When three foreign-trained professionals sign up for a teacher certification program, their lives are changed forever. With a nation-wide teacher shortage hampering the education of school children, higher education institutions are scrambling to locate, train, and certify individuals who might consider teaching as their new profession. In this effort, Miami Dade College’s School of Education is tapping into the Miami’s international community as a resource of foreign-trained professionals who are keen to enter the K-9 classroom as teachers and subject matter experts. Three such teachers are Luisa, a social worker from the Dominican Republic, Miguel, a theater artist from Cuba, and Jose, an engineering teacher from Venezuela. First Class follows their journey from their arrival in the US, through the Educator Preparation Institute, and into their first classes as American high school teachers. The film looks at the sacrifices they made to come to the US and the contributions they are making to their new home