Interested in hosting a FACES Teacher?

South Carolina 's schools have made great strides in the last decade. Foreign Academic & Cultural Exchange Services, Inc. (FACES) is committed to being a part of the solution for the next decade. We believe that Visitor Teachers have distinct and valuable contributions to make to South Carolina students. FACES teachers work toward broadening cultural horizons for their students and combating stereotypes of foreign citizens that can close the doors of curiosity and shut out opportunity. Talk of a shrinking world and a global marketplace is not just talk. It's happening, and we want South Carolina students to be prepared to participate. Currently, FACES has 235 visitor teachers in 29 school districts throughout the state.

The interaction of foreign trained professionals and their American colleagues is also a worthwhile aspect of our program. FACES staff of retired and active educators is proud to be making a contribution to the development of our profession through cultural exchange.

We place only teachers eligible for full SC certification. We do not accept teachers who would require any kind of permit or alternative certification.

We guide teachers through the certification process, even greeting them at the test center on the morning of their PRAXIS exam. We mail the certificates to the host-district as soon as they are made available by the Office of Teacher Certification.

FACES is committed to making the exchange experience as easy as possible for host-districts. After our extensive interview and selection process, teachers begin online training months before arrival. Some teachers are able to attend orientation sessions in their home country. Upon arrival in Columbia in July, teachers attend a two week orientation session. Session topics include curriculum design, effective lesson planning, classroom management, and South Carolina culture and society. During this time, we also obtain social security cards, open bank accounts, complete certification applications and required fingerprinting. FACES also offers interest free loans for teachers to purchase cars and insurance. At the end of orientation, we lead the teachers and their new cars to their host-district, and help them find permanent lodging while they stay in centrally located hotel.

Our goal is to ensure that hosting a Visitor Teacher is an exciting and rewarding experience for everyone involved. This means ensuring that teachers are fully prepared to step into the classroom before they arrive in the host-district.

FACES staff visits every teacher in class during the school year, perhaps several times. The initial visit occurs during the first 9 weeks. We complete formal observations and copies of these are available to administrators. FACES staff is always available to respond to administrators concerns. While Visitor Teachers are expected to become fully integrated into the faculty of their host-school, we are ready and willing to offer extra assistance if it is requested.

If you represent a South Carolina school district that would like to know more about hosting a visitor teacher, please contact Vicky Edwards, Director of Teacher Placement at vedwards@facesinc.org.