I realize this thread is a bit stale, but if you are still out there I am a teacher at V.I.S. I'm leaving after this year, but can tell you that Vientiane is a lovely place to live and the school community is vibrant and supportive, the families mostly a mix of NGO/development workers and UN or embassy staff. Lao is a lovely country rich in both cultural and environmental resources but very poor if you are an economist. Vientiane is the world's smallest capital city, so traffic and pollution are still minimal, yet there are delicious restaurants and many interesting destinations within and without the country. Not much nightlife but great for families.

The school itself is in the midst of tremendous change, in candidacy for PYP and DP at the same time. 07-08 is likely to be a year of lots of hard work implementing these programs and that could be very exciting... but definitely challenging. The package is generous especially given the low cost of living here.

hope this is of use to someone. I think there are still two positions open and the director is recruiting at Cambridge.

I work at this school. What do you want to know?

Hi,

As a public school teacher for 8 years in the Bay Area I heard great things about this school: nice environment, committed staff. And the Bay Area is a fabulous place to live: clean, left-leaning, stunningly gorgeous.

That said, it is also an area of phenomenal traffic jams, incredibly costly housing, and rising crime. I still own my home in a very modest neighborhood of east Oakland (ethnically mixed, low-end white-collar workers including MANY teachers) and am renting my small 2 bedroom bungalow to a nice couple... for $1600 a month, which they considered a bargain, and which just barely covers my mortgage.

wish you the best in your search

L