The need for U.S. districts to hire teachers from overseas stems from specific shortages, said MSU education professor Suzanne Wilson, the chairperson of the Department of Teacher Education.

“There are some specific fields where we don’t have enough teachers — mathematics, science, world language and special education — there is a shortage,” she said. “We also have shortages in urban struggling schools.”

Wilson said foreign teachers often are experts in these fields and are more likely to teach in lower-income districts.

“There is a real problem of getting good people in those schools to stay in them,” Wilson said.

Lower-income schools often have funding shortages and high rates of employee turnover, which makes them less appealing to teachers, Wilson said.

Katie Guilbert, a 2008 graduate, recently accepted a job at a charter school in Fort Collins, Colo., after applying to a variety of districts, including two lower-income districts near Denver.

“It is so hard to find a job right now; I think that a lot of people would be willing to work in lower-income, struggling schools for a few years,” Guilbert said.

However, elementary education senior Emily Keller said when she begins her job search, she plans to avoid lower-income districts.

“I’m afraid if I’m just thrown into a low-income school that I wouldn’t be able to handle it as a new teacher,” she said.

But Keller said filling any open positions with American teachers is a logical way to improve the economy.

“I think that we would want to fill these positions with American teachers to boost our economy,” Keller said.

Wilson said in recent years within the MSU College of Education, there has been an increase in interest to teach in urban settings.

“We try to prepare teachers who are going to be prepared for the realities of those schools,” Wilson said. “We do our darndest to help (students) understand that those are exactly the kind of places that need teachers.”

Teach for America, a nonprofit organization that recruits recent graduates to teach in lower–income schools, aids districts in minimizing shortages. The organization currently has more than 7,000 American teachers working in 35 urban and rural districts.

Teach for America recruitment associate Therese Perlowski said Teach for America helps hard-to-staff districts fill open positions.

“There is such a shortage of teachers in low-income areas that at this point I don’t think (the increase of foreign teachers) will affect Teach for America’s recruitment,” she said.