The International Schools Review Forum

I am a long time reader of this forum but a first time poster. I've noticed that a lot of the discussions tend to focus around schools outside Western Europe. I don't read a lot of posts about schools in Paris, London, Brussels, or Berlin. It makes me wonder if problems/issues don't really exist there, or if they do, they simply aren't posted here. However, I digress...

I guess I have a curious question--perhaps it might be a paradox. If, for example, the more generous the package leads to a higher quality of teacher/instruction (as a previous post suggests, with mixed responses), how does one explain the overall excellent quality of Western European schools? I have been out of the international circuit for about eight years now, but my wife (who is also a teacher) and I are thinking strongly about returning in a year or two. When I went through the Search job fair eight years ago I had a number of interviews with Western European schools, but there packages were so financially weak, I could not honestly consider any of their offers (the salary did not even cover my student loans, so I would have defaulted if I would have accepted a contract).

I ended up taking a job at a South American school with a fairly strong package, but I've always wondered about those Western European schools. My wife is just about finished with Ed school, we are debt free (yeah, baby) and we have a two year-old son, and as we ponder the places we might be able to live, should we even consider Western Europe? We are strongly interested in Italy (OK, some might argue this is Southern Europe not Western Europe) and France but could we honestly live there and plan out our retirement and save for our son's college education? And more importantly, if not us, then who are the people taking these jobs? My only guess is that they have no debts and no dependents, unless of course the financial packages in these countries have changed (but judging by the posts, they haven't).

Which brings me to my original question (I said I was a first time poster--I promise I'll be more brief in later posts!)--if, for example, I am a director at a top rated international school in Paris, I probably have some very influential parents who have high expectations for their children (i.e. IB and AP passing rates are very important). Therefore, I will want to attract the most powerful and influential international teachers out there. However, if I am offering them peanuts compared to Asian and Middle Eastern schools, am I really attracting the best teachers out there? When I was at the job fair eight years ago, I noticed a number of single teachers who were looking to travel overseas to "find themselves and have an adventure" as opposed to making a serious career choice. Many of them did not have much teaching experience, but they could afford to take the paltry sums offered by Western European schools. I noticed that many of the more experienced, stable teaching couples did not take offers by European schools for the very same reasons I could not--they simply do not pay enough to make a solid living on in order to raise a child and plan for retirement (or in my case, pay off student loans). Are these schools short-changing themselves due to their desirable locations, or, is money not as important as some of us think it is?

Of course, generalizations abound in a post such as this, so I apologize to those single teachers without dependents and without loans who are serious teachers who do amazing jobs (and there are many of you--probably teaching in Western Europe) ...however, how do European schools compete for the best teachers if they don't pay much?

As in Asia, there are different 'levels' of schools in Europe in my opinion. There are your lower level schools that are content at employing teachers they can get 'off the street'. Their teachers cycle through frequently. They attract students easily- maybe they are the only option. From a business sense they work. They can get away with bringing in low paid teachers, and still get students. Parents don't know enough, or care to make changes. Its a market- you get away with what you can.

Then there are your higher end schools that get it. They pay better- and give a better product. There are schools in Europe that pay well enough and allow you to enjoy the area. You just have to shop around. They might not afford savings as high as an Asian school, but you can save.

I will base my response on my experiences here in Western Europe at a highly respected, well paying international school. This is only my first (and last) European post so, if anyone is experiencing something different, please share.

My school currently attracts mainly younger teachers. These individuals aren't really considering how much their salary is taxed or how little savings potential there actually is. Some are just starting an international teaching career while most others are here just to live in Europe for a bit. The older and more experienced teachers that come from better paying schools in Asia and elsewhere are here to experience a bit of Europe for a couple of years. This means that this school will get a steady flow of really good teachers coming through. They might not stay long, but at least they'll "drop by. " Most teachers take advantage of the tax refund and return to their country of origin or another higher paying job after their initial two-year contract either way.

This makes for little continuity/community/professionalism. If teachers are here only for a bit of the European life and/or cash, then you can imagine what working here is like. So, how does my school retain this great reputation? My guess is it's idyllic location - imagine a beautiful campus in one of Germany's most scenic neighborhoods a few hours from dozens of ski slopes, Venice, the Slovenian coast, Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zurich, etc. I have colleagues that were in Thailand, Manila, Bangkok, Shanghai, Sao Paolo, Caracas, and Cairo and opted for a more tranquil life for a while.

Living in Europe is nice but the money and general chaos at my school doesn't make this job worth it. My suggestion is to find out as much as humanly possible about the school you're interested in beforehand. Use this site, the TES forum, ask for e-mail addresses of previous and current employees, get in touch with the business office to discuss insurance and tax issues and finally ask the relocation person at the school how the rental situation works in the host country. I went on good faith and a couple of comments here and there and am pretty unhappy at my post...good luck.

I'd like to piggyback on this question a bit: are there any teachers out there at European schools where the budget is published annually? At my current school the budget is published and shows what percentage of the budget goes towards teacher pay packages...perhaps some schools in Europe are paying less and not publishing the budget in order to get away with paying less.

I am currently at a western european school. I had worked in Africa and Asia prior to coming here.

In Africa and Asia I easily saved $8,000 annually. I was paid around $28,000 annually. This was 8-9 years ago.

Currently (in Italy) I am paid $48,000 annually. After completing my first year, I have saved $3,000.

After two years I have to pay taxes. I think it amounts to around 35%. I am leaving after my second year as taxes would make it impossible to stay here and live comfortably. It would definitely be a struggle to survive on my taxed salary. Overseas hires before me did the same.

It basically costs the school the same amount to hire a new teacher (shipping, flight, paperwork for residency, etc.) as it would to pay my taxes. If they paid my taxes, there would be a lot of upset teachers at my school as they tend to marry Italians and end up staying here. The local hire and foreign hire salary scale does not exist here.

Our board reports are on the school website. They are distributed to staff via email as well. The financial reports are in there. The distribution of funds goes primarily to teacher salaries. 70%