Finding "Highly Qualified" Chinese language teachers is a challenging endeavor. At the Confucius Institute at Michigan State University, we have worked closely with the Michigan Department of Education, MSU's Teacher Education Department and Beijing Channel Consulting to implement a program that allows for the identification, recruitment, training, placement and certification of Chinese language teachers.

Districts Searching for Chinese Language Teachers

There are two avenues which districts may be able to find Chinese language teachers. The first involves teachers who are already in the U.S. and the second involves bringing teachers from China.

Teachers who are in the U.S. These are teachers that have either been independently identified by school districts or have applied to the teacher certification program and have found their own school district for employment considerations. As of September 2009, it is the CI's policy that teachers already in the U.S. with appropriate work authorization are to be directly hired by school districts. These teachers are not screened nor trained by the CI and the CI has no control over the quality of the teacher.

Teachers from China: The CI-MSU recruits and trains teachers from China. This is an extensive process that involves many steps.

Identification: Potential teachers are identified by Beijing Channel Consulting (BCC) who screens initial applicants for educational and employment experiences. Potential candidates are then interviewed via Skype by CI staff.

Training in China: All potential teacher candidates who have passed the initial screening and interview must enroll in BCC's teacher training program. The goals of this program are to prepare candidates teaching in the US that are very different from Chinese classrooms, studying in a higher education program and generally living and adjusting to life in the US. The training program expands over a year with face-to-face and online training. The content includes topics such as: American Educational Systems, Assessment, Teaching Strategies, Standards (Common Core and Langauge), Curriculum and Lesson Plan Development, Classroom Management, Parental Interactions, Special Education, Disabilities and Diversity.

Teacher Certification: All candidates must enroll in MSU's Teacher Education program for Chinese certification. This has been developed in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to ensure teachers are highly qualified. While teachers pursue US certification, they are able to teach in district teaching positions. During this time period, districts will apply for teaching permits for their Chinese teachers.

Only after the candidates have successfully passed the identification process and training program and have been admitted into the teacher certification program will they be issued a visa and placed in teaching positions. This is a highly rigorous process and currently, less than 5% of all applicants have been issued visas and brought to the U.S. to teach.

Algonquin Consolidated Schools #158
Arlington Heights District #25
Center Line Public Schools
Detroit Edison Public School Academy
Farwell Area Schools
Forest Hills Public Schools
Lake Forest School District #67 & 115
Lansing School District
Michigan Virtual High School
Northbrook/Glenview Schools
Ovid-Elsie Area Schools
Oxford Community Schools
Plymouth Educational Center District
Richmond Community Schools
Traverse City Area Public Schools
Utica Community Schools
Warren Woods Public Schools

Hiring Chinese Language Teachers from CI-MSU

Cost: $45,000/year (2012/2013 rates)

• Salary
• Insurance
• Teacher training

Driving Required: Additional costs

Deadline for Requests: April 1st of each year--late requests will be honored depending on availability of teachers