Framingham Public Schools
Robert A. Tremblay, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
73 Mount Wayte Avenue, Suite #5
Framingham, Massachusetts 01702
Telephone: 508-626-9118 Fax: 508-877-4240
April 25, 2019 (Framingham, MA) - It is with great pleasure that Framingham Public Schools announces a continued collaboration with the Spanish Visiting Teachers Program, an international cooperation program supported by the Ministry of Education/Embassy of Spain and the Massachusetts Department for Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) along with 25 other Departments of Education and school Districts across the United States and Canada.
The Spanish Visiting Teachers Program offers U.S. and Canadian school Districts the opportunity to recruit highly qualified bilingual teachers from Spain to teach at elementary, middle and high school levels. At the same time it provides students, parents and educators with the opportunity to work with professionals who are native Spanish speakers, bringing a valuable international perspective to Framingham Public Schools classrooms in order to foster knowledge and appreciation of a global and diverse culture.
Visiting Teachers make a one to three year commitment to teach in Framingham Public Schools, provided that the District agrees to rehire them. Since its inception in 1998 over 200 educators have participated in the program nationwide, with eleven educators finding their professional homes at Blocks Preschool, Barbieri Elementary School, Brophy Elementary School, Walsh Middle School, and Framingham High School in the 2018-2019 school year. While some are returning home for personal reasons, many are continuing their residence in our schools.
In April 2019, Gen Grieci, Director of Bilingual Education, and Inna London, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, traveled to Madrid, Spain along with representatives from the DESE to spend a week interviewing and recruiting teaching candidates for schools across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including our own District. Grieci and London interviewed over 30 candidates and made recommendations for interviews to Principals at all levels for all types of positions, ranging from elementary teachers, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, middle school mathematics teachers, and many more.
In accordance with the Education Reform Act of 1993, Principals are the hiring authorities of their schools. Thankfully, Principals fully embrace the spirit of this Program with its emphasis on globalism, acceptance, and multicultural understanding. Indeed, this Program supports the District’s vision for the implementation of bilingual/dual language and multicultural education programs that help students prepare for future personal, academic and professional success.
Grieci and London applauded the participating Visiting Teachers who underwent a grueling application and week-long interview process. All participating Teachers are pre-screened by the Ministry of Education of Spain, and then are interviewed by District representatives who travel to Madrid. As a result, all candidates are highly qualified, enthusiastic and experienced. We look forward to new Spanish Visiting Teachers joining us for the upcoming school year.
About the Framingham Public Schools
The mission of the Framingham Public Schools is to educate each student to learn and live productively as a critically-thinking, responsible citizen in a multicultural, democratic society by providing academically challenging instructional programs taught by highly-qualified staff and supported by comprehensive services in partnership with our entire community. For news, updates, and announcements, follow Framingham Public Schools (@FraminghamPS) on Facebook, Twitter, and (@framinghamschools) on Instagram. You can also join the conversation using #FraminghamSchools.
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