Despite having only 116 students and requiring only 13 teachers, Buthane, Colorado is forced to look internationally to find teachers to fill its staff.

Rural areas such as Buthane are having an increasingly difficult time attracting American teachers thanks to low pay and the isolation that comes with the lowly-populated districts.

As a result, districts are forced to turn to international recruiting as there are simply no applicants looking for positions within the schools.

Though administration in Buthane admits that immigration paperwork can be troublesome and complex, the process is worth it because the international candidates hired thus far have proven to have high levels of perseverance.

And they don't mind getting used to the slow-paced nature of a sleepy small town, because the curriculum is quite the opposite.

Ailyn Marfil, from the Philippines, told Colorado Public Radio that she came to Buthane from Japan, where there was constant speed and action. But while others might not immediately think it possible, Marfil says Buthane provides a different kind of speed and action.

"When she was in Japan, she had a lot of what she calls 'lazy time.' The way English is taught there, she says, you could spend an entire week on 'Hello, what is your name?' But in Bethune, teaching English literature, she juggles seven classes and it's fast-paced," CPR said.

In similarly small towns across the country, administration has been forced to get creative with recruiting techniques. In Mississippi for example, its most remote communities are equipped with affordable housing designed specifically to attract teachers to the area.

"When the apartments opened, top priority was to be given to teachers working in the district, and then to other licensed school district employees, according to the law. Other school district staff were to be given third-tier priority. After that, the apartments could be rented to anyone able to pay," The Hechinger Report said.

Currently, no teachers are living in the designated residential housing. representing both the desperation and the failures rural districts tend to face.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

09/30/2015