[quote="PsyGuy"]Many countries have similar health information and protection laws as well. Just because they "say" it could eb grounds for termination, doesnt actually mean they could legally terminate you.[/quote]

I'd be interested to know if any foreigner has been able to successfully fight an unfair dismissal claim in (let's think of some well known international school locations) Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bolivia, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Brunei, or Kazakhstan (sp?)?

That is one of the reasons we have a site like ISR - as we teachers are often at the mercy of their administrators on contractual matters, it is important to inform other teachers of the feral administrators.

However, I'm with Walter on this one - tell the truth.

It will not only be very revealing about the school. But you also want to be sure that your health insurance coverage is not compromised.

Sorry - repeat post

I have been reading this thread with interest, as I have just been completing some paperwork for my new school.

One of the documents refers to my medical history and is pretty exhaustive (and intrusive!).

It also has a blurb on the bottom that lying (or omission of information) would be grounds for termination of the contract. It may also void the health insurance coverage.

I think the bottom line is that the sort of rights we are used to in places like the USA may not apply in international schools - and the school I am going to is one of the schools that is often mentioned in this forum as one of the top schools in Asia.

I had nothing serious to report medical wise, so it is easy for me to say this - however, I would be err on the side of honesty, taking the position that if a school dumped me on the grounds of a past medical problem, it would not be the sort of place I want to work.

In terms of timing, I would not be raising this at the interview stage. More, after the job has been offered to me stage.

When I think about the international schools where I have worked, IB coordinator positions have tended to be filled internally.

If by Tier 1,2 we are thinking about IB schools such as Western Academy Beijing, New Int School Thailand etc, I would think there would be a lot of teachers within those schools who would be competing hard for a promotion to admin.

Having said that, you and your wife are an attractive package deal.

It may be the case that you need to do a 3 year stint in a smaller school first to get into the system.

All the best - as I said, on paper, you and your wife make a very good team.

[quote="WeDoDude"]Interesting, Hallier. What kind of person would inflate their resume on an Internet message board meant to assist teachers with making informed decisions about their lives? [/quote]

I'm not sure. He definitely attracts a fair bit of attention!

Whether Psyguy is actually mulling offers to be a Head from one school, or a teacher at a Tier 1 school, is hard to believe.

Mainly because it is late May - that's an awfully late time in the process to be leaving your job (in May, no less!) and a crazily late time to be hiring a head of school. And any Tier 1 school I have been associated with is rarely hiring in late May.

Having said all that, his scenario is still possible.

You can resign late in the piece in Europe, some utterly dysfunctional schools do hire heads 4 weeks out from the end of the school year etc etc, some teachers do post on message boards in the middle of the night ...

I replied simply because I thought some folks might be interested in my observations about the employability of people who bounce around from school to school to school - whether they are teachers or admin.

From personal experience, it is a career killer.

I'd be interested to hear other people's point of view on that issue.

I am not talking about breaking contract, more leaving at the end of each 1 or 2 year contract, so that you quickly amass a long list of past employers.

How can that be explained at job interviews etc?

What's more, if you want to be a senior admin at a credible school, then your resume is read by the teachers and school community who are usually able to ask you questions in a public forum. How would you explain that to them?

In my experience, the occasional short stay is defensible; however, it needs to be augmented with some lengthy stays where you actually contribute something tangible to the school.

Psyguy - from your past posts, I gather that you are in your 1st year of your 1st admin position in Northern Europe at a regional (local) school. This is as an IB coordinator. At my past schools, this position would be a step below assistant principal status.

Before then, you spent a short time in Italy (maybe 1 or 2 years) as a teacher and before then have worked in Japan and Egypt (well, somewhere in the Middle East, which I understand was not all that much fun.)

You have also posted about working in Hong Kong (I think – but, maybe not as a teacher).

I have experience of being in two of the uber schools that often get mentioned in this forum as being Tier 1. I have also worked at a proprietary school in China, as well as one of the better regarded schools in China.

In that time, no one was hired for any type of admin position at those schools – even the proprietary one - who had a history of short stays in previous positions.

In fact, I can't think of a teacher I worked with at any of these schools who had worked for so many different schools in such a short time frame.

Maybe one – and she recalled to me how many heads referred to her as a “teacher touristâ€

Agree - get them scanned and then put them into an external hard drive. Being a tad paranoid, I have all my files in two different hard drives.

[quote="YoDude"]Today we got results of the latest IB satisfaction survey. Isn't it amazing that those that were surveyed by the IB are these: 1) School Heads - those who are very removed from its implementation, and 2) MYP coordinators - those whose jobs depend on having the MYP remain. However, those in the classroom weren't involved at all. Amazing![/quote]

I'd be interested to know more about this survey.

Is it sent to all schools offering an IB programme?

Most folks I worked with found it relatively easy to find furnished places

Again, it is all about making contact with the school. For instance, there may be a teacher who is leaving who is leaving a fully furnished house that is within the allowance.

Another may have a horror story about a particular location. For instance, do you want to be next door to a mosque - and be woken every morning by the call to prayer! In other areas, it may be really hard to get access to Bluebird taxis (a very reputable and safe form of transportation). And, as I said, flooding is a huge issue - both where you live and the roads between your home and the school.

You really do need to talk to some folks who are there.

Also consider a lot of teachers in the next few months will be selling their furniture if they are leaving.

Ask for the email of teachers with families who are leaving this year. See what you can find out from them.

All the best with your decision:) I'm in a similar position to you, so I know how you feel.

Most folks I worked with found it relatively easy to find furnished places

Again, it is all about making contact with the school. For instance, there may be a teacher who is leaving who is leaving a fully furnished house that is within the allowance.

Another may have a horror story about a particular location. For instance, do you want to be next door to a mosque - and be woken every morning by the call to prayer! In other areas, it may be really hard to get access to Bluebird taxis (a very reputable and safe form of transportation). And, as I said, flooding is a huge issue - both where you live and the roads between your home and the school.

You really do need to talk to some folks who are there.

Also consider a lot of teachers in the next few months will be selling their furniture if they are leaving.

Ask for the email of teachers with families who are leaving this year. See what you can find out from them.

All the best with your decision:) I'm in a similar position to you, so I know how you feel.

[quote="PsyGuy"] The average one bedroom (2011) apartment rent is $345 and the average 3 bedroom rent is $670. A 3 bedroom would come out to $8040 a year, and a 1 bedroom would come out to $4140 a year.[/quote]

I was in Jakarta a few years ago and paid about $700 a month for a pretty basic 2 bedroom apartment.

No doubt that there are one bed places for $345 in Jakarta, but I'd be worried about the quality of the apartment and the complex - not to mention the location. For instance, many really cheap places are in locations that are prone to flooding.

I am not sure if the OP is just thinking about applying to work there, or actually has an offer to work there. My advice would be to find out from teachers working at the school what the housing situation is like.

The key to surviving Jakarta (IMHO) is to figure out a way to survive the traffic. So it is very important to be able to find a place to live that ensures the quickest possible commute to work.

Just to give one point of comparison. If you worked at Jakarta International School, as a single with dependents, you'd get $17,100 a year.

Now it is not the fairest comparison, as JIS is located near far more expensive real estate than Sinarmas. But $10,000 is a big difference!

However, I'd really try to get some first hand information about the housing situation if I was considering taking a position there.

There's lots of great advice here.

If I can put my 2 cents in, I would communicate with teachers who are already at the school and find out what they did - what could they buy more cheaply there? what was not available over there? etc. They will also be able to recommend the best shippers.

From the size of your allowance, I suspect you are headed to a school that will provide you with a lot of that information anyway.

Just two things to keep in mind - first, make sure your allowance covers tax and storage fees. Some schools, believe it or not, only pay for shipping, not for other things. Second, in some places (China, for eg) you can not access your shipment until your residency permits etc have come through. This can take until September/October in some cases.

Whatever the case, this is definitely a situation of contacting the school and getting 1st hand advice.

All the best with your move - I am also moving schools and am about to start thinking about this as well. It is a bit of a headache!

Well put Nancyt.

Have a look at this site - double-check of course that their credits will be recognized.

http://www.hol.edu/about.cfm#

Some of you may find this link to be instructive - http://www.academyish.org/_membersonly/ ... osting.pdf

I did not engage in any subterfuge to get it. Just googled international schools review posting administrator response (or something like that - did this a while ago).

The admin are responding to a situation where they find out a teacher has written a bad review about the school. Most take a fairly hardline response - sack them! - as you will read.

Having said that, if I was in their position and I found out that one of my teachers had run down the school, I'm not sure what I'd do. Esp. if the posting was completely unjustified.

I thought the posting of Michael Matthew (who I think used to be the Head of the Int Community School in Zurich) was the most even handed. He did make an interesting comment about how the heads had had recent discussions about the need for admin to be brutally honest when writing confidential references. He was arguing that isn't this what posters on ISR do.