Native Speaker Teachers Program

Our Native Speaker Teachers Program started in 1991 with three teachers from the U.S. and has since grown to nine North Americans. As a bilingual school, the main objective of the NST Program is to improve the English level of the students, and as such, North American teachers are expected to speak English to their students at all times. However, the North American teachers also come as cultural ambassadors who participate in the growth of the school.

During these sixteen years, we have been delighted to have the North Americans as part of the faculty, and getting better at receiving them in a culturally foreign environment.

We look for candidates who are passionate about teaching and outstanding in their field, be it Literature, Language, Social Studies, or Science. This year we have graduates from Harvard University, Stanford University, University of South Carolina, Georgia State University, University of Bridgeport, University of Wisconsin, Whitworth University and Johnson State College.

As of this year we are now offering two-year contracts. Despite of the two-year contracts, many of our North American teachers decide to stay at Nogales for more years, like James Hane, who has been with us for five years. Some of them come back: Michael Kennedy, English teacher taught for four years, went back home, came back and stayed with us for two more years. Matthew Fishbane, English teacher and Head of the Department, was with us four years, taught in other countries and came back for three more years and Tammy Dobrzynski, English teacher who has just come back after teaching in Europe for seven years.

The teachers who come to Nogales are attracted by the opportunity to teach in an academic environment of excellence where they are encouraged to be demanding, by the strong commitment to values and by the emphasis on the individual. They also like the beautiful campus and enjoy the state-of-the-art facilities. They appreciate the immersion in the Colombian environment where they learn about the love to the country while practicing their Spanish. Finally, they come to learn about another culture, to travel around South America and to have a great time.