Program Overview

The U.S. Department of State oversees the cultural exchange program in coordination with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Visiting Teachers from Spain Program is based on the cooperation between the education authorities of Spain and the U.S./ Canada. The program is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain (MECD), by state and provincial departments of Education, and school districts in more than 35 states and one province in Canada. Hundreds of teachers participate in this cultural exchange every year.

Objectives

The spirit of the program is cross-cultural understanding, and the enhancement of bilingual, dual-language, immersion, and world language programs.

• Connects communities from the U.S., Canada and Spain.
• Impacts the education and lives of students by increasing their learning opportunities.
• Increases the diversity of districts’ personnel and fosters cultural acceptance and diversity.
• Provides districts with the expertise and experience of international teachers and excellent language models.
• Gives Spanish teachers a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Process

• It takes place within the Texas Education Agency and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain memorandum of understanding.
• Once the needs of Texas school districts are identified through an Application of Intent, the MECD selects possible candidates among the thousands of Spanish teachers who apply for the program.
• The representatives of the participating districts travels to Madrid to conduct interviews with prospective recruits.
• Recruited teachers will make a one-to-three year commitment to teach in Texas, provided that the local school district chooses to rehire them each year.

Download the Program Information flyers.