The accent is on math and science in New York schools

New recruits are given training ranging from lesson planning to negotiating the streets of New York

City hires Austrians to fill teaching needs

From Correspondent Susan Candiotti

September 8, 1998

Web posted at: 11:21 p.m. EDT (0321 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A shortage of teachers -- especially math and science teachers -- has prompted the New York City school board to go to great lengths looking for help.

"We don't have enough qualified math and science teachers here in the United States, not just in New York City," says Carol Cohen of the New York City Board of Education. "So we compete against everybody else seeking math and science teachers in school systems around the country."

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"We've got a major distracter now," says Professor Alfred Posamentier of New York City College. "Namely, the computer industry, which is pulling people. So, you don't have the attraction, but you have the distraction, and so there is a need."

The New York City school district turned to Austria, which has an overabundance of math and science teachers.

The recruitment drive began with an advertisement in Austrian newspapers for English-speaking teachers. Applications poured in, and two dozen teachers were hired.

Violence not just an American problem

One of them, Andrea Unger, left her husband of one month to seize the opportunity.

Yes, she says, she is nervous about language and culture shock, but she says that school violence is not just an American problem.

"Just last year, a pupil shot a teacher in Austria, in a very, very small village in Austria," she says. "So, I think it can happen anywhere."

The Austrian recruits have been getting tips from other teachers about lesson plans, and warnings about that other class sometimes known as "New York 101."

The latter includes such things as riding the subway, learning the slang and mastering the fine art of being brutally honest in a brutally honest city.