The International Schools Review Forum

My rankings changed when young children were added. While the savings isnt there, IS> benefits from the common availability and usage of English, which greatly reduces frustrations involved with young children.

I was told that all these schools are highly sought after, and they have many applicants applying for any position.

What would a teacher need to have a chance at getting a position at one of these schools? Taking into account not knowing anybody working there etc. What do these schools look for?

Thanks,
MartElla

@ MartElla
Teachers who work at these schools have some common traits:
- IB DP examiners / Workshop leaders
- Have 7 or more years of IB DP experience
- Excellent track record (IB or AP results)
- Have master's degrees in content areas
- Show evidence you are a life-long learner (sounds cliche, but being enrolled in a master's or doctoral program can be an advantage)
- Strong commitment to extracurriculars: MUN, robotics, Yearbook, outdoor education etc.
- Have worked at reputed schools in the past (e.g., you can find ex-Yokohama IS teachers at NIST and vice versa.)
- Being American or Canadian also helps at some of these schools.

You also need to showcase your accomplishments creatively via a blog, or a website, or even an all-star LinkedIn profile.

@MartElla

I agree with some of @finedude, you dont need to be an examiner or workshop leader. You do need to have significant experience and advance qualifications. Not because you have too, but because there are plenty of candidates in the applicant pool that do. You can look at the PsyGuy applicant scoring system, and upper tier ISs are mainly looking for professional class ITs (score of 6+).

PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System:
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)

IT CLASSES:
1) INTERN ITs have a score around 0
2) ENTRY ITs have a score around 2
3) CAREER ITs have a score around 4
4) PROFESSIONAL ITs have a score around 6
5) MASTER ITs have a score around 8

Thanks for the replies.

FineDude. Thanks for the response. Does that mean these schools don't hire British/NZ/Aus teachers? I am kind of looking for a truly international school. not just those with North Americans. Don't these exist? Are there only American or British or Canadian schools? I was thinking of these places as I was told they were truly international, rather than just one nationality-driven.

PsyGuy - Nice reply. However, what do you mean by -
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
?Also, what kind of coordinator qualifies?

Thanks, and sorry for the dumb questions.

@MartElla

You will find various proportions of ITs from AUS, CAN, UK, US at ISs. Especially at IB ISs an IS would rather hire an IT with a proven performance record regardless of their domestic background. You will find AISs and BISs with a mix of faculty from different backgrounds. ISs become less flexible as curriculum restrictions require them to deliver their program by ITs licensed by a particular authority. This is more prevalent in ISs that use a Canadian program, and the IS is required to have teachers certified by that Canadian providence. Of course some ISs have their prejudices and they prefer or will recruit solely from a particular demographic.

Special Populations includes SPED, ESOL, and G&T, many ISs do not have well developed programs for these populations of students and an IS with a small or non existent program will see value and utility in an IT that has training/experience in providing differentiated instruction that actually addresses the special needs of those populations.

Special Skill Set is highly specialized experience and qualifications that allows an IS to really market some niche aspect of its program. A common example is a P.E. IT who is a certified/experienced coach in a sport that leadership would like to develop and and market to the student population. Abilities such as local language fluency, or niche skills such as Japanese dance or robotics in an IS that wants to market that as part of its curriculum.

Coordinator needs to be higher than HOD level of TLR. Usually HOD gets an extra conference/prep period, a coordinator carries a partial load (around .5 FTE), examples include PYP, MYP, DIP coordinator, technology or academic coordinator, and class or year coordinator (though class year coordinator may be an HOD level TLR position). There are other potential less common coordinator roles and titles as well. The determining factor is the amount of FTE time allocated to the appointment.

@MartElla
I meant to say that some administrators and HoDs do have preferences for some nationalities based on their past experiences. Having said that, many IB schools hire teachers irrespective of nationality as long as they are fluent in English and have an excellent track record provided they meet the requirements of the local education and labor ministries.

I have worked with excellent IB teachers from Aus and NZ and they really knew their stuff. Some of them went on to become administrators in these schools.
As competition gets tougher, the odds will be in teacher's favor if one is an examiner/workshop leader. It is not mandatory, but if you want to beat experienced teachers at their own game to break into a top-flight school like NIST or UWCSEA, being an examiner wouldn't hurt.

@MartElla

Assuming an applicant is from a first world English-speaking country, experience with a school's curriculum trumps the applicant's nationality, in my experience. If you have IB experience and everything else is good, there's no reason why a British school or an American school with an IB curriculum would refuse to hire you.

Resurrecting an old post...

Where does TOK experience figure in this points list? Either as a teacher or as a coordinator? Or EE Coordinator? Do they count at all?

Does it count as being cross-certified at all if you have experience?

Thanks

If you can offer ToK as a parallel subject to the mainstream ones, it'd be looked at positively. EEs are usually supervised by DP coordinators unless there is a very large cohort. Math-Science certification is one of the sought after ones both in middle and high school.

@MartElla

Its important to understand that the PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System (PASS) has the most utility when compared against the criteria for an actual or set vacancy and its criteria, creating a raw score against how many points you can doesnt offer as much utility or metric of value.

TOK is another subject, with an appropriate vacancy you could add the points for cross certified to you points profile. Much would depend on the vacancy and the IS you are applying for. Are they an IB IS, do they have DIP? Is the vacancy in the DIP program. If they arent IB do they have some form of epistemology or global awareness course/program. Is that program relevant to the position you are applying for.

With EE, again it depends on the role your coming out of and the one you are applying for. Were you an EE coordinator but it was only a single course load among other courses you taught as an IT, were there only a few students? Were you an IT who got some release time from your teaching load to do EE, or was in a course you taught. Did you supervise (in some capacity) other ITs who provided EE mentoring? If so calling yourself a coordinator isnt really accurate, it has marketability compared to those who have never done it, but its a very different role than say an IT who was a full time coordinator who did TOK, CAS and EE, in addition to other administrative/managerial tasking.
In very general terms an HOD is one whos administrative tasking amounts to the equivalent of half (60%) or less of their teaching load. A coordinator is one whos administrative tasking amounts to the equivalent of more than half (60%) of their teaching load. Once you hit full time leadership (or slightly less) your in leadership and the PASS has even less utility.

I disagree with @fine dude, EE are only rarely supervised by the DIP coordinator, they often work together tangentially, but they typically report to their division AP/VP/DP or Principal. If they have a department head its usually the IB coordinator not the DP coordinator who manages that division. Its possible an EE coordinator could report to the DIP coordinator in such scenarios where the IB coordinator was also the DIP coordinator (likely in an IS that only offer DIP).

@martella

"Its important to understand that the PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System (PASS) has the most utility when compared against the criteria for an actual or set vacancy and its criteria, creating a raw score against how many points you can doesnt offer as much utility or metric of value."

It's really important to understand that the PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System actually has no utility at all. Dave has never been a recruiter, and no recruiter I know (and I know very many) has ever made use of his so-called system. Please, for your own sanity, do not be deluded by this nonsense.

More fear mongering and smoke and mirrors by an admin whos never known what they think they know.

Dave, Dave, there is no fear-mongering and no smoke and mirrors. You've never been an administrator and I know of no recruiter who uses the Psyguy Application Scoring System. These are facts, Dave. Suck it up; move on.

@walter

You still dont know what facts are and still dont know what you think you know.