Sorry to see you flamed, Shadowjack. I have read you as a respectful and thoughtful poster for a couple of years now.

How do you know that, PsyGuy?
I am currently in Surabaya and have not heard the same things about SES as you have. I know teachers and families there. I have not met any local Indonesian families at that school, though I am sure there may be some. I'm sorry I don't know enough about the school to give feedback to the poster, but I do know enough to advise you to seek more information.

I'm also currently teaching in Indonesia.

Have you read the full text of the legislation affecting International Schools in Indonesia?

You've posted some things here that I haven't heard of yet, though it seems that among (former) International Schools in Indonesia, there is a lot of confusion about what the new requirements are. Some of this confusion is transferred from the officials responsible for ensuring adherence to the ruling, as the officials themselves are unsure about all the requirements and also about how to enforce them. Some of the confusion certainly comes from what the schools are sharing with their hired staff. I am experiencing this, as I'm hearing things from foreign Embassy staff who are aware of the ruling that are different from what I've heard from the administration at the school.

I haven't yet read the legislation itself, so I'm curious if you have.

My family and I left QAIS last year. It is every bit as great as it looks. The administration is phenomenal- inspired educators with a vision. The faculty is a group of professional and fun teachers. We are happy where we are now, but there is not a day that passes that we don't miss QAIS. Qingdao is a fine place to live in many ways, though I found China (hygiene, pollution) to be very challenging to enjoy at times. I would be happy to answer detailed questions. I think PM is enabled now, right? I don't check this site very often anymore but couldn't pass up the chance to support QAIS. It is a a rising star.

In my experience, the recruiting agent often has no idea what the requirements are. Everyone you talk to is going to give you a different answer. It's best to be safe instead of to arrive there and not have the proper paperwork. Many people were having to deal this at the beginning of the last school year. Some people had to return home to deal with it.

The regulations on the criminal background check changed in 2013. It caused a lot of confusion and stress from teachers at my school. I was coming from the US and did fine with a criminal background check from the police department. My advice would be to definitely get it translated. You should also get it notarized by an official agency there.

We had an offer from Qatar Academy Doha last year through Skype.
American School Doha has a strong reputation, from what I understand.

I am finishing up the Teacher Ready program from abroad and need to figure out how to complete the fingerprinting that the Florida Dept of Education sends to the FBI. Can anyone please inform me of whether or not I can get away with having an official at my school do the fingerprints? There seems to be no space on the card to have official documentation (other than a signature of the person performing the fingerprinting) of where the fingerprints were done. Please advise.

Thanks,
Emily

Yes, congratulations Cheery Bottom (and Ex-New Yorker)! Your enthusiasm and honesty are very appreciated.

I am excited to be joining SIS next year and was pleased with what we found out through our research. I have talked to five or six teachers there, and they all had positive things to say. The administration is mostly new, but we were impressed with their "track records". Everything "sniffed out" well for me and my family. I can answer detailed questions if you want to PM me.

I'm happy to see this post and look forward to checking out the link someone posted. Here are a couple on my radar:

-Prem Tensulada in Chiang Mai
-Tulum International School in Mexico- This is a brand new school with a handful of kids and one teacher. They have some interesting things going on, though. Maybe in a year they will be ready to hire more teachers.
-There is a Compass Education model that focuses on sustainability in education. A number of international schools are linked to the Compass program. Prem offers trainings.

I am drooling over Green School, as well, but I think one year ago they were not at all in the same place they are now. I wish I would have applied last year when I saw open positions, but frankly, it looked like a leap of faith then. Aside from the beauty of their program, I am impressed by the quality of their advertising and outreach. Photography and website design is beautiful. They are gaining int'l attention (Michael Franti, Al Gore), and I imagine that if they are not already able to, they will be able to offer a competitive salary soon.

We live in a different city in China that has had unusually high AQI levels this winter. The air pollution levels have continued to increase in the last couple of years. We have decided to leave. On bad days, we kick ourselves to think about the possible side effects on our young children of living here and breathing the air. There is no doubt about it that the particulate matter in the air causes respiratory illness (particularly when it is over- what is it- 200?) There have been many days this winter with levels above 200. We find ourselves stressing about every health issue and wondering if it is related to the pollution. Our kids are going stir crazy from not having much outdoor time. We have decided that, for us, it is just not worth it. The money is good. The culture is interesting. Chinese culture is VERY child-friendly, which for us, is one of the great things about living here. On good days, we ask ourselves why we are overreacting, but that only lasts until the next day of poor air quality. On the other hand, and it's a significant hand, tons of people are raising their children here- both expats and Chinese. It is a personal decision that only you can make.

I see Qatar Academy-Doha has a long list of openings, and I assume it is due to the administration's response (or lack thereof) to Dorje Gurung's arrest last spring. Can anyone confirm this? Are all of the teachers whose contracts are up leaving out of protest? I'm wondering how the administration attempted to calm the waters after Dorje Gurung left. Is Dr. Sands staying on next year?

Thanks very much for the info!

I'm trying to decide whether or not to join UNI and attend the upcoming job fair. I'm hoping someone might be willing to let me know approximately how many art openings there are for UNI-member schools so that I can decide whether or not to join. I'm not looking for specific schools. It's not that I mind dishing out the $ for registration. I am a member of Search. It's just that I don't want to go through the trouble and $ of registering if there are 4 or 5 open art positions. That's the trouble with specialist areas, I suppose. Thanks in advance for the support.