Congratulations on your job offer, CarlFlanders - you have landed a job in a well respected school system. As you stated, your visas should not be a problem - established schools have worked the system for years and do all of the "hoop-jumping" for you. While snafus can happen anywhere, they are not the norm at well run schools.
I've known teachers at the schools you'll be going to for years and years and they've have never had difficulty with exit visas - have another friend going back next year after several other international schools - she never found one she liked as well. Hope everything works out as well for you.

Have friends and former colleagues at the school - they've been there at least 3 years, plan on staying indefinitely. Don't know specifics, but they are top notch teachers so their happiness suggests a congenial and professional atmosphere. They also save a bundle on the package, even with children, and love the travel opportunities within China.

If the school making an early offer isn't your top choice, don't be afraid to ask for time to make up your mind. If they don't like it, it probably wasn't meant to be. There are two reasons that come to mind: one, you are an attractive candidate and they want to grab you first (which means it won't hurt to wait) and two, they are desperate and trying to up their chances (which means you probably should wait). Trust yourself and don't settle - or a two year contract might seem like a very long time.

Although I don't know specific contact information, some web searching may provide you with an answer to your dilemma - there are teacher exchange programs, some where teachers not only swap jobs but housing, so that makes it easier to plan for - and then there are fellowships for teachers for one year, teaching overseas, which would allow you to stay within your leave of absence rules. Your dream is worth it - and so is keeping some security for your family - best of luck in your quest.

Most schools do not offer one year contracts as initial contracts - it's just too costly to bring people over for that amount of time. American School of Doha offers one year contracts to people who have completed their initial two year contract - not initial one year contracts. Many good schools will consider quality candidates no matter what their family situation is. We have had four children - due to spacing, only three at a school at a time, but the oldest enjoyed flight benefits to visit us once per year and insurance coverage, so it was a great package - we've been at three different schools with three at a time. At none did we pay tuition, even though some may reserve the right to charge you for more than two children - that is often negotiable, even if it's not clearly stated. Check out schools' web sites - they often state what size family they will consider in their employment information.

This information seems fair to ask for - even though I've been teaching over 25 years and much of this is well known to veterans - let's be collegial, share that knowledge. For example, the posting that said the capital city of each country often had the best package is good info - perhaps it's not true 100% of the time, but it gives people an idea. I'm always surprised to hear people still get sucked into the incredibly bad proprietary schools which have excited plenty of commentary on this site - it's sharing information that might prevent someone else from sharing the same mistakes.
While money is never the entire package, it IS why most of us work. Any lotto winners out there? The schools that post their salary schedules online and are honest about their packages always get my respect - none of the pretense that others like to hide behind that professionals shouldn't be concerned about salary. What other professions pretend to buy into that particular fallacy? Registering for a fair, by the way, usually gives you access to most of this information - along with estimations of potential savings, which allows you to compare apples and oranges. UNI does a good job of this if the schools fill out the paperwork properly.

American Embassy School in New Delhi - excellent salaries, lots of side benefits, low cost of living - lengthy average stay for teachers attests to quality package and school environment. (also pays into Social Security in US!)

While some states appear to be pickier than others (we know people who make sure to go to Canada midsummer each year to avoid problems), mostly you need to stick to the spirit of the law. We don't take a homestead exemption on our house in the US. We make sure not to earn any money there. We register as absentee voters. We fill out each and every form accurately - residents of country X, citizens of USA. We pay the extra $30 or so to H&R Block which says that if they make a mistake, they pay for it up to a fairly generous amount - more than which we would never owe as we are, after all, teachers. Our tax person there is an attorney with a specialty in expats - I'm pretty confident we'll be okay, in spite of spending 8 weeks each summer in the US. Good luck.

The best retirement benefits we've had have been matching contributions, with the percentage that the school kicked in ranging from 7% to 12%, depending upon how much we contributed and how many years at the school. The person who does our US taxes, who is an attorney with H&R Block, says we CANNOT contribute to a Roth IRA unless we earn a certain amount in the US. Sorry, I don't remember the amount as it was immaterial to us, we don't work in the summer. We had contributed one year without being eligible prior to us discovering this (on the advice of the investment guy at our bank who wasn't up on rules expats need to be concerned about). We're hoping that one year flies - but just because Roth takes it, don't assume it's okay for you to invest there - it's your responsibility to know the tax laws.
Many international schools have investment people pass through a few times per year, TieCare and Raymond James. They offer a variety of services and would advise you on what serves your needs best. We contribute to a 'post tax' annuity, which means we only get taxed on the money it earns since the money we put in wasn't taxable anyway--we're under the minimum for having to pay tax while living overseas (well under, as I suspect most teachers are!) We don't get taxed on it at all until we take it out - if we take it out prior to retirement age, the tax is far heftier than if we take it out at retirement age.
While none of these funds have earned huge percentages, they are slow and steady and since we've never taken our pay without this deduction, it seems like our contribution costs us nothing at all. With the school also kicking in their percentage, it does add up!

Well done! I nominate this for front page status, especially during recruiting season...

SAS has undergrown HUGE growth with the construction of their new campus - last year they hired something like 72 new teachers, with the majority of those new positions. Between the two campuses, the number of vacancies you say they post this year is probably actually relatively light in terms of percentage of teacher turnover because, as you say, the package is great. We have friends who went 2 years ago and love it - plan to stay awhile. They are at Pudong.

None of the schools I've been at overseas have had very developed programs for exceptional children. That being said, I've known of children with special needs attending those schools with varying degrees of success. My spouse had a child with Down's in a third grade class in Jeddah fifteen years ago who fit right in and the school had no problem with it. Like anything, much depends on the school personnel.
There is a temp. agency for schools providing fill-in teachers for schools with late openings - I wonder if you could get a teacher through them? (I believe, but am not sure, that they work for the agency, which might solve your contracting problems). Or perhaps a recruiting agency would help you if you had a group of parents willing to provide a classroom, materials, benefits to the teacher along with certain guarantees.
Many countries DO have facilities now for special needs children (outside of the international/American schools); friends with a child with rather severe needs for numerous kinds of therapy found both while living in Japan and Singapore. In Qatar there is a school for children with mild special needs - and it's international, run by Americans. It's called The Learning Center and is associated with Qatar Foundation. It seems like the State Dept. would be able to compile a list of schools such as these and offer that with other information when employees consider a new post.
Best of luck in your search, hope this rather random information helped a bit.

We've taught in the same geographical area as ACS off and on for years - during that time it has always had a solid reputation. Teachers we've met from there have all stayed a fair amount of time, which speaks of satisfaction (perhaps the reason it hasn't been reviewed?!?) The pay is fine - not as great as it used to be due to inflation - but circumstances there might improve if the country removes its currency from its dollar peg as rumors suggest. (Couples can still likely save one salary.) Additionally, the school pays into US Social Security, so if you're American, that's a huge plus. There isn't a lot to do with local culture - if that's the main reason you're teaching overseas, you'll exhaust your options fairly quickly. Traffic is not as bad in Abu Dhabi as in Dubai or Doha. The school does not seem to be experiencing the same explosion in growth as those two neighbors either, so the atmosphere is less stressful. Reports on the school head from visiting teachers have been positive. Hope this helps.

Check out listings for schools on tieonline.com - numerous ads indicate that schools may hire before the fairs - and several are good package schools. Several schools in China which are large, therefore have lots of openings and hiring to do, have been known to interview prior to fairs using methods such as Skype or video conferencing. You could also suggest it to schools you're interested in - contact them if they have openings you know you match and ask them if they're willing to do this. The school we're currently at has recently interviewed people via phone despite never having done this before, so it's an idea that seems to be expanding. Fairs are probably the best way to go, far more opportunity, but other options do exist.

The Ramada is connected to the convention center, so you don't have to brave those sometimes nasty Feb. winters - also most school heads stay there. Because of that, it fills up early. If memory serves, almost any other hotel you'll have to drive from, so distance isn't that important - just do a search for Waterloo hotels and your price range.