Many teachers arrive When Justin Szmodis moved from Pennsylvania to teach at Waianae Intermediate two years ago, he felt as though he were entering a Third World country.
wide-eyed,
move on soon
Mainland recruits find frustration
in delayed checks, short supportBy Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com"I didn't think there was a part of Hawaii like that," he said, contrasting it to the more familiar bustling tourist center of Waikiki.
"I was shocked when I saw the school," said Szmodis, in his third year as a science teacher on the Leeward coast, one of hundreds of positions the state Department of Education has listed as hard to fill. Now, he said, "I'm having a blast!"
The DOE has been recruiting heavily on the mainland for science, math and special-education teachers, particularly for the rural areas on Oahu and the neighbor islands. A critical need for more than 400 teachers was announced earlier this year.
Bruce Shimomoto, a DOE recruiter, said hiring mainland teachers over the past 20 years because of a growing teacher shortage is "something we have to do." Local universities have been "unable to provide the over 1,000 graduates a year we need," he said.
Unfortunately, although they are not in the majority, many of the mainland recruits leave after their first year or shortly after, according to Susan Bitler, a field representative for the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
In 1997 a total of 986 new teachers from Hawaii and the mainland were hired, according to Shimomoto. Of the 79 mainland recruits that year, 27 left. In 1998, of the 1,008 new hires, 93 were mainlanders, 38 of whom left; in 1999, of 1,378 hired, 43 of 105 mainlanders left; in 2000, of the 1,484 hired, 33 of 88 mainlanders opted to return home.
For the 2001 school year, more than 1,000 new teachers have been hired, including 217 from the mainland. Recruiting will continue until March, Shimomoto said.
The main reasons given by those who decided to return to the mainland were a "lack of administrative support," homesickness or marriage, Bitler said.
Most of the mainlanders were used to working at good facilities, while many Hawaii schools are in major disrepair, she said. They also were disappointed at the lack of resource support, such as supplies and teachers' aides, especially for special-education classes.
Another reason for discontent, Szmodis said, was the delay in paychecks and moving expenses. He was given only $400 to relocate 5,000 miles and brought only two bags. It took more than a month to receive his first paycheck and his relocation sum of $400.
"And you wonder why they have a hard time recruiting teachers," he said. "You have to borrow money from friends. You're completely broke for a month, and you don't know anybody. You have no car, or it's breaking down all the time and you're catching a bus to work."
He had a few friends who also came here to teach, but they soon left "totally disgusted. They couldn't believe how things were run -- from the classroom level to the upper echelon."
Charissa O'Reilly, Christy Uellendahl and Kristine Bonsack are roommates and first-year special-education teachers at Kapolei Middle School. They all came from Marist College in New York, among 18 recruited from that school to Hawaii this year.
As special ed teachers, they were promised $4,500 each in relocation incentives upon arrival, but got only a portion of it the first week of October, O'Reilly said. They are awaiting the balance, promised in two more installments.
When they were hired, "they told us to bring $3,000" each to tide them over until they got their first paychecks, Uellendahl added.
In an effort to stem the tide of returnees, the DOE is trying to make the transition easier, although sometimes the wheels of bureaucracy just cannot turn faster.
DOE Personnel Services Director Sandra McFarlane said the 30 days it takes for the state Department of Accounting & General Services and the DOE to process the first paychecks is "the fastest we can process it now." Paychecks have been processed "even without critical information just to make sure there's a paycheck," she said.
McFarlane maintains 30 days is a "very reasonable" time to wait in view of the fact that it normally takes six to eight weeks for the state to issue first paychecks in other departments.
However, beginning next year, there should not be a wait for relocation checks. In January the DOE will process them as soon as it knows the teachers are coming to Hawaii instead of waiting for them to show up at school. "So when they walk in the door the first day of school," they will be given their relocation checks, McFarlane said, noting that the number of last-minute defaulters is small.
Her supervisor, Al Suga, said he and McFarlane have been working on expediting the expenses paid out but can only do so much because "DAGS is undermanned and using an out-of-date system 20 years old."
Meanwhile, the DOE also is working to establish a statewide system of mentoring to help new teachers, especially mainland recruits, according to Phyllis Unebasami, a state professional development specialist. Until now, each district has been responsible for providing teacher orientation, and it can vary from being very basic to extensive. The Leeward District has led the way in providing more personalized and extensive support for its new teachers over their first three years on the job.
Last year, the state Legislature provided $250,000 for classes to better prepare new teachers over a three-year period that should be ready to go in a couple of years, Unebasami said.
Additionally, the DOE has given the University of Hawaii $2 million to encourage people to go into teaching and special education through tuition waivers, McFarlane said.
Despite the financial hardships, Bonsack and her roommates plan on staying longer than their first year because it would be "pointless to just pick up and leave" after settling in and getting to know the place.
"We love our school. It's air-conditioned and the buildings are new. We were lucky. Some of our friends (at other schools) told us they sweat through their clothes," Bonsack said.
"The best part of it is, people are so nice and helpful. Anything we've needed, they've provided -- especially our principal, Annette Nishikawa," Uellendahl said.
The scenery in Kapolei is a lot different from what they expected of Hawaii, but "our neighbors are incredible," inviting them to baby luaus and graduation parties, Uellendahl said.
"And sending us home with more food than we ate," added O'Reilly.
What made it easier for Szmodis to adjust was being taken under the wings of local friends and the "good camaraderie among the teachers" at Waianae who decided to stay on.
Even more, he developed a rapport with the kids, aided by his learning to body-surf at the beach where he saw a lot of his students. Teacher and students were able to have fun together and relate on a different level.
He finds the local kids are "real open and themselves -- not very snobby."