Tulsa Public Schools Aims To Hire More Multilingual Teachers

With a teacher shortage affecting school districts across Green Country, Tulsa Public Schools is hoping to fill the needs of its multilingual students.

The district says the teacher shortage affects all aspects of the district, but it is hoping to hire more bilingual teachers to help immigrant families.

According to the district, 26% of TPS students are multilingual, with Spanish being the most common

Hispanics also make up 37% of the district's student population.

TPS has resources available for bilingual students and parents. There are dual language programs and immigration resources available for non-English speaking students.

They say they would like to hire more bilingual teachers, given that only 11% of all TPS employees are Hispanic.

Liliane Vannoy with Tulsa Public Schools says they are making the effort to address the big need for the district.

"To minimize our shortage of teachers in our bilingual programs, we are always looking for potential candidates internationally or potential candidates here in town, and we have a lot of programs that support potential candidates in different pathways to seek certification into bilingual programs," Vannoy said.

There is more information on the resources for bilingual candidates and families on the district's website.