Thank you for all of the suggestions. I always planned on being truthful regarding the dual citizenship of my spouse. The nationalities of my spouse are already in his online recruiting portal. Though I am not sure that the partner's online information always gets looked at in detail when it is the spouse applying for the job. I was just not sure if it is important to state right away in the cover letter/introduction email. This route seems like the most direct approach, and possibly the best time-saver for all parties.
Believe it or not, this is definitely a Tier 1 school as it is consistently ranked as one on all lists I have seen in circulation. I always found it surprising that "local hires" who were not really "local hires" where important to a school of this ranking. As others posted, this may just be a school policy that the HOS and principals have no control over.
International v/s Local Hire
Re: International v/s Local Hire
When is a local hire not a local hire?
Most schools eventually realize that they have to define "local" and "recruited", so that these contracts are given in a fair manner, or at least a transparent manner.
Given the explanations above about why the two categories even exist, it should be clear that the extras included in a recruited package are for the purpose of enticing foreigners to the country and school. And it's the "enticing" part that many schools consider as they define who is and who isn't. Some options:
1. It's just about passport. If you have a passport from the country, you are local, no matter what other passports or considerations may apply to you. Under this option, a teacher with local citizenship is still considered local if they grew up in the US and worked in other countries their entire life before moving "home".
2. It's about your intent. If you are coming to the country solely for the purpose of working at the school, you will be a recruited hire. If you are in the country for some other personal reason, and looking for a job to support you while you are there, you will be local. This is why many schools expect to have initial contact with all recruited hires while they are still residing in some other country. In this option, passport can be irrelevant. You can have a recruited hire with a local passport, and a local hire with a foreign passport.
3. It's about your passport and your spouse's passport. If your spouse is a local, than see point number 2 - the school will consider that your reasons for coming to the country are about your family, rather than about your job.
Most schools eventually realize that they have to define "local" and "recruited", so that these contracts are given in a fair manner, or at least a transparent manner.
Given the explanations above about why the two categories even exist, it should be clear that the extras included in a recruited package are for the purpose of enticing foreigners to the country and school. And it's the "enticing" part that many schools consider as they define who is and who isn't. Some options:
1. It's just about passport. If you have a passport from the country, you are local, no matter what other passports or considerations may apply to you. Under this option, a teacher with local citizenship is still considered local if they grew up in the US and worked in other countries their entire life before moving "home".
2. It's about your intent. If you are coming to the country solely for the purpose of working at the school, you will be a recruited hire. If you are in the country for some other personal reason, and looking for a job to support you while you are there, you will be local. This is why many schools expect to have initial contact with all recruited hires while they are still residing in some other country. In this option, passport can be irrelevant. You can have a recruited hire with a local passport, and a local hire with a foreign passport.
3. It's about your passport and your spouse's passport. If your spouse is a local, than see point number 2 - the school will consider that your reasons for coming to the country are about your family, rather than about your job.
Re: International v/s Local Hire
And how timely. An opinion from the New York Times Ethicist on differing pay scales. He's writing about the medical field, but the argument is relevant. Scroll to the last letter.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/m ... e-ethicist
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/m ... e-ethicist