This city is short of teachers. It’s tapping immigrants to help.

The small class sizes, the lack of uniforms, the heightened security – there’s a lot that feels different to Francois Agwala when he steps into a public school in Portland, Maine. The former teacher and principal spent years as an educator in Kinshasa, Congo. Now he’s picking up the chalk again, more than 6,000 miles from where he started. 

Mr. Agwala is enrolled in the Education Academy, an initiative which helps foreign-trained teachers find jobs in Portland schools. In January, the city began offering classes and mentorship to help any resident trained abroad – even those with pending asylum cases – earn teacher certification. 

Similar efforts across the country help employ

Specific needs, specific solutionsFelling steep barriers‘Another view of our lives’