Meet the teachers who traveled overseas for Asheville City Schools
ASHEVILLE - Anabelle Magbilang Marasigan has traded her Southeast Asian island home for the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she will teach exceptional children at Ira B. Jones Elementary School. She is one of four teachers who has joined Asheville City Schools for the 2023-24 school year — leaving behind family and friends in other countries — to learn and share their knowledge with students and staff through a cultural exchange program.
Marasigan is from the Philippines, where she taught students with special needs for five years. She said she would teach 20 students a day, by herself. At Asheville City Schools she has only nine students in kindergarten through second grade with different disabilities, with help from instructional assistants, she told the Citizen Times Sept. 1.
Having more human resources has been one of the biggest differences she's noticed so far.
"The IAs really help me a lot. They help things feel more synchronized in the classroom. This also really helps the children be more productive," Marasigan said.
After her first week of teaching, she said her favorite part was just seeing the children's smiles.
"It makes me feel like I'm doing something impactful," she said.
Spokesperson for the district, Dillon Huffman, told the Citizen Times in an email that this is the first time in a while the schools have hired international teachers, and it's their first time partnering with the International Teacher Exchange Service. This three-year program provides opportunities for "international educators to teach in U.S. schools and to share their knowledge and culture with their students, schools and the local communities in which they live and work," the ITES website said.
"Part of this is to learn how we do things and take this knowledge back home to their schools. It is a cultural exchange program, but it's also to teach us," Sarah Cain, Asheville City Schools executive director of Exceptional Children and Federal Programs, told the Citizen Times Sept. 1.
Ira B. Jones brought in two new international teachers this year, which is fitting for the schools' theme, "global scholars." Cain said that the staff is invested in helping the students learn more about the world.
The district welcomed three elementary teachers from the Philippines and one high school teacher from Jamaica through the cultural exchange program.
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Lyssa Batican
Lyssa Batican started her first day at Isaac Dickson Elementary School on Aug. 28 as a fourth-grade teacher. Batican was born and raised in Binangonan, Rizal ― an island in the Philippines. She has seven years of teaching experience in different elementary grade levels and most recently taught fifth grade.
"The decision to become a cultural exchange teacher was not an easy decision to make. It was a desire to explore new horizons, the need for professional growth, and a fascination to travel the world and learn other cultures," Batican said.
Batican graduated from the University of Rizal System with a bachelor's of education and special education and earned a master's in educational management from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Tenesha Wilson
From Jamaica, Tenesha Wilson is teaching apparel at Asheville High School for the Career and Technical Education program. She is passionate about apparel and interior design and has worked in education for over 17 years.
"The fashion industry is evolving rapidly, and I would like to empower minds in developing and owning their skills," Wilson said.
Robert Abellera
Robert Abellera moved to Asheville from the Philippines to teach exceptional children at Ira B. Jones Elementary School. He said he got his inspiration to become a teacher through his mom, who is a retired educator.
He said he enjoys hiking, mountain climbing and doing outdoor activities. Abellera graduated from the Mindanao University of Science and Technology in the Philippines with a bachelor's in elementary education, and a degree in special education and has a certificate in early childhood education. He also earned his master’s degree in educational management in Southern de Oro Philippines College.
"I have been an avid special education teacher for the past eight-plus years. As an advocate of equal opportunity and equal support for all, I have witnessed the power of education in combating life deficiencies, and I pursue that to no end," Abellera said.
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McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKennna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville welcomes international teachers: Where are they from?
