Teacher-recruitment agency accused of extortion in union complaint | Education
Loida Virina said she forked over all the money in her possession, and then sold her home and car in the Philippines for the opportunity to come teach in the United States.
Rusty Costanza/The Times-PicayuneSteve Monaghan, left, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and Daniel McNeil, an attorney with the American Federation of Teachers, speak during a news conference in New Orleans on Thursday.
Universal Placement International, the firm that recruited her, charged thousands of dollars to help her find a job at a Louisiana school. Then, when she arrived in California last summer, she said, the company forced her to sign papers she did not have time to read and cautioned her and other new recruits not to ask questions.
After signing the papers, the woman heard the voice of Lourdes Navarro, the head of the firm, on the speaker phone. Navarro warned the recruits not to mingle with Filipino teachers outside of their group once they arrived in Baton Rouge.
If they did not obey, Navarro threatened she would promptly send them back to the Philippines. The woman’s allegations, included in a signed deposition, were part of a long complaint the Louisiana Federation of Teachers filed with the state’s attorney general and workforce commission Wednesday. The complaint alleges that Universal Placement International, which has recruited at least 200 teachers to Louisiana schools, extorted them out of thousands of dollars apiece and held them in “virtual servitude.”
The company has recruited teachers for Jefferson, East Baton Rouge and Caddo parishes, as well as the state-run Recovery School District in New Orleans, with the highest number in Baton Rouge.
$15,000 charge
The teachers allege that the firm’s leader, Navarro, charged recruits about $15,000 to obtain a job, and then required them to turn over 10 percent of their salary for two years. Universal Placement International is registered as a corporation in Louisiana, but is based in California and the Philippines, and does not have a license as an employing agency in Louisiana.
Many U.S. employers, including school districts, use recruiting companies such as Universal to attract workers. And the practice of charging foreigners fees to help connect them to employers is not in itself illegal — in fact, it’s a fairly common practice.
But the union complaint notes that it’s illegal to charge fees of both the employer and the applicant, which Universal did in the case of the RSD teachers. They allege that it’s also illegal to charge teachers employed in Louisiana fees prior to arriving in the state.
Finally, they note that the visa fees should have been charged to the employer, not the worker, a possible violation of federal law.
“The alleged behavior of this recruiter and the treatment of these teachers is quite frankly disgusting and an affront to basic American values, ” said federation President Steve Monaghan, in the statement.
Navarro did not return two calls made to Universal Placement International on Thursday.
The complaint alleges that Navarro has been convicted of money laundering and other crimes in both California and New Jersey.
The Associated Press reported in 2003 that she was convicted in California on felony counts of Medi-Cal fraud, grand theft, money laundering and identity theft, and was originally sentenced to five years in prison and to pay $200,000 in restitution.
Are ‘excellent teachers’
According to documents in the LFT complaint, Navarro’s company paid for administrators from East Baton Rouge and Caddo parishes to take recruiting trips to the Philippines. The state also paid the company $47,500 in 2007 to recruit up to 20 special education teachers for the Recovery School District, at a time when the district was hiring hundreds of new employees.
“From all indications, these have been excellent teachers, ” said RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas. But he said the district did not use the company’s services again, partly because of its aggressive style.
Thirteen of the 19 teachers the district hired through Universal still work for the district, he said.
Jefferson Parish has recruited 40 teachers through the program, a “few of whom have come forward” with serious allegations, said Meladie Munch, president of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers.
Coerced into signing
In signed statements, several East Baton Rouge Parish schoolteachers alleged that they were forced to pay thousands of dollars to the company’s counterpart in the Philippines before they left. As soon as they arrived in California, they said, they were coerced into signing a second contract agreeing to fork over 10 percent of their pay. At that point, they felt they had little choice but to sign.
“When we arrived . . . we were made to sign a contract without giving us a chance to read it, ” Rowena Sarcauga said in a statement.
Another teacher, Alma Ganzon, said “I was not given a chance to read the 4 to 5 pages contract. We were warned not to ask a lot of questions.”
Antonio Limjoco said he actually had time to glimpse the clause about the 10 percent payment, and questioned the company representative about it.
“I was not entertained at all, ” he said. “Being in a foreign land with a plane to catch and deep in debt after paying all those fees, I signed blindly.
At that time when everything is mortgaged except my soul, there was no turning back.”
Once in Baton Rouge, the teachers alleged, they were forced to live two to a bedroom in the Savoy Plaza — with the agency serving as a middleman between the teachers and the complex’s managers.
Virina said in her statement that the teachers were charged higher rent than other tenants in the complex.
Isolation alleged
Several of the teachers said that company officials prohibited them from communicating with the broader Filipino community in Baton Rouge, or other Americans.
Virina said that Navarro visited Louisiana in August 2008, meeting with all the Filipino teachers at a Chinese restaurant.
“She asked this question: ‘Who among you ride with American teachers in going to school?’ She warned us again not to ride anymore, and that night after the meeting, she called me in my phone and telling me not to ride anymore nor talking to Americans.”
Teachers said the company charged them for everything: furniture, carpools, food.
Ganzon described a welcome dinner that a previous batch of teachers held when her cohort arrived at the Savoy Plaza, including adobo, rice, soda and water. “According to them, it is a service of love and camaraderie for fellow teachers.”
But the next morning, she said, the company collected $15 from each teacher for the simple meal.
After Hurricane Gustav, Navarro told the teachers they would be sent to jail if they tried to get food stamps, according to Virina.
“I have so many loans in the Philippines, in fact, I was not able to support my three children and husband because all of my salary goes to financing agencies which I borrowed from just to pay for . . . Universal.”
Prosecution requested
As part of its complaint, the teachers union included a copy of the brochure sent by the company to school districts, promising “we offer our SERVICE FOR FREE!”
“We understand that because of the budget constraint that the school district does not have any funding for this type of service, ” the brochure states.
The company promises to pre-screen and interview the candidates, including performing criminal background checks. It also promises to process the visas and other paperwork; all of the teachers are in America on H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. The Filipino teachers all meet the state’s definition of “highly qualified” teachers, according to union officials.
“The one truthful, honest thing Universal has done is provide a pool of highly qualified teachers, ” said Daniel McNeil, associate director of the legal department for the national American Federation of Teachers.
McNeil said the filings with the Louisiana attorney general and workforce commission are the first in a “coordinated legal effort” that could involve a federal investigation since the teachers were all in Louisiana under a federal visa program. He said Universal performs the same service for schools in California, although he wasn’t aware of any investigation yet into the company’s presence there.
The complaint asks for the prosecution of Navarro, and also that the $15,000 payments be returned to the teachers and their contracts with Universal be declared invalid.
“One of the reasons they came here is to send money home, ” McNeil said. “And at the end of the day there’s no money left.”
. . . . . . .
Sarah Carr can be reached at [email protected] or 504.826.3497.
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Universal Placement International
Jefferson recruits batch of Filipino teachers
Dearth of educators forces 8,000-mile trip
Frustrated by their efforts to fill critical teacher vacancies with Americans, a team of recruiters with the Jefferson Parish school system traveled more than 8,000 miles last month to find what they need.
After a week in the Philippines interviewing more than 600 candidates, jobs were offered to 60 teachers for the 2008-2009 school year.
The Philippines is considered a hot spot for teacher recruitment because of its abundance of highly qualified teachers, particularly in high-need areas such as math, science and special education.
“I was very impressed with the candidates and their desire to come to the United States and work,” said personnel administrator Donna Joseph, a former teacher, who led the team. “They were very knowledgeable about their subject matter, and I was shocked at how many of the candidates had their master’s degrees.”
School system spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said the trip cost between $12,000 and $15,000.
“It was very expensive, bit it’s a high value for us to get such qualified people,” he said, adding that the alternative is filling those positions with substitutes or less qualified teachers.
Besides Joseph, the recruiting team included personnel administrator Betsy Daly and two principals, Jackie Daniilidis of Estelle Elementary School and Darvell Edwards of Helen Cox High School.
Joseph said the four worked 14-16 hours a day interviewing teachers of all grade levels who primarily specialized in general math and science, advanced math and science, elementary eduction, special education and English as a Second Language.
The job offers are pending background checks, Louisiana certification and work visas, all of which is being handled by a Los Angeles company that specializes in placing foreign-born educators and health care workers.
The teachers, who will be placed in all grade levels on both sides of the river, will be paid the same as other Jefferson Parish teachers, who earn $39,000 to $54,000 a year depending on experience and education. In the Philippines, most teachers make less than $10,000 a year.
Joseph said she learned about the Philippines as a recruitment destination while attending a personnel administrators conference. Her supervisors were intrigued.
“We travel all over Louisiana and neighboring states recruiting college graduates,” she said.
But she said there are so few people majoring in education that Jefferson ends up competing with other local school districts for the same candidates.
As part of their research, Joseph and her team observed recently hired Filipino teachers in the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. Among the schools they visited was Delmont Elementary, where seven of 100 new hires from the Philippines are working.
“You can’t hire any more dedicated people who are willing to come to work everyday to do what it takes to ensure that children are learning,” said Delmont Principal Antoinette Bienemy.
She said one teacher was able to turn a group of poorly behaved third-graders into “little angels,” while others were instrumental in raising test scores. She said their new teachers include a former principal with a doctorate, a former college dean and an accomplished violinist and pianist.
Bienemy said their biggest challenge was adjusting to the culture. For one thing, she said, they were not used to children with discipline problems, despite an average class size of 50 to 60 students in the Philippines.
But after working with veteran teachers for two weeks in Baton Rouge, they easily learned the school’s discipline philosophy.
Joe Potts, head of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, said he looks forward to meeting the new teachers in August but lamented the challenges of finding teachers closer to home.
“We’re not encouraging enough people here to go into education,” he said. “It shows you how serious the problem is if we have to go to the Philippines to recruit teachers.”
By: Barry Bronston
Alexandria Daily Town Talk (LA) – August 9, 2008
Filipino teachers join Avoyelles Middle Schools
Bunkie — Rosario Lubanga can’t help but smile.
The teacher is worlds away from her home, but still she smiles, saying, “We believe we can make a difference here.”
And the Avoyelles Parish School District agrees.
Lubanga is one of the eight teachers from the Philippines who will be teaching at Bunkie Middle School this year.
They will join four others who will be teaching at Marksville Middle School.
They come to the rural Louisiana parish’s middle schools with certification in need-specific areas, such as special education and English. Some have master’s degrees and a few including Lubanga have earned a doctorate.
“These teachers will be an asset for our middle schools,” Avoyelles Parish Schools Superintendent Dwayne Lemoine said.
Lemoine was having trouble finding certified teachers willing to teach in his parish’s middle schools. He said there is an educator shortage and that Avoyelles Parish is surrounded by parishes that pay their teachers more.
The middle schools also have been a problem area for the parish with slipping standardized tests scores and overhauls done for budget cuts. The schools have not had librarians, assistant principals and counselors, nor have they offered electives such as agriculture or home economics.
Initially, the district planned to move the middle schools onto the high school campuses so the two could share resources.
The problem, district officials say, has been money. The plan was halted because the parish is under a federal desegregation lawsuit and the plan is being reviewed.
In the interim, Lemoine has said, the middle schools will not be the same when students return this fall as the parish cannot afford for them to be.
This year, Bunkie Middle School made the state’s “academically unacceptable” list because of its standarized test scores, attendance and dropout rates.
Some of the changes that will be made in the coming school year in Avoyelles, which begins Monday include:
Every middle school will have a dean of students who is in charge of discipline.
The schools will use the teaming concept, in which teachers work together to address the needs of the students.
Technology has been purchased for the middle schools that will allow online assistance programs for students falling behind and allow teachers who work with their peers from across the nation on strategies that are working in their classrooms.
Lemoine is pushing the house certified and highly qualified teachers in the middle schools, and that includes the teachers fro the Philippines.
The superintendent heard about Universal Placement International during a recent superintendents meeting. Other parishes such as Caddo and East Baton Rouge have used the service.
The school district sent its needs to the company, and applicants’ information was sent back.
“I never would have dreamed this in a million years,” said Barbara Z. Jones, supervisor of elementary education. “This is so exciting, and they have been a joy.”
Jones has been working with the new teachers to help them get settled into their communities.
She said the district feels the new teachers are helping them, while the new teachers say Avoyelles Parish is helping them.
“This is a career advancement for us,” said Maria Grace de la Cruz, an eighth-grade English teacher. “We want to win their hearts and their respect.”
Rosalyn Andaya said she is a little nervous about the first day of school.
“We are ready to face the challenge and help out here,” she said.
The new teachers at Bunkie Middle are all living together and initially will be walking to school as they do not have a vehicle.
May left families back home but are staying in tough through Internet and cell phones.
“We are feeling more at home here,” Lubanga said.
The teachers will be at their schools for a year, and Jones said may hope to remain in the United States and bring their families to this country.
Author: Mandy Goodnight
The Times Picayune Metro – Sunday, May 25, 2008
Jefferson recruits batch of filipino teachers
Dearth of educators forces 8,000-mile trip
Frustrated by their efforts to fill critical teacher vacancies with Americans, a team of recruiters with the Jefferson Parish School System traveled more than 8,000 miles last month to find what they need.
After a week in the Philippines interviewing more than 600 candidates, jobs were offered to 60 teachers for the 2008-2009 school year.
The Philippines is considered a hot spot for teacher recruitment because if its abundance of highly qualified teachers, particularly in high-need areas such as math, science and special education.
“I was very impressed with the candidates and their desire to come to the United States and work,” said personnel administrator Donna Joseph, a former teacher, who led the team. “They were very knowledgeable about their subject matter, and I was shocked at how many of the candidates had their master’s degrees.”
School system spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said the trip cost between $12,000 and $15,000.
“It was expensive, but it’s a high value for us to get such qualified people,” he said, adding that the alternative is filing those position with substitutes or less qualified teachers.
Besides Joseph, the recruiting team included personnel administrator Betsy Daly and two principals, Jackie Daniilidis of Estelle Elementary School and Darvell Edwards of Helen Cox High School
Joseph said the four worked 14 to 16 hours a day interviewing teachers of all grade levels who primarily specialized in general math and science, advanced math and science, elementary education, special education and English as a Second Language.
The job offers are pending background checks, Louisiana certification and work visas, all of which is being handled by a Los Angeles company that specializes in placing foreign-born educators and health care workers.
The teachers, who will be placed in all grade levels on both sides of the river, will be paid the same as other Jefferson Parish teachers, who earn $39,000 to $54,000 a year depending on experience and education. In the Philippines, most teachers make less than $10,000 a year.
Joseph said she learned about the Philippines as a recruitment destination while attending a personnel administrators conference. Her supervisors were intrigued.
“We travel all over Louisiana and neighboring states recruiting college graduates,” she said. But she said there are so few people majoring in education that Jefferson ends up competing with other local school districts for the same candidates.
As part of their research, Joseph and her team observed recently hired Filipino teachers in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.
Among the schools they visited was Delmont Elementary, where seven of 100 new hires from the Philippines are working.
“You can’t hire any more dedicated people who are willing to come to work every day to do what it takes to ensure that children are learning,” said Delmont Principal Antoinette Bienemy.
She said one teacher was able to turn a group of poorly behaved third-graders into “little angels,” while others were instrumental in raising test scores. She said their new teachers include a former principal with a doctorate, a former college dean and an accomplished violinist and pianist.
Bienemy said their biggest challenge was adjusting to the culture. For one thing, she said, they were not used to children with discipline problems, despite an average class size of 50 to 60 students in the Philippines. But after working with veteran teachers for two weeks in Baton Rouge, they easily learned the school’s discipline philosophy.
Joe Potts, head of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, said he looks forward to meeting the new teachers in August but lamented the challenges finding teachers closer to home.
“We’re not encouraging enough people here to go into education,” he said. “It shows you how serious the problem is if we have to go to the Philippines to recruit teachers.”
By Barry Bronston
East Jefferson bureau
Madison Journal – June 27, 2010
MADISON PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT WELCOMES FOREIGN ASSOCIATE TEACHERS FROM PHILIPPINES
On Wednesday. August 12, 2009 six foreign teachers were greeted at the Monroe City Airport by employees of the Madison Parish School District. Collaboration between Madison Parish School District Administrators and Universal Placement International an internationally recognized placement agency committed to finding qualified professionals embarked on the tedious process of selecting from over seventy Philippine teacher applicants of all content areas. Face-to-face video conference interviews were conducted at Wright Elementary via the district’s new distance learning network which allowed our administrators to get a more personal feel for each applicant.
The teachers are pictured with members of the Madison Parish School District, who met them at their airport with a sign in the teachers native language (L to R) Thiel B. Batoon, Adrialyn Pisano, Ann Davis, Anngelie Joy D. Geanga, Babylyn L. Abogado, Evelyn B. Faustino, Shelly Banks, Donna Lisa Crockett, and Maria Corazon S. Tablizo.
Photo submitted/Ronnie Holley
Madison Journal
June 27, 2010 8:55 PM
The Advocate Metro – Monday, November 3, 2008
Filipinos fill teaching void
Charter School offers opportunity
For the sake of landing a good teaching job in the United States (UPI teacher client) made the difficult decition of leaving her husband and four young children behind in the Philippines.
Nearly three weeks ago, (UPI teacher client) and three other Filipino teachers began their first day of work, teaching middle school and high school students at Pointe Coupee Central High School.
After two year of poor academic performance in the state’s accountability program and after being taken over by the Louisiana Department of Education, the school opened this fall as a charter school run by the nonprofit group, Advance Baton Rouge.
The parish school system has struggled at times to find certified teachers to fill vacancies and the school began the academic year hiring teachers right up until a week before classes started.
Since that time, school administrators said several teachers have left to pursue other opportunities. The school was short handed until the most recent hires were found with the help of the placement agency, Universal Placement International.
We reached out (to the placement agency) because it can be difficult to find certified teachers in this area,” Terri Smith, Advance Baton Rouge’s achievement director said. “We are committed to finding the most effective and highly qualified teachers.”
The four new teachers speak English as their first language and have already undergone a rigorous certification process before arriving in the United States, making them a good fit.
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