It's not that Search doesn't take families; it's that Search probably doesn't take single candidates with 3 dependents.

It would mean the end of international schools in Indonesia. That's not a big deal?

Foreign private schools could no longer call themselves international, can't have the word in the name of their school, can't put the word "international" in any of their unit plans, programs, classes, or lessons, and obligated to teach religion.

How is tech taught in your elementary school:

* By dedicated tech coaches/teachers?
* By classroom teachers?
* A combination?

Is it completely integrated, or are meaningful skills taught separately from curriculum?

How much time is given per week or cycle to dedicated technology teaching?

Would love to hear some ideas of how things are being done in your school.

Is the undergrad degree an education degree? Does the person have a current teaching certificate? Is the person being hired in the field in which the master's degree is held?

My first thought would be no, it is not normal. If you have an MA, you should be paid on the MA salary scale. However, if the person doesn't have a teaching degree at all, isn't certified, and is teaching in an field totally unrelated to their MA, perhaps I can see why the school is not paying on the MA scale.

I can't get gmail to work at home without a VPN, and even then it can be picky. Sometimes I have to clear all my history in my browsers and restart my computer. At school, I can get on gmail, youtube, FB, etc. instantly with no problems at all.

If preps are the classes that you teach (or the number of different classes that you teach), what do you call the periods when you prepare for them?

In our neck of the woods, prep is the time you have to prepare for your classes (ie: planning time/breaks in the schedule when you are not teaching students).

So let me get this straight:

Right now you are teaching 3.3 hours a day on average. (25 x 80 min / 10 day cycle)

Next year you'll have to teach 4 hours a day on average (30 x 80 min / 10 day cycle)

If a normal school day is between 8-3, that's 7 hours that you're at school, giving you a whopping 3.7 hours of breaks per day this year, and 3 hours of breaks per day next year.

Unless I've totally missed something, I think you'll make it.

Alen Air is my choice for purifiers in China. I did a lot of research as to the actual units, and the customer service in Shanghai is tops.

I would never consider or recommend anyone moving to China without air purifiers in their homes, especially if they have children. It's a must.

Why not contact Teacher Ready and ask them?

I've been to all three more than once.

Beijing is by far the worst. Out of Bangkok and Jakarta, Bangkok seems to be better on the pollution rating, and the ease of getting around is far better than in Jakarta simply because of the public transportation.

I would never send my passport information upfront. You are right to be wary.

Also, I looked at the site, which I've never heard of or had any colleagues talk about in my 9 years overseas. It is an ESL teacher site, which doesn't fall under the same umbrella as the schools here on ISR. You might have more luck asking around on Dave's ESL Cafe or on the forum the website itself has.

Oh, in that case, yes. I've gotten everything from no reply, to interviews, to 2nd interviews from some of the schools I've directly applied to via their websites. Last two jobs I've accepted have been from schools that contacted me, however, after finding me on SEARCH or ISS.

I have never gotten a response back from a school I clicked on "Interested in" on ISS or Search.

I don't think you even have to say it isn't a good fit. In fact, I wouldn't. If you're offered a contract and you don't want it (because you don't feel like it's right for you), just say something short and sweet like, "Thank you so much for your kind offer. I greatly appreciate the time and consideration you've given me, and it's been great to get to know more about xyz school. At this time, however, I've decided to proceed with a different contract from another school. Thank you again and best wishes as you continuing recruiting this year."

Amazing how one can live in Shanghai for years and have never heard of some of these international schools...

Sorry to hear of this situation.