There are British schools and then there are stuffy British schools. Some English National Curriculum schools will hire US teachers and some will only hire English teachers. The question you should be asking is "Do I really want to teach in an English National Curriculum School?"

To get an idea of what you'll be up against try finding the English National Curriculum on the web, without any input from someone who has worked in the system.

The term 'British' is something of a misnomer. Many English people are disdainful of the Welsh and Scots, and consider the Irish Republic part of the United Kingdom.

My experience with British families has included one, a Mine CEO and his delightful wife, who wanted to know how soon the school would fire the incoming American teacher if she wasn't up to standard.

Vilnius is a lovely little city. I'm not sure what the salary at AISV is like now but you will probably be able to live quite comfortably, just don't know whether you'll be able to save.

It has a fairly long winter, overcast from about late October through to December.

I taught at AISV for 4 years and loved it.

Perhaps you could ask for some staff e.mails to see what it's like today.

Take care that the one year contract is actually a 12 month contract, rather than an 11 month contract. That has been known to happen.

Hi NoOneSpecial

Although you probably don't mean it that way, it does sound a bit like you feel entitled to a job in international education. It really is all about money, remember many (not all) international schools are for profit businesses so it's the bottom line that is the final arbiter. I have a non-teaching spouse and have been on the circuit for 17 years.

A couple of things to bear in mind. There are schools that value married couples, they see them as more stable, also a number of European schools don't offer flights home and may only give you a housing allowance, so your having a non-teaching spouse isn't an issue for them, the issue for you becomes the cost of living and if you can survive on the salary.

Some schools who have to fill a position mid year may be more willing to take on teachers with a non-teaching spouse. The school doesn't have the luxury of waiting for the next round of job fairs and has to hire someone at short notice.

Look at your strengths and consider where you might be competitive. If you're an IT network specialist chances are most schools will hire you even if you have a non-teaching spouse and 2 children. If you're a primary/elementary teacher some schools won't even look at you unless your partner is a secondary Maths or Science teacher.

Remember too that at this point in time, with the economic downturn in the US/UK, there's a glut of teachers in the market. If this is your first venture 'overseas' I would suggest you start by looking at schools that usually have difficulty hiring qualified and experienced staff. Consider your first 2 year contract a 'foot in the door'. Spend the two years getting to know the international school world, talk to staff who've been around and plan your next move using that knowledge.

There's also COIS and TES. COIS organise recruitment fairs, for which you register but don't have to pay a registration fee, and they also have a vacancy section on their website. The TES website has an international jobs section, and costs nothing to view.

Like ichiro I'm unfamiliar with the agencies you've mentioned but as he said that's not an indication of their value or quality. However I think that ISS, COIS, TIE and Search are the big 4.

In my experience UNI seems to have a stronger US appeal and the TES a stronger UK appeal.

I have a friend who was hired as PYP Coordinator and Reading Specialist at a school in Japan from her resume at Tie. Although her contract was ending she wasn't actively looking for a new school. The resume bank definitely worked for her.

Hi Puka

I'm not sure whether you're concerned about your children being in a multilingual/ multicultural classroom, or whether you're specifically concerned about Yew Chung because you're thinking of working there and would have to enroll your kids in the school.

International schools are, by virtue of their identity and mission, multicultural and multilingual environments. Even international schools in Western Europe, which in many cases have a large number of western students enrolled still have linguistically and culturally diverse student populations.

The Yew Chung website seems to indicate that philosophically they try to blend 'Eastern' and 'Western' (whatever that means) practice, values and cultures to establish some sort of international equilibrium. If you're want to work in an overtly Western environment, or your kids to have an overtly western education this may not be the school for you.

Most International Schools in China aren't allowed to accept Chinese nationals. The bigger Yew Chung campuses have a cross section of nationalities the smaller campuses tend to have more eastern (Korean, Taiwanese, Cantonese) than western. Do you have a specific school in mind?

"Basically, if you take 4 one-week (they're actually less than a week) PTC courses you're certified to be an international school principal. I've seen people do the whole training in one summer and then they became principals."

I've done a couple of PTC courses and I don't recall the PTC claiming that the Certificate was equal to an Administrative certification. The purpose of the courses, to the best of my knowledge, is to improve the practice, knowledge and understanding of administrators and aspirant administrators. I've found them to be immensly useful when reflecting on my own practice.

I don't think it's fair to blame the PTC if international schools appoint PTC Certificate holders as Administrators. However it does indicate that many international schools recognise the value of the PTC courses.

Over the years that I have worked in international education I wish that more of the School Heads, Principals and Coordinators that I had taught under had attended PTC courses. I'm confident that it would have improved their practice. A number of them have been fully certified administrators and not worth half the salary they earned.

I would also say that many international schools are staffed by teachers that have a very limited understanding of international education. Of course we all have to start somewhere and we learn along the way, but sometimes criticism of administrators is based on expectations teachers have of national schools situated in their home countries.

When I left the PYP system the overlap between English, Maths and the PYP Inquiry units was partial. The overlap with English was probably stronger than Maths. Consequently I don't think it's fair to fully blame the PYP or to sing it's praises for the lack or strength of language and maths skills in students.

I believe that the theoretical basis for the PYP methodology is sound. As I mentioned above the quality of the academic programme at PYP schools can be undermined by inexperienced, ambitious, divisive, dishonest administrators.

15 this year, 23 last year, hopefully next year less than 16.

Multi-age, strong EAL/ESL make up.

Have a co-teacher, not a TA.

Class size limits are elastic, determined primarily by financial constraints and parental tolerance.

School size, enrollment, location and school community often have a strong influence on class size limits. Directors can often 'squeeze in' an extra child or two, especially if its a small school and the applicants are big business or diplomatic.

Hi

The PYP appears to be a very mixed bag. I think the concept is great, and there are some really good people working within the system. Unfortunately it seems to attract a disproportionately large number of 'professionals' who come across as extremely self-serving, and style counts for substance. The individual who I am given to understand has just become the new Head of the PYP once tried to get his staff to complete the Self Study in one staff meeting. All the boxes were ticked by him and together with the PYP Coordinator wanted the staff to agree that the ticks were all in the right boxes. At that point he was the Primary Principal and 'managed' the event very tightly.

I'm interested to note that on another thread the issue of a 'doctored' Self Study has been raised by a PYP Coordinator who has been pressured by senior administrators in his/her school.

Because the PYP is so 'loose' you are at risk of being held hostage by whoever drives the process in your school. From your post it would seem that you've had first hand experience of just that. For all its philosophy and ideals the IBO appears to be a big cosy family and boat rockers aren't welcome.

Anyone watch Up in the Air (new movie with George Clooney) and think, "Wow, I identify with the way he feels".

After living a nomadic life on the international teaching circuit I have no idea how I'm going to settle down when I stop teaching.

I've been to two COIS London fairs in February. 2001 and 2005. Both times I seem to remember that there were about 700 applicants and about 200 schools. I understand that ISS is larger, more applicants and more schools, more of a cattle market atmosphere I've been told.

I don't know if the following holds for ISS but many of the COIS schools were IB schools looking for PYP, MYP and DP trained teachers. I think COIS has a marginally stronger UK/ European school orientation where as ISS probably has a stronger US orientation.

It is easier to register with COIS and there are no registration costs.

You will find the school website helpful. It's a Christian school, not sure what the package is like but the staff turnover seems low, I don't think they have any difficulty recruiting new staff. I understand that the setting is very beautiful. Hope this helps.