Glad to hear everything is turning out okay. It's hard to know whether to be concerned or not in situations like these! It's not like a contract for working down the road or across town... Hope your new posting is great!

Apologies. I did not mean resign immediately. I meant the official, "I'm not coming back next year" resignation. You know...when the school asks if you're returning. You can say no , you're not coming back. That's all. Sorry for the confusion.

Well with further information, your situation is actually MUCH better than you originally stated. It sounded like you had absolutely no contact from the school and had been left high and dry.

I've been very pleased with school-selected housing. More than happy. Some people complain about EVERYTHING, though. I remember my first school that provided townhomes. 2 story, 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, Western kitchen...and one of the other new teachers complained about how it was smaller than her home in Minnesota. Good Lord...maybe she should have just stayed there.

I find it a LOT less hassle to just go with what the school gives you. It's awesome going straight from the airport to YOUR place. You don't have to worry about rent each month, finding a place that you like, etc. I do think perhaps you are being a bit fussy. Go in with the attitude that it's going to be fine, it's not a forever home you're living in, and it's FREE. Woo-hoo!

I do find it strange that they give you rent money and then say you have to live in specific housing. Agreed with above posters.

Um....this is NOT a good sign. If I were you, I would not work at this school. If they haven't sent you a contract after offering you a position, your accepting, and your asking for the contract multiple times, it is not a good sign of what's to come.

I would VERY quickly e-mail the other school that offered you a job and let them know your situation and if that job is still available, that you would like to accept it, or another position at their school that you're qualified for. At the same time, I would get my name back out on the market asap.

There is no wait. If a job is offered, a contract comes with it. This is very worrisome.

Don't delay. Do something today.

When are contracts handed out? Had you already signed for next year? If they have not been handed out yet, you should put in your resignation immediately. Then you can say that you resigned rather than you didn't have your contract renewed. Problem solved (in a way) for any questions that come from job applications or potential employers.

I think if schools are having a 30% turnover, that is something to note, but not necessarily be super concerned about. I would guess that administration would be a big reason for turnover, especially change in administration. I'd also look divisionally. If the middle school has a 40% turnover, but the elementary only has 10%...that says something different than a 35% turnover in both divisions.

Our schools have had the biggest turnover when the principals have changed. Many left the same year the principal did, and many others the following year when the new administration came in changing things to suit them.

Those floaty top/loads of jewelry people tend to be the art teachers at the schools I've worked at! :D

I know a bloke who was there the last two years. Good, solid, positive guy, full of energy and a good teacher. He said it was night and day from CIS to where he's working now in Saigon. He wouldn't go into details, which I respect, but he was clearly thrilled to be working in a different and better school. It has a lot of bling and an amazing campus, but it's not really regarded as a great school to work at in Saigon. For that, you'd have to look at ISHMC, Saigon South, or one or two others.

Yikes--just looked at their website. They're looking for 19 elementary teachers! That would mean about 95% of their staff is leaving...

In my first year of international teaching, I had a more experienced colleague tell me to never let someone else know that you have an account on ISR. It may sound paranoid, but after a few years out in the world of international schools, you'll slowly realize that the suggestions about privacy and identity on ISR are sound. It's just a different world out here, and you are not protected like you are in your home country. It's better to just keep things like ISR quiet and to yourself.

ESL teachers I've known who have done this call it a "midnight runner." They tell no one but one a trusted friend. They do it right after a paycheck has been given to them. They have their bags packed and ready to go, a ticket bought, and they leave after they've cleared their money out of the bank. They leave any keys and an apology note under the door in an envelope at the school late at night, after everyone's gone home. They turn off their cell phone, get an late night/early morning flight head to the airport, and go through security.

I'd say package questions should come up after a contract has been offered, or if the interviewer brings up the package themselves and asks if you have questions. You're thinking about it being rude to ask is probably a good gut feeling to go with.

Often times an interviewer will ask if you have other questions, and you could then say something like, "What do you find most enjoyable about living in country/city xxx?" I'm not sure I'd go into housing or salary, though...stick with the host country and culture until offered a contract.

I'd also recommend subscribing to ISS or Search so you can look at their database and get an idea of the salaries offered at that school, so you'll know the ballpark. We didn't apply to schools with salaries listed below a certain amount, as our financial needs ruled them out.

I would guess that 80-90% of jobs are filled by March. I know that all the schools I've worked at have done the majority of their hiring by February, and they all started the process of hiring in November. There's some shuffling late in the spring, as there might be sudden changes of plans by teachers who were planning on staying, but had some emergency that required them to go home. This can lead to late openings, but not many.

If your child is in elementary, I'd strongly encourage the school that is PYP. However, on the flip side, I wouldn't encourage moving to a city known for bad pollution, like Dhaka or most places in China.

In regards to school 2, getting admin experience would be great, and your husband might find that working part-time would be great for settling in to a new place, spending time with your child, exploring the city, etc. I wasn't clear if leadership meant admin. If it does, I'd probably head down that route.

We've always had interviews together. If we've had a 2nd/3rd interview, sometimes we've had separate then, especially when we'd be working in different divisions with different principals.

Personally, I find interviewing as a couple much more stressful than just worrying about myself. :)