Hillsborough recruiters seek to hire bilingual teachers in Puerto Rico

TAMPA — With Spanish speakers representing an ever-growing share of Hillsborough County's student population, a group from the school district will travel to Puerto Rico this week for a recruiting drive.

The fair, Tuesday and Wednesday at the San Juan Airport Hotel, is the first such venture for the district, according to spokeswoman Tanya Arja. Three district officials will be there — two from the teacher recruiting office and Ismael Lebron-Bravo, the principal of Wimauma Elementary School, which is 80 percent Hispanic. "We have been making efforts to hire a more diverse group of educators, as our student population becomes more diverse," Arja said.

It's not the first time recruiters have traveled out of state. And Hillsborough — with an enrollment that is more than one-third Hispanic — is not alone in scouting college graduates on the island. District leaders from Dallas, Houston and other cities have made the trip for years, responding to estimates that the United States is second only to Mexico in its number of Spanish speakers. A 2013 survey by the Council for the Great City Schools, an organization that serves large districts including Hillsborough, found that roughly half of its 67 member districts had a shortage of bilingual teachers and those certified to teach English language learners, or expected a shortage within the next five years.