The International Schools Review Forum

The reviews seem to be overwhelmingly negative. Anyone have any current info on the school, community, and package? How does it compare to Aramco?

I have some friends there. They say the community is awesome - the compound has its own beach, free gym, yacht club where you can pay for snorkel/scuba/fishing trips in the Red Sea. You're about an hour from Jeddah and there are free buses there all the time. In compound, the commute to work is about 1 minute.

There may be some change in the package I'm not sure, but where it scores over Aramco, apparently, is that it hires female teachers with dependent spouses.

@elgrappo Thanks for the input. I read about it being on the Red Sea. The overly negative reviews that I read had to do with the hiring process but I haven't heard anything about the package, benefits, or specifically the school.

Anybody have any info on the package or even about the actual school itself? Thanks

The package at KAUST has changed for the next school year. $42-47,000. Add 50% overseas allowance, 10% retirement, and up to 10% matching savings. The community is nice and there is much to do with young children. It is a small compound, so you really need to like to see people you know all the time. There has been difficulty with background checks not passing, so make sure your record is clean.

I've heard good things about the place. The only words of caution I was given are regarding the "small aquarium" (not quite fishbowl!) experience.

@ Curitiba...is the change in package for the better...overall? How does it measure up to what was being offered in previous years?

The base salary for 2013-2014 is a decrease from the first four years.

[quote="Curitiba"]The base salary for 2013-2014 is a decrease from the first four years.[/quote]

@Curitiba What is the housing like and how much do teachers have to pay in "rent." Is it necessary to have a car? Lastly, what is the make-up of the school, specifically at the elementary level?

The housing is quite nice overall, but there have been cases of mold and pipes leaking here and there. Then you need to bug the housing department to get repairs done. Rents are about: 1 bedroom USD$550, 2 bedroom $660ish, 3 bedroom $800ish. As of now, utilities are free, that may change in the future. The school has a many ESL students, so you will need to be skilled in differentiation. I don't have exact figures on nationalities, but it somewhere about 45% Saudis, 10% N. Americans....This is difficult. I believe we have over 70 nationalities represented. Hope this helps.

Oops forgot to comment about the car. The campus is quite small, so most people ride bikes or scooters to get around. If you are male, you might want to get a car to drive to Jeddah or take trips in the Kingdom.

This is the link to the school newsletter http://www.kaustschools.org/uploaded/Th ... -12-12.pdf