There are more 5,000 active job postings in Minnesota schools, according to St. Cloud State University’s EdPost listings. There’s one school district you won’t see on that list: Red Lake Public Schools.

The district is fully staffed, thanks to teachers it has hired from abroad, specifically from the Philippines. Red Lake has hired 11 educators from the Philippines.

Back in 2022, MPR News reported on Willmar doing the same. Fridley Public Schools has hired 33 educators from the Philippines. And the Department of Education just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mexico to help pave the way for teachers from Mexico to get jobs here as more districts look to teachers from other countries to fill positions.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked about this strategy with Red Lake Public Schools Superintendent Tim Lutz and Dara Antazo, a Pre-K special education teacher at Red Lake from the Philippines.