a J visa which is good for two or three years, but makes the path to residency a long and taxing one. Although the latter batch of teachers was given HB1 visas, many were labelled in the EB3 category and not the EB2, given to doctors, nurses and engineers.” The latter, she stated, could expedite the residency process.
“Why weren’t Caribbean teachers treated as the professionals they are?” she then asked rhetorically. Of the some 2,000 Caribbean teachers who had signed onto the New York City Department of Education recruitment drive, only 800 are currently in the system. “This means that many have left the profession, possibly returned home, or could well be living illegally in the US,” Lyles added. The Black Institute is aware that many have expressed little sympathy for the beleaguered teachers, accusing them of selfishness, being too hasty, and having contributed to the region’s brain drain.
“We have heard the arguments and seen some responses on the blogs. We understand that the issue is complex but at the end of the day we all have a right to make a decision we think is best for ourselves and our children,” Constant stated. According to Lewis, the system has failed Caribbean teachers in particular. A noted community activist, she challenged the “systemic problem” in the treatment of immigrants from particular countries. She was far more combative, ratcheting up the rhetoric.
“Our theory is that Immigration and the Board of Education have a different way of doing things when it comes to teachers from other countries. In fact, Caribbean teachers who were recruited from Canada came out much better. If we are wrong, then prove it. Give us the data of your dealings with teachers from other countries,” she said. The Department of Education she noted, has not responded to this suggestive inquiry. “This is a problem that has nothing to do with borders. It is a dirty little immigration secret right here in New York. Families are uprooted; children are forced to return to their respective islands—places they know little or nothing about. And this is happening to children of professionals,” she commented.
She stated that at the moment the only recourse for these children now turning 21 years old is entrance into a vocational or academic programme. “Now they, through no fault of their own, must spend money they don’t have and apply for a student visa which does not allow them to work. Or they can do something illegal and pay someone to marry them.”
Recent successes
Since its inception, the Black Institute has published an exhaustive working paper on the current debacle. It has met with the media, community leaders, local politicians, and officials at the Department of Education (DOE) and the mayor’s office. Some key battles have been won in the process. “Having principals write letters annually on teachers, to somehow validate their importance to the schools has ended,” Lewis stated. “This placed teachers in an awkward, almost sheepish situation—really at the mercy of principals, some of whom can be vindictive. This has lifted a huge burden on teachers.”
Also, in aggressively airing the grievances of teachers, the Department of Education has admitted responsibility—“a partial victory and vindication for many,” according to Lewis. “We are now allowed to bring particular cases involving possible deportation of family members to the fore—to be dealt with expeditiously. This is a priority,” she stressed. Progress is also being made on correctly categorising teachers. “We are now getting teachers on the EB2 track,” she stated, reiterating that they will be offered a faster route to residency.
“This is now being looked at after all these years.” The Black Institute has also rallied the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) to join in the advocacy for Caribbean teachers, a move that Lewis described as “slow in coming.” She added that despite being members of the UFT, their immigration status prevented the full representation accorded to union members. The Black Institute is internationalising the struggle for teachers, and has challenged the labour unions in the Caribbean to get involved.
“Don’t these bodies preach workers’ solidarity globally?” Lewis asked with a tone of sarcasm. She then invited the Caribbean consulates to become part of the campaign and assist in “restoring the dignity of its citizenry living in New York.”
Antoinette Nesbitt is one of the many Trinidadian teachers affected by this crisis. Nesbitt worked for 18 years at Lady Hochoy in Arima as an educator and administrator. She also served as a Special Olympics national coach. She described being recruited to New York, only to experience “things suddenly falling apart.” She called the present situation, “untenable” and “wrenching.” She also dismissed criticisms of selfishness leveled against the Caribbean teacher. “I can only speak for myself. It was professional suicide for me to continue in a special education capacity when there weren't any services to accommodate such a programme. Further, my main focus was my youngest child who needed medical attention that Trinidad was not adequately providing.”
As a propitious plan for a new beginning in New York turned on its head, Nesbitt has become more vocal, creating networks among teachers whom she called as “indentured.” She recounted countless cases of disillusionment, frustration, and even loss of life. She mentioned the murder-suicide involving a Jamaican teacher. She and her two daughters were murdered by her husband who turned the gun on himself. “Most of our teachers are women. It is also very frustrating for husbands who are not allowed to work. How do you expect a man to feel asking his wife for some money every day, just to survive?” she asked, trying to make some sense of the tragedy.
“There’s another case of a Guyanese teacher who died suddenly. When his spouse went to the Board of Education, she was heartlessly told that her status died with him. So having uprooted her family, what do you expect this woman and her children to do?” Despite the travails, Nesbitt lauded the professional work of her counterparts. “We were invited by the black community because we were best suited to deal with the cultural issues in the schools. We were asked to go into high-risk schools that other teachers were incapable or reluctant to handle. Children carrying loaded guns, living in shelters, carrying box cutters, drugs, you name it. But we have prevailed.”
Anticipating a “karmic” turnaround, Nesbitt expressed confidence that the good work and resilience of the Caribbean teacher will be acknowledged and “wrongs will be put right.” “We have local senators and congressmen, the Public Advocate, and the city unions on our side now. And, of course, it is the Black Institute that really carried the ball.” When asked if she envisioned an imminent resolution to this decade-old problem, her response was: “The pieces are finally falling into place. I cannot say when, but we are all expecting a breakthrough soon, very soon.”
