While the state has tried hard to keep talented teachers in Iowa, a job fair today could send teachers well beyond the state’s borders. The University of Northern Iowa’s 26th annual overseas teacher recruiting fair is underway in Waterloo this weekend. Tracey Roling of the U-N-I Career Center says representatives of 115 overseas American schools from 65 countries are attending.The schools are affiliated with the embassies in the countries and teach the children of the diplomats or American businesspeople. She says they were worried teachers wouldn’t want to leave the U-S after the September 11th attacks, but she says the number of interested teachers didn’t drop much. Roling says the jobs provide a unique experience.The teachers get a two-year contract and many teachers come back to the states after seeing different parts of the world. Roling says some 550 teachers are looking to teach overseas this year — for about 90 of them it will be their first job. The salaries vary alot by country, but she says many of the teachers can make enough to save some money. Roling says some 16-thousand teachers have found jobs overseas since the U-N-I fair started in 1976.
