A Caribbean teacher making a point at a meeting on Sunday
Hundreds of teachers from the Caribbean claim that New York’s Department of Education (DOE) lured them to city schools with false promises of green cards and financial aid.
In a massive rally on the steps of City Hall in lower Manhattan on Sunday, the teachers, supported by the New York-based Association of International Educators (AIE) and the Black Institute demanded immediate action and response to what they described as “the lack of support from the DOE, which has resulted in the 10-year uphill battle to get on the right path to permanent residency”.
AIE chair, Judith Hall, said that the teachers have been treated as “indentured servants. “How is this possible when we were chosen because we were the best and brightest our countries had to offer?” she asked. “This is an egregious situation, and we are demanding redress on the city, state, federal and international levels,” she added.
A report released on Sunday by the Black Institute on behalf of the AIE, entitled, “Broken Promises: The Story of Caribbean International Teachers in New York City’s Public Schools,” claimed that the Caribbean teachers were first lured to New York by promises of continued educational opportunities, housing assistance, and a path to permanent residency in the United States.
It said the teachers “uprooted their families in the hopes of redefining a better future.” Recruited by New York City Public Schools, beginning in 2001, the AIE said it was formed by Caribbean teachers, “who continue to feel victimised”.
The association provides them with a support group, as well as the opportunity to combine efforts to find a solution. The AIE said, in early 2001, when the U.S. economy was booming and there was a teacher shortage, more than 500 teachers from the Caribbean came to New York City schools to work.
After almost 10 years, the AIE said most of the teachers still lack green cards, adding their immigration status “makes it impossible for their spouses and children to work.” The teachers are, therefore, demanding a meeting with Schools Chancellor Cathie Black and legal assistance from the Education Department. President and founder of the Black Institute, Bertha Lewis, said, “The ‘Broken Promises’ report highlights the “hidden nexus of education and immigration reform.
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