Give retired Nevada teachers opportunity

By Lana Hess, Mesquite

Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Regarding the article titled “Bill aims to alleviate teacher shortage, help more immigrants get school jobs” (Feb. 20):

It’s worth noting that Nevada prohibits offering most teaching jobs to retired Nevada teachers, although retired teachers from other states are regularly offered employment.

I am a licensed Nevada teacher with 30 years’ experience. I am fluent in Spanish and English and hold an English-language learner endorsement. I am a National Board-certified teacher. I have worked on a national level with the National Council of Accreditation for Teacher Education, which means I helped evaluate teacher education programs in higher education.

I love teaching and have received only excellent evaluations throughout my career.

Nevertheless, I no longer work in Nevada due to having completed 30 years with the Clark County School District. I am now working as a teacher in Arizona, where I continue to inspire students as well as achieve high test scores on standardized tests. CCSD lost an experienced, outstanding educator when I left, and my story is far from unique.

It seems to me this employment opportunity should be offered to retired American citizens who happen to be over 50 years of age as well as to others who do not share the background and expertise for the positions.