April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Recruiter Mary Willis spent months trying to find special-education teachers for San Mateo, California, schools. Then she went to the Philippines and hired a dozen on the spot.

Across San Francisco Bay, Oakland has as many as three dozen Filipino special-ed teachers. The Los Angeles Unified School District, second-largest in the U.S., is hiring about 50 for the coming academic year.

``U.S. schools that train special-education teachers simply don't produce enough to satisfy the needs we have nationally,'' said Phyllis Harris, special-ed director for the Oakland Unified School District. She said the Philippines is one of several countries, including Spain and Canada, ``that produce more educators than they have need for.''

The districts are part of a national trend as schools from New York and Maryland to Florida and Kansas look abroad to fill teacher vacancies. For the Philippines, teachers and other overseas workers contribute more than 10 percent of gross domestic product. The 7.4 million Filipinos who work abroad sent home $917 million in January, almost 17 percent more than a year earlier, according to the Philippines Central Bank.

Many California schools, hit by budget cuts, are losing special-education teachers and speech pathologists to higher- paying districts and private schools. The departures coincide with a growing need for such educators as more children are diagnosed with autism, a developmental disorder marked by impaired communication and social skills.

Autistic Pupils

The number of public-school students diagnosed with autism statewide more than doubled in four years through the 2004-2005 school year, compared with a 4.4 percent increase in total enrollment, according to the California Department of Education.

``There's always been a shortage of special-education teachers in California, and the growing number of autism cases has added to that,'' said Nicholas Certo, chairman of special education at San Francisco State University.

California doesn't train teachers at the undergraduate level, as most states do.

``That makes it doubly hard'' Certo said. ``The job pays little'' relative to the graduate education required.

Experienced teachers in the Philippines, where a third of the population lives on less than 60 cents a day, are jumping at opportunities in the U.S. Ligaya Avenida has placed almost 1,000 Filipino teachers in U.S. schools since opening her staffing agency in 2003, after 30 years as a teacher and administrator in San Francisco.

Wage Differential

Jeremiah Goco, 29, arrived in San Mateo in September from his home outside Manila to teach a class of five severely handicapped students at Bayside Middle School. With six years of experience and a graduate degree in special education, Goco earns about $45,000, nine times more than he made back home.

``Education is inexpensive in the Philippines,'' said Avenida, 60. Teachers know there's a special-ed need in the U.S., ``so naturally they apply for these courses,'' she said.

``It's a win-win situation,'' said Harris in Oakland. ``We need their services, and they need our standard of employment.''

Salary was the No. 2 reason for taking a job 7,000 miles away from his wife and two young children, Goco said.

``The opportunity is worth the sacrifice,'' he said in his art-lined classroom with aisles wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. He wants to return to his country with better skills to identify autism.

``Most cases in the Philippines aren't diagnosed, especially among the poor, and without a diagnosis, you don't get the services,'' he said.

Hiring Trips

Willis, an assistant superintendent at the San Mateo Foster City School District, spent five days in Manila last May interviewing 120 applicants. The trip came after she spent months on the Internet, at job fairs and advertising for teachers in trade journals, all to no avail.

Los Angeles, with 727,000 students, conducts annual searches statewide and in other U.S. cities, said Carolina Pavia, the district's director of operations.

``We have not been able to fill our needs'' within the U.S., said Pavia, whose district hires about 400 special-ed teachers each year. The Filipinos are ``very committed and have a strong work ethic,'' she said. Only one or two haven't worked out in five years, she said.

Greener Pasture

Ethyl Santos, 42, who lived east of Manila in Antipolo, accepted a job in Oakland five years ago, seeking ``the proverbial greener pasture,'' she said.

Santos, whose salary jumped 10-fold, came by herself and was joined by her husband and two children a year later. She has since had a third child and the family is seeking permanent residency.

The foreign teachers are responsible for their transportation, housing and visa costs. Most turn to an agency like Avenida, which charges about $5,000 to $7,000, depending on the type of visa. The fee includes one-way transportation to the U.S. and help in finding housing.

Avenida covers transportation and hotel costs for recruiters whose district hires 10 or more teachers. The agency has placed Filipino teachers with schools in cities including Baltimore; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee.

The teachers typically come to the U.S. on cultural-exchange visas that last for three years or work visas that are valid for as long as six years.

History of Ties

California has a long history of Filipino immigration, starting with a wave from 1903 to 1934, according to the Smithsonian Institution. A second wave from 1945 to 1965 was mostly soldiers who had fought with the U.S. during World War II and war brides. A third wave that began in the mid-1960s includes many professionals.

``Their educational system may in some ways be modeled after the U.S.'' said Catherine Ceniza Choy, an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley. ``When you have that kind of training, plus a century-old presence of the U.S. in the Philippines, it's not so surprising'' that U.S. schools recruit there, she said.

Goco, who pays $360 a month to share a two-bedroom apartment with four other teachers, has adjusted to his job and even coaches the Bayside girls soccer team. Being away from family is the biggest challenge, he said. He sees and talks with his kids daily using a Webcam and free voice service.

``You have to look forward and think about what you can provide for them later,'' he said. ``Sometimes they ask me to come home.''

`Fast Track'

To get teachers into classrooms faster, California is issuing intern licenses for people enrolled in university programs that will lead to education credentials. About 100 people are in San Francisco State's ``fast-track'' program this year, Certo said.

The Los Angeles school district has a program that encourages teaching assistants to become teachers.

``The key is growing your own,'' Pavia said. ``These programs have the highest retention rate because the people know what to expect. They've worked in the classrooms, they live in the communities.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Wolfson in San Francisco at lwolfson@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 13, 2006 20:10 EDT