ISR Received the Following Warning
From a Concerned Member

February 3, 2019

This woman [Marissa Green] flew me to Oman, didn’t pay me, and then dumped me there. She put me in such a horrible position that I had to create a GoFundMe to get out of the country. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!

Marissa Green has sent teachers the following letter. She has also posted her “plea” on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t fall for it…

Hello and good luck to all those looking for their ideal jobs! 

My name is Marissa Green. I am not a freelance recruiter for Assalam International Group [ISR NOTE: Marissa Green is listed online as an Educational Leadership Consultant for Assalam International Group]. I actually work here. I could tell you everything you are looking for is here, in this job, like many of the other schools out there looking for quality teachers, but today, I am going to put it out there, I am being transparent. 

1) We are a private company which has two bilingual private schools. Our tuition rates are a lot lower than the International Schools, thus salaries are also lower. 

2) I face a challenge, I know our school needs quality teachers with Bachelors in Education (Primary, Science and Mathematics) However, I know that we cannot pay a lot, so Omani children suffer with being stuck with staff who are stuck in the old ways of teaching. 

3) I know that in most countries, they will pay like $4000 USD and higher. Whereas, we can afford about $1,040 to $1,560 as a range. (Maybe higher if the owner thinks you would be a valuable asset to the school.) That barely pays the bills back home, let alone pays for the living expenses living abroad. 

4) We offer shared accommodation-again, not a lot of teachers are willing to share with complete strangers-totally understandable. But we have medical insurance, we pay for your flight to Oman, give you a 100 OMR annual flight allowance, your visa cost, transportation to and from school, and opportunities for Professional Development.

Yes, it is not a lot. I understand that. But I want to share with you why I stay here, working for mere pennies, when yes, as many of you could be getting a whole lot more, living comfortably, like a king/queen in a different country, you would come and be a part of my team.

1) I do it for the kids. Yes, I have my own children, but the students here in Oman are really struggling in English. I am the teacher ”mom” who gives them hugs, lets them follow me on Instagram, here for their support and hopefully provide inspiration to want to study English and find learning fun. 

2) Many of the systems are still ”stuck” here. Direct teaching is all teachers know how to do, and students are not trained to work in groups, but still stuck in rows. 

3) My yearning to change things is very important! I need a team of well-qualified staff willing to get paid a lot less, but still gain great experience internationally. 

4) I feel if I left, these children who look forward to their hugs from Ms. Marissa, well, I feel like they would be lost ( I am not a celebrity or superhero, but everyone knows that I love these children like my own.)

5) I love these children, and I want to see them succeed. 

So, why should you join? Well, the good news is, we are heading in a direction to enter a brand new state of the art in technology and design campus for next year. We are in transition and we need to pick an international umbrella to operate under. 

If you are here, then more students and parents will flock to our school. If we have a high enrollment, with a stellar staff and everything in between, naming us the best school in Oman, then of course, we will be able to boost your salaries, so that at least all of us can be making closer to that $4000 mark each month. 

So, I need your help! Calling all Elementary Educational Teachers, or Teachers with at least a Bachelors in Education with at least 2 years of teaching experience; and passionate, wanting to make a difference in a child’s life! I sound like those ”Feed the Children” commercials. But, hopefully, if we work together, we can touch a bunch of lives and make our school a loving, happy, and academic environment. Just take that step with me, I will be your support from the day you step into Oman to the day you leave and move onto another adventure. 

Thank you for your time! 
Best Regards, 
Marissa Anne Green,
Educational Specialist
Instagram: anne_green_marissa

PS: We are accepting applications from Teaching Couples (as a couple, you would get your own single family accommodation)”

Please share this and advise your friends and colleagues not to get sucked in.

February 7, 2019

This rebuttal was received within a week of the letter above.

Recently, a review was made about our schools, Assalam International Group. Yes, my name is Marissa Green. Yes, I worked as a teacher first for this group. Yes, this is a private bilingual school under an umbrella of an international group or management company. 

First of all, yes we fly candidates who do accept the positions to Oman to start the positions that they have accepted. I do not arrange the flights. I do welcome the teachers at the airport. I do help them feel welcomed. I do make sure the Public Relations Officer takes them to the accommodation. They are given the accommodation which was agreed upon. We only offer single accommodations in negotiations and generally only to families or administration. 

I have never had the knowledge in the year that I have worked there that no one walks away and never gets paid except two teachers who arrived to their accommodation, who either worked minimally or never set foot in a classroom who decided to leave because they wanted to go. 

One teacher told us, after we had paid for all her visa work up front, flights, relocation costs, that she wanted to go home the day she arrived. The owner explained to her, as this was her first time in Oman, give it a chance, the country will grow on you. Granted, she was expecting Dubai. We are not Dubai in Muscat. She was expecting the Ritz Carlton. We are a small private school. We have modest accommodations. 

She said, No, I am homesick, my mom misses me. I want to go home today!” Yes we did not pay her for no work done. The owner did ask her to cover her flight back to her country and the costs for the visa processing. This is fair. She came, sat for a day and went back that same day with only setting foot in the school to tell us she would go that same day. 

The second teacher who left without pay, had a family emergency and did not notify the school that she was leaving. She had observed to go to school and help. Her mom had a life threatening situation. I did go after to ask her what had happened. She was found in tears at the airport and I asked her how come she just left? She said my mom had a stroke and was given only 2 days to live! We did not charge her a thing. We let her go home, but because it is tough to bring teachers from the Phillippines, it may be difficult to bring her back or may take a very long time. She said she is very sorry and just wanted to go home to be with her mom who was on her death bed. I totally understand. 

But never, since I have worked here, has the owner brought someone here, “dumped them in Oman” and never gotten paid or compensated in one way or another. This is an outrageous and alarming accusation. I understand that the one who wrote this was unsatisfied, but I am there with the teacher from the beginning to the end: throughout the interview, I help with the documentation processing, I do my best to welcome at the airport, make sure their accommodation is clean, and always ready to help in school throughout his/her, the teacher’s journey, and when the teachers move on, I am at the airport to check them in and say goodbye. 

My job is to help the private school become an international campus. Im not running a scam or anything. Yes we are not an international school or government school. This is a fact! Our tuitions for students are 75% less than some top international schools. Tuitions pay the salaries, thus we cannot compete with salaries offered at International Schools. 

I have a good reputation here in Muscat. I am well-liked, honest and compassionate. Not at all like what has been written against me here. I am not perfect and I am sorry this teacher who wrote this felt so abandoned, but I do everything I can, maybe even over compensate, in order to make sure that every teacher feels comfortable when they arrive to our school. 

Also, if my post that I have posted in any way is offensive, I also apologize and will remove it. I wrote it to be honest, in that we, in representation of the group, are not trying to dupe anyone. This is honestly as it is. I do love the children I work for. I do work for minimal salary. But I am not in anyway a monster or do I ever desert someone who has come to work for the school and the owner. 

I am sorry to the teacher who wrote this. I believe I know who she is. I am not angry. I just wanted to state all of the facts in response to your review. Thank you!