This is a new school opening for the 14-15 school year. Has anyone interviewed and/or been hired here? Anyone currently in Kuwait have any info? The school is located in Mahboula, how is this area to live in? Thanks for any insight!

If you are talking about Al Bayan Bilingual in Kuwait most of their info is on their website. Several of my friends worked there & really liked it, heavy workload, but great salary and benefits. Unfortunately, last I heard they don't take expat kids as they are a true bilingual school with many of their classes taught in arabic. I think they might have that noted on their website as well. I think ASK and AISK are also still hiring, I would recommend them as well, also UAS.

I agree with Flyingpigs. Kuwait is definitely a place that evokes strong feelings in most. I previously found it to be an amazing learning experience which is why I've just accepted a curriculum position there. In my own way I can make a difference to the kids I teach.

I've just been offered a position with an international school in Kuwait and they would like me to start in about a month. I've taught in Kuwait before and know that obtaining a work visa while in the states takes longer than that, so it looks like I'll be entering on a visit visa and making the Bahrain run. My husband and 2 kids will also be coming with me. I know the work visa requirements have changed since I was last there so if anyone has any updated info (apostatized teaching license, fingerprinting/background check?) I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I know that Kuwait usually does not allow wives to sponsor their husbands and kids, but heard something about a new exception for teachers. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Any and all help/advice/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thank you so much to everyone! This is exactly the kind of info I am interested in. Please keep it coming. :)

I've been looking around and there's not much info on them. Anyone out there know about their hiring practices, salary, etc?
Thanks in advance :)

You could also try tutoring. I was able to almost match my salary every month doing this, although this means you would have no benefit perks. You might try UAS, I know they are currently doing a lot of hiring in their high school dept.

Glad to hear your interview went well!

I am trying to remember how exactly the health care for family went. I had my twins while I was there and was able to put them on my insurance, I think I paid about 24KD a month each for them. I'm not sure how that would work for your husband without a Civil ID, but maybe the International Clinic would take his tourist visa a ID.

Sounds like you have a good handle on the grading issues. Kuwaiti parents usually have unrealistic expectations in regards to this and will try to be very persuasive.

One of the pros of the housing is that you are fairly close to most everything that you need. There is a bakala across the street and a jamiya at the corner streets. If you get a choice choose an upper level apt as the noise level from the streets is greatly decreased. Lots of fast food and local eateries around and a trip to Sultan Center (Arabic Safeway!) is about a 10 min taxi ride away. We used taxis all the time and they are super cheap once you know the price of how much it should really cost to get there.

Hope all works out! Just by understanding the culture and how things work over here means you've already won half the battle!

Please keep me posted :D

Intlskipper, lots to share, I'll try to get all questions covered. :D

Grade fixing: Not as far as I know, just keep good documentation for backup when dealing with the parents with "inflated" grade expectations. I used my own grading program to provide progress reports on a regular basis to be proactive.

Housing: I was single when I started at UAS, then married half way through. The flats are small and "dorm"esque and you and your husband would be expected to live in the same size as a single teacher. Married teaching couples used to be provided a nice large flat, downside being that it was in Salwa (15-20 min away), not Hawalli (right across the street from the school), therefore requiring you to own a car for transport to school. I'm not sure what they're providing now. There is no housing allowance and they do not give you the option of renting somewhere else. If you wanted to rent on your own in the area you would need to spend around 200-300KD for something decent and newer (which in this area I would recommend!) This would definitely take a chunk out of your salary. In regards to privacy we just made sure to keep a definite line between work and personal which involved our circle of friends. We even got together with our neighbors on that floor and created a "quiet" floor which was respected by others in the building. So there are definitely ways to make things more comfortable.

UAS Recruiter: What you've heard it true, he will promise the sun and the moon, so I cannot stress enough, get it all in writing and save all your correspondence. This is usually enough for things to be honored if there is a question later on.

Elementary principal: She actually is a personal friend of mine, but with that aside, she is definitely a big improvement over the principals that I had while I was there. She is very supportive and will go to bat for you when dealing with difficult parents. I never thought I'd consider going back, but with her leading the elem. I'll be applying next year. She has been with the school for a long time and is very straightforward with what can be expected when dealing with upper management.

Al-Bayan: I did not teach there, but had several friends who did. Overall they were happy there. It seemed like they offered a better package, PD, and housing, but also had a higher workload than UAS. For what it is worth, I myself would apply there if I didn't have kids.

Lastly, and I think, most importantly, you need to make sure with the recruiter that your husband will be able to get a visa. Kuwait has wacky rules regarding wives not being able to sponsor their husbands. It seems that in 2011 there was a exception rule passed allowing teaching wives to sponsor their husbands, but... that might only apply to Arab teachers through the Ministry of Teaching. There also seems to be some kind of family visa, but I'm not at all sure what that entails. For your sanity and wallet do NOT let them talk you into having him come on a visit visa... this means that later he will have to go out of country (Bahrain, Dubai?) every three month to re-enter on a new visa. This is usually at your cost and also denies him the ability to have a Kuwait ID, open a bank account, have access to local medical, etc.

Hmmm... that ended up being a lot! Hope it's helpful. Happy to answer any more questions that you have or that come up.

Again, for what it's worth, I greatly enjoyed my time with UAS. There were the usual growing pains and dealing with the "inshallah" environment, but coming from Cairo, you know how this area of the world works. I'm looking to come back next year if that's any indication. :D

I worked at UAS from 2006-2010 and had a good enough experience that I'm considering applying there next yr. If you are dealing with their recruiter here in the States get everything in writing and save all your emails, they cleared up any "misunderstandings" quickly. I'm happy to answer more questions, fire away.

I was in Kuwait a few years ago and ran into the same problem. Apparently husbands can sponser wives, but wives cannot sponser husbands. I'm assuming that still applies.