Early Notice Contract Renewal

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appleseed
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:12 am

Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by appleseed »

I am currently working at a second tier school and have more than 10 years of teaching experience (not just from this school). I like the atmosphere of my school, but I want to try a new continent. The problem is that my school requires that I give notice of contract renewal at the end of October (9 months prior to the start of that contract). If I say that I am staying the following year I am required to sign the contract before the end of October, otherwise the position will be offered to someone else. Obviously its too early for me to have a job lined up already. When I asked about this to the head of school he said that teachers who want to leave just give their notice and they usually find great jobs. I would do this if I were still single, but with a family I am a bit reluctant to take such a risk. If I sign and find a job later I will have to pay a huge fine for breaking contract. But I can't get to the Search fair easily since I would have to take off work for that (what reason could I give them without lying to them) and my principal would probably see me at the fair. Any suggestions?
EUExplorer
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 12:52 pm

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by EUExplorer »

This is absolutely normal for the vast majority of international schools. Most teachers have to give notice whether they are returning anywhere from October to January, depending on the school. Most of the job fairs are in February so most people are in the same boat as you. You always take that chance when moving international schools and you need to have confidence and faith you will land an adequate job.
shadowjack
Posts: 2138
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by shadowjack »

When I first started out, we didn't have to give notice until JANUARY. Then it was December. Then it was November. At my present school it is late November, but at my last school the admin took it down to the start of October.

You are not alone - one reason they do it is to retain those staff who don't want to take the risk because they are in your position, or can't handle the stress of not knowing.

Good luck!
sid
Posts: 1392
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:44 am

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by sid »

Agreed, absolutely normal. And the difference between October notice and January notice is academic, you won't likely have a new job in hand before either unless you're a star candidate working your contacts and Skype interviews.
And don't try to go to a fair on the sly. You won't get into any of them without references from your current school.
gibwise
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:16 am

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by gibwise »

I think the only international schools that don't take this approach are the ones in Europe which are bound to EU laws that give a maximum notice period of 3 months. The major reason they ask is to give themselves time to recruit the right replacement (especially tricky to find good chemistry, physics and maths teachers). If you are a good teacher with experience then it is normally a matter of when, not if, you get a new job. I think the biggest issue may be how big your family is as to how hard it is to get a job.

Just to put it another way 23 teachers are leaving my current school, 22 of them have jobs for next year and the 23rd doesn't particularly want one.
luvinit
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:11 pm

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by luvinit »

"the difference between October notice and January notice is academic"

Really? (and this is a genuine question.) Is it only the star candidates who line up jobs (via direct applications and Skype) before January? My school is increasingly hiring early and by Skype, even for lower-demand positions. What about the Bangkok fairs (aren't they in December)?

I've not been out on the search yet, but to my school just changed our renewal date from mid-January up to 1 Dec, and I think it has the potential to make the process a lot worse for teachers. No chance to fly for an interview if your Winter break comes out earlier or later than your target school, etc. Less time to network and apply directly for Skype interviews.

To me the bump-up seems a pretty bad trend for teachers, and October 31 seems extreme and unfortunate.
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Early Notice Contract Renewal

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

"the difference between October notice and January notice is academic"

Spoken like a true admin, lol. I would disagree to some extent. 2/3 months of job searching from a secure position, including the possibility of at least 2 job fairs (depending on the date in January) is not something to dismiss lightly. I do think that stress levels greatly increase when you are taking a leap of faith without a safe place to land. One great advantage to being with DoDDS now is that if we ever decide to go back to the international school circuit, we will be able to job search knowing that we have secure (and very good) positions if attractive positions/locations do not pan out.

I understand that schools really want to be able to plan ahead for staffing needs, but a binding return notice in October feels very early. From a teachers point of view, a non-binding survey in October (or at least the offer of an early notice bonus) seems a lot more attractive/fair but the trend has been to ask earlier and earlier so October is not exactly shocking/unusual at this point.
>
> Really? (and this is a genuine question.) Is it only the star candidates who line
> up jobs (via direct applications and Skype) before January? My school is increasingly
> hiring early and by Skype, even for lower-demand positions. What about the Bangkok
> fairs (aren't they in December)?
>
> I've not been out on the search yet, but to my school just changed our renewal date
> from mid-January up to 1 Dec, and I think it has the potential to make the process
> a lot worse for teachers. No chance to fly for an interview if your Winter break
> comes out earlier or later than your target school, etc. Less time to network and
> apply directly for Skype interviews.
>
> To me the bump-up seems a pretty bad trend for teachers, and October 31 seems extreme
> and unfortunate.
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