Chapter 7: Crossing Borders On The Border: Implementation of a Mentoring Network

Schools on the U.S.-Mexico border are some of the most challenging environments for teachers in the U.S. Low teacher pay, the isolation of rural life, regressive state policies in regards to English language learners and students who cross the border each day to attend school are commonplace in border schools. The lack of qualified teachers in border schools contributes to the enormous achievement gap between students in border schools and those in the rest of state (McRobbie & Villegas, 2004).

Schools struggle to find teachers; in fact, some of our partner schools now import teachers from the Philippines and India. Among these teachers, a language barrier exists to such an extent that some parents in these schools will not allow their children to be the classrooms of these teachers. In some schools, teachers commute 70 miles to teach on the border and return home at night; these teachers have little connection to community life on the border.