EDUCATION

Sioux Falls looks to waive S.D. certification rules for teachers from other countries

Argus Leader

Lymari Robles teaches fourth grade math at Sonia Sotomayor Spanish Immersion Elementary School Monday, Dec. 11, in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls board members will hold a public hearing Monday where they plan to ask the state to waive certain teacher certification requirements for Spanish Immersion teachers.

Sioux Falls schools want to make it easier for teachers from other countries to come to South Dakota.

School board members Monday held a public hearing on a plan to waive the state's teacher certification requirements for Spanish Immersion teachers.

The waiver would allow the school district to continue to hire teachers from Spanish-speaking countries without requiring them to go back to school to meet state-specific certification requirements.

"This is a way to recognize their credentials," said Becky Dorman, director of human resources for the Sioux Falls School District.

No public comment was received at Monday's meeting. The waiver request now moves to the state for further approval.

Right now, there are teachers from 13 different countries working at Sonia Sotomayor Elementary, Sioux Falls' Spanish Immersion school.

A student in Florencia Nievas's second grade writing class at Sonia Sotomayor Spanish Immersion Elementary School Monday, Dec. 11, in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls board members will hold a public hearing Monday where they plan to ask the state to waive certain teacher certification requirements for Spanish Immersion teachers.

Principal Tracy Vik sees the waiver as beneficial to these teachers, allowing them to teach based on their credentials earned in other areas.

"There are different requirements for each country," Vik said.

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The waiver is particularly important because Sioux Falls needs to look to other countries to find Spanish Immersion teachers, Dorman said.

"Right now in the area we don't have an applicant pool," she said.

South Dakota updated its teacher certification rules on July 1. With the changes, Dorman has worked with the state Department of Education to find a way for Spanish Immersion teachers from other countries to get full certification under the new rules.

Lucas Bartolome teaches third grade Spanish Language Arts at Sonia Sotomayor Spanish Immersion Elementary School Monday, Dec. 11, in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls board members will hold a public hearing Monday where they plan to ask the state to waive certain teacher certification requirements for Spanish Immersion teachers.

For example, some teachers from other countries are certified to teach K-12, but in South Dakota, to teach at the elementary level, they would need a special endorsement to teach kindergarten through fourth grade specifically.

The waiver would allow these teachers to have full certification in the state without having to go back and get the K-4 endorsement.

That's important, Dorman said, because most Spanish Immersion teachers aren't looking to relocate to Sioux Falls permanently.

"We recognize that as well," Dorman said. "Going back to school to obtain a degree through our traditional routes isn't always practical or even possible."

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