The International Schools Review Forum

I've been working at a "high needs" public school in the States for the last 5 years and am now looking to transition into an international school position abroad. I LOVE my students and I LOVE teaching but have ached to live abroad for most of my life and last year decided it was time to fulfill that dream. I went to a US private school all through elementary, middle and high school so I'm aware of some of the differences but I'm interested in getting some perspective from folks who made the transition from "high needs" urban public schools to private international schools. I know that experiences probably vary depending on where you came from and where you ended up but I would love to hear about some of the triumphs and challenges of the transition.

My transition was a bit rough. I'm actually from a state with excellent education so when I landed at a small international school with no curriculum in place and a principal who had no training in education, it came as a rude shock. I wasn't the easiest person to get along with because it 7 days a week with administrator that had no idea what she was doing. Teachers would come to me for advise.

Almost 20 years later, I can't imagine going home. I've been blessed that since then I landed at schools with very high standards and lots of PD opportunities. The biggest difference in my mind is the involvement of parents. If you've been at an inner city school, you know you fight to get parents to be involved. In the international school world, you wish more of the moms would work. Not trying to be sexist - just making observations from my experiences.

Another big difference is the absence of significant behavior issues. HS kids . but pregnancies are almost unheard of and the kids tend to be pretty friendly. If you get to the right school, you can really enjoy being around the students and not have to play disciplinarian all the time.