The International Schools Review Forum

There are about 12 international schools in France. Depends on your qualifications, but France is usually tied with FIRST place (with Italy) for more desirable region in europe (and europe itself is pretty hard to get into). I'm sorry I just hear this a lot, some young teacher with little knowledge of the international school scene decides "Oh I want to teach in Paris for a couple years" and ride a bike wearing a cute sundress, up to the chateau, meet a tall handsome, wealthy french business man, who will spoil you like the princess you are. Sorry got a bit carried away, but really they just arent competitive.

First, it would REALLY help you a lot if you had a French or even EU passport. Second, you would need about 5 years of experience in an international school already. You would need to be certified in your field (and a hard to fill field would be better, something like physics, or math), and a Masters would make you competitive. You should have AT LEAST 2 years of IB experience. Third, a working knowledge of French would get you noticed. Fourth, turnover in French schools is very, very, low maybe 1 opening a year (2 maximum), many schools go a couple years with no openings at all. So youd need to be certified and qualified in a wide range of subjects, otherwise you could be waiting years just to apply for one spot along with 3,000 other applicants. Fifth, I hope your single, because french schools seldom have more then one vacancy, so your spouse would have nothing to do and no availability to work. So you would have to support your family on about 3000€ a month (assuming an average salary is €50K a year [this is on the high end of the scale, at the elite schools, where salaries can top €70K a year. I took the low end of the BA+4 years for the tier one schools, and averaged with the mean population salary], and a 30% tax rate [payable after 6 months], annualized over 12 months). European schools dont provide the generous compensation, housing packages you get in Asia, etc. Your basic package consists of a salary, insurance, and a relocation stipend (usually around 3000€) from this you pay for your airfare, and 1st months housing costs, and everything else in startup. A one bedroom apartment with utilities will cost you about 1400€ a month (about half your salary). Needless to say, you wont save very much, especially if your in a city like Paris.

So I guess the question to ask yourself is whats your resume look like and whats your family situation? About the only thing your going to get from the dream, is to ride that bicycle (because you wont be able to afford a car).

You would seriously have a shorter wait, if you went to business school (got an MBA in accounting), studied french and became an accountant, and then leveraged that into a position with an international firm like PriceWaterhouseCooper, at one of their offices in France. Law school is another option, but youd have to put in so many years at one of the top international firms before you would have a chance at being posted in france (and law schools 3 years, an MBA could be done in a year, though 2 is typical).

Another option if money is less an issue for you and you want to do something now, is to just go to Paris, and do the ESL/tutor under the table gig (AKA "the backpacker" approach). Maybe you do a little subbing, get to know a principal, at a couple schools, and something happens, and your already there so your in the right place at the right time...

Lastly, you could just get really skinny, get a new bikini, and head to France for the summer, meet some older guy in his 40's/50's, get married, and then qualify for french Permanent Residency (you could become a citizen after a couple years). Another option is to become a Political Refugee, there are several protests going on right now (and I hear the occupy wall street group needs some leadership), you could get yourself arrested, make a name for yourself, then flee the country, and apply for Asylum, claiming political persecution.

Hi Elsa, I'm interested in France too, but probably not Paris. I have contacts in Paris though, parents and teachers, who are saying some hair-raising things about one school in particular, located in a leafy suburb to the west of Paris.

Otherwise there is loads to choose from in and around Paris.

I have raised the qn as to why no schools in France are reviewed on here. As yet I have not had an explanation. Anyone know the reason???

Well easy but not apparent. This site is a dumping ground for bad or negative reviews. Honestly there are no poor reviews because the schools in France are by and large pretty nice, and they have low low turnover, so not a lot of people leaving who would complain. To summarize, "no" review is about as good a review as you will usually see on here. If you'd like to make your mark and be the first, have at it.

I studied for a year in Paris, always wanted to go back and teach, but it's hard to break into. There are maybe 1 or 2 posts a year at international schools in France, of which there are maybe a dozen schools.

Thanks PsyGuy. Interesting.

Some of the reviews on here look positively upbeat compared to the stuff I'm hearing about this particular school in France, though. Strange...

Well you find 4 type of posts on this forum:

1) Is the truly positive teacher review. Pretty rare, and usually short. When teachers have good things to say they tend to keep them short.

2) Is the "Horror Story". These you see pretty often and repeatedly for a school. Usually its year after year about bad things at the school, and how horrible it was, and how everyone left, or some other bad experience.

3) Is the "Deal Breaker" this review goes something like "the kids were great, or the people in the community wonderful, but....", which typically was an OK or even good school but there was one or two things that just made the job a bad experience. Some of these may not even be the schools fault or may be out of there control, etc. Usually these posts read like a line by comment on all or most of the evaluation criteria, they also tend to be long and -.

4) Is the "Shill", this is the post that comes after a bad review or a couple bad reviews, and reads almost like a brochure or sales pitch for the school, and have the "tone" that they were written by someone at the school (like an admin, owner, secretary, assistant). Basically, its the school trying to influnce their own review. ISR states several times that despite reviews being anonymous you have to read them for the overall tone, to get a sense of the authors intent.

As far as this school in France which Im reasonably confident I know which, the fact is your an insider and seem to have information and experiences that 1) Most people dont have (because its France, and a hard region to break into). 2) Many people would love to be teaching in France, and there is probably a certain elevated level of frustration people would tolerate just to teach in Paris, because its Paris.

Seriously, if you have some information that would be informative to readers, write a review.

Well you find 4 type of posts on this forum:

1) Is the truly positive teacher review. Pretty rare, and usually short. When teachers have good things to say they tend to keep them short.

2) Is the "Horror Story". These you see pretty often and repeatedly for a school. Usually its year after year about bad things at the school, and how horrible it was, and how everyone left, or some other bad experience.

3) Is the "Deal Breaker" this review goes something like "the kids were great, or the people in the community wonderful, but....", which typically was an OK or even good school but there was one or two things that just made the job a bad experience. Some of these may not even be the schools fault or may be out of there control, etc. Usually these posts read like a line by comment on all or most of the evaluation criteria, they also tend to be long and -.

4) Is the "Shill", this is the post that comes after a bad review or a couple bad reviews, and reads almost like a brochure or sales pitch for the school, and have the "tone" that they were written by someone at the school (like an admin, owner, secretary, assistant). Basically, its the school trying to influnce their own review. ISR states several times that despite reviews being anonymous you have to read them for the overall tone, to get a sense of the authors intent.

As far as this school in France which Im reasonably confident I know which, the fact is your an insider and seem to have information and experiences that 1) Most people dont have (because its France, and a hard region to break into). 2) Many people would love to be teaching in France, and there is probably a certain elevated level of frustration people would tolerate just to teach in Paris, because its Paris.

Seriously, if you have some information that would be informative to readers, write a review.

Thanks again. I am not an insider but some of my contacts are. I will ask them why they don't review this school themselves.

Thanks for the info!