St. Louis Language Immersion School Brings World Class Talent to St. Louis
St. Louis, MO (August 27, 2024) Starting a new job and moving to a new city can be intimidating for anyone in any profession, but for new teachers starting at St. Louis Language Immersion School (SLLIS), the process entails many extra steps, including leaving their home country. Nearly half of the teachers at SLLIS are not from the U.S., and SLLIS will boast staff members from four continents and 18 different countries around the world this school year.
SLLIS is a dual language immersion school, meaning students learn their subjects in two languages, English and a target language of either Spanish, French or Chinese starting in pre-K or kindergarten. In addition to native dialects, teachers also bring their unique cultural traditions to share with students. SLLIS Chief Operating Officer Dr. Anthony Graham said the school is interested in building the most diverse staff possible.
“We want to hire staff from countries we’ve never hired from before,” Dr. Graham said. “This means looking beyond the traditional countries where we know a specific language is spoken. For example, French is one of the main languages spoken in Cameroon, and we’d love to have someone from there come to teach French. We cast our nets very wide when looking for new candidates. Teachers from different countries, even if they speak the same language, all have different cultures, and that allows our students to be well-rounded and have a bigger world view. Students in the Spanish program could have teachers from Venezuela, Spain, Panama, Mexico, Bolivia and more throughout the program.”
Dr. Graham highlighted the numerous challenges in onboarding a new teacher, including all the steps they have to complete to start working in St. Louis. New staff at SLLIS have to get a visa approved to come work in the United States, which can take months. Then, they also need a social security number for many of the various basic functions of American life, which they don’t have when they arrive in the U.S. These are all things a person born in the United States doesn’t have to worry about when starting a new job. Dr. Graham starts posting positions in November, with interviews concluding by mid-March and teachers arriving throughout the summer.
“Our new teachers have to deal with a lot of the things we don’t think twice about in our day-to-day life when they’re just getting started over here,” Dr. Graham said. “I’ve had teachers enquire about being able to drink the tap water. In other countries, apartments are usually fully furnished. Here they are not. When needed, we help review apartment leases, pick them up from the airport, make sure their credit and debit cards are working, help with phone connectivity and many of the logistical things of moving to a new country.”
Second grade teacher Stephanie Diaz moved to St. Louis from Panama to start teaching at SLLIS this school year. She said she could not have made the move from her home country if it wasn’t for the help and guidance of Dr. Graham.
“I would say the biggest challenge was going through the visa process as a family,” Diaz said. “Dr. Graham helped us step by step, and he was very clear on all of the things I needed to make the move. Although the process was stressful at times, I’m glad SLLIS was there to walk me through the transition. I’m not sure how people make a move like this without the help that SLLIS provides. There were a few bumps like forms taking longer to go through and my oldest son’s passport arriving later than expected, but I’m happy to be here and to start creating that family in the classroom.”
The school also created a welcome packet for new teachers that includes how to get a social security card, how to get a driver’s license, highlights local grocery stores and gives many other useful tips for living in St. Louis.
SLLIS continues to thrive as a highly diverse organization with teachers speaking 15 different languages combined, and 53% of the staff identify with a race other than white. Over 90% of SLLIS teachers returned for the 2024-2025 school year.
About St. Louis Language Immersion School: St. Louis Language Immersion School was founded in 2009 and is a charter school serving Pre-K through 8th grade to the City of St. Louis. The school provides students with a world-class, global, dual language immersion education in French, Spanish or Chinese, taught by native speakers. The one of a kind school was named the 2024 Best Public Charter School in Missouri and plays an essential role in the fabric of the St. Louis community. For more information, go to www.sllis.org.