Should ISR Delete Old Reviews
When a New Director Steps In?
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? yes
text area: But one also has to be aware that the Director does not necessarily make the school alone . The overall reputation is down to All staff and Governors/owners actions
Delete school history? no
text area: Maybe they could make a comment that the director has changed but the general comments should be left
Delete school history? no
text area: The school may or may not take on a new atmosphere and direction in this case. The school environment is made up of many different people and each person contributes to the atmosphere. Full transparency is a good thing in this case.
Delete school history? no
text area: You need a past benchmark from which to make new conclusions and hopefully see improvements in every facet of the school.
Delete school history? no
text area: Often times the director and his/her reactions and policies are shaped by administrators and owners. We’ve seen a couple of directors come into the position with great plans only to be squashed by the school culture, other administrators and owners. Old problems are always an issue and being able to read about them is helpful. A new director certainly doesn’t always mean change.
Delete school history? no
text area: A school’s culture changes (if indeed it ever does) over a period of time, not all at once. The introduction of a new director will change some things but not others. A sense of history is needed for a complete evaluation of the situation.
Delete school history? no
text area: In many schools the director is nothing more than a puppet controlled by greedy owners, a ruthless business manager or an inept board of directors.
Delete school history? yes
text area: Yes and no for me. I think reviews over 5 years old that are about an old director are no longer relevant. I wouldn’t remove reviews right after a new director steps in, but after about 5 years a lot has probably changed. Still, that is something the applicant should take into account when reading reviews. I just skip those that are irrelevant.
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? no
text area: I think it is important to see the history though it would be best it there was a way to note that the director has changed.
Delete school history? no
text area: before I take a job, I value getting as much background information as possible on the new school. Just because they have a new director dos not automatically change everything. keeping the reviews help create a better total picture of the school environment. If the new director makes positive changes, it will be reflected in the new reviews.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: New reviews can be added when the new director makes their impact on the school.
Delete school history? no
text area: I appreciate reading of a school’s history and understand that changes come with new directors. Being able to find out about directors via comments of other schools where they’ve been is very helpful.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Past reviews should not be removed as there may be certain hurdles that are not going to be removed by any new director. Certain obstacles may be board- related, or cultural. I take all reviews with a grain of salt and also realize that there are certain people that are just plain miserable no matter what environment they are in. To all administrators, please keep in mind that there are teachers out here that read these and know how to decipher “misery- lovers” and legitimate complaints.
Delete school history? no
text area: Even though it is under a new administration, the comment should remain. All jobs have a history and getting a little information before accepting it would be advantageous.
Delete school history? no
text area: Just because the director has changed does not mean the whole picture regarding the school has changed. Senior management, the board, more than likely will remain in place and could be a prime factor in previous problems. Equally, a new director may turn a school around, but this will be reflected over time through new positive reviews.
Delete school history? yes
text area: I believe they should for the most part. That is unless the comments involve owners of schools or school boards. These reviews are important to keep posted.
Delete school history? no
text area: No. That would just encourage some of the worst ‘for profits’ to have a revolving door of directors in order to get rid of bad reviews. Often it’s the owners or boards who set the tone. The latest reviews will reflect any changes in school atmosphere. However, you might want to consider reversing the order of the reviews to ‘latest first’. That way teacher candidates won’t plow through a lot of negative postings before they reach potential good ones.
Delete school history? no
text area: Directors come and go but quite often ownership remains the same. If there is new ownership then, perhaps, there is a case for deletion; but only after the new regime has been established.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Archive them with a link from the current page.
Delete school history? no
text area: “Yes we can change our school name!”
Yes we can ! We can and should be able to read old reviews on your web site. should they be removed when a new director steps in, no information about the school would ever be available to us. In general, I believe that educated teachers understand by tone of a text if a review has been written to hurt a school or has been done in the most objective fashion.
I would like to rephrase your question however. Should the names of all directors be clearly visible on top of the reviews? The answer should be yes. It is important for us to know if the director is new or has been at the school for 10 years. A new director is usually good news as it also means change.
Good schools make effort to remember the past for example by producing Year books or making efforts to value the institutional memory of a school. Educated teachers know about perspective and I hope that teachers do not base their opinions entirely on hearsay or reviews. Your web site is a tool for us to obtain first hand information therefore it is a good tool. Not the only one though.
On a different line who should write history ? The politicians or the historians? Should we delete and forget the difficult and embarrassing times in a country history or shall a country believe in democracy and transparency. Talking about the past and explaining it is seen nowadays as healthy and hiding or deleting it is frankly seen as what a totalitarian state would do. Can a company ask a newspaper to withdraw bad review about their products in a free country ? I hope not.
My suggestion is that the names of members of staff should not be posted in reviews, or all names should be posted including the name of who has written the review. However the names of directors who are paid to represent the school should be clearly posted at the top of the reviews. When a new director comes it is often a good sign of change. I understand that they want to protect their new school and make an impact in order to improve the school reputation. If a school director is not happy with his or her school reputation they should think about changing their school name. Is not that easier than asking us to lose a great tool ?
Delete school history? no
text area: Heck no! How do we know the new director fixed the problems? Not all problems are under direct and immediate control of a new director. For example, unprofessional principals don’t disappear immediately, and a director may choose to work with a mediocre or bad principal rather than taking the risk of getting someone worse.
I think, instead, you should publish the names of directors who want the information removed because they do not have enough professionalism to believe that they can overcome the problems. And if they want to hide past problems, think about what they will do with current problems.
Delete school history? no
text area: It is true that a new director brings in a new atmosphere but the change in climate is more like the transition from winter to spring, rather than a sunny clearing after a violent storm. The elements of the school community (i.e., parents, Board members, etc.) responsible for a former incompetent director are most likely to still be in place after the new director is in charge and their combined influence will most likely still be felt throughout the school for some time after.
My current school has received some rather negative reviews on the ISR web site which include a lot of critical comments about the Head of School who left last June. Although the new Head seems like a breath of fresh air, as yet she has not been able to reverse many of the school’s weaknesses that were brought in under the old Head. This may change as time passes but I think it would be unfair to erase all the old reviews immediately. Perhaps, my point has a little more credibility if we consider the opposite situation. Would you delete strikingly positive reviews when a new director is appointed or would they remain on the OSR?
Delete school history? yes
text area: I am currently working outside of International Schools, but with 11 years of combined experience as a principal and as a teacher, I have been put off by many of the reviews. Many of the reviews look and feels nit-picky and the site loses validity. I think this could be a great service if you could set up some standards rather than throwing everything up on the page.
Good luck!
Delete school history? no
text area: Too funny! Be careful of anyone who wants to `forget` the past.
Delete school history? no
text area: A short time after voting on this issue and posting my comments, I read the review about Hope School in Kuwait. Could anyone believe that changing the director of this school would change the atmosphere there?
Delete school history? no
text area: But, if at all possible, a note should be made that a new director has taken over.
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? no
text area: From a potential teacher applicant’s point of view, seeing how the school has changed lends additional insight the culture of the school.
That said, I think it would be helpful if reviews were listed in “blog order” with the more recent review first and older reviews further down the listing.
Delete school history? no
text area: Why not have a code system to show when a new director takes over?
Delete school history? no
text area: I feel that the older reviews should stand for at least 12 more months- it takes at least that long to turn a school around- or ruin one!
Delete school history? no
text area: I think ISR should retain past reviews when a new director steps in because the working environment and atmosphere of a school are not determined by directors alone. The history of a school affects the present. Also, in some schools, owners and boards have a great deal of influence in the day-to-day running of the school. Finally, there are factors outside the school itself that can impact a teacher’s experience. For example, in some countries, boys are coddled and spoiled, so being able to manage the disruptions some of these boys bring to the classroom is an important consideration for prospective teachers. Perhaps ISR could accommodate the directors’ concerns by adding a dated comment in the reviews notifying readers that a new director is in place.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Often that director is moving to another position, perhaps to a school I am interested in. There previous reviews can be helpful with regard to what sort of administrative style they employ with their teachers.
Delete school history? no
text area: I prefer to read “out-of-date” reviews and then ask my own questions to the new director. For example, if a school had lacked supplies & textbooks under the previous director, I would want to know, so that I could ask my potential new employer what s/he has done or will do to improve the situation. More information, even “old” information, is almost always better than less information!
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: I believe that any review is valuable as it often provides insightful information to teachers about the director and the school administration. Subscribers to ISR can then judge for themselves, by reading the new reviews concerning new directors, what directional changes the school has taken. Please keep all reviews on line as it is the first place many of us come to when researching school we are applying to.
Delete school history? no
text area: The climate of the school environment does not always center around the Director. Therefore past reviews can be relevant.
Delete school history? no
text area: reviews often include more aspects than those impacted by the director–there are community issues, owner/board issues, faculty issues, etc
Delete school history? yes
text area: I think director specific comments should be deleted but general background information should be retained. If that is not possible then clean the slate and start anew.
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? no
text area: We need as much information as we can get. If a new head comes in trying to reform and shift a school forward, we need to see where they were before. We often point fingers at directors, but often the problems are with entrenched teachers not willing to work with new directors to improve their programs. What would be nice is to have a review of the schools after their first year looking at how well the staff was willing to work with the director’s efforts and to see how the new director did in managing change.
Delete school history? no
text area: Sometimes it is not all a director’s fault and there are bad energy things before they get there, such as issues with board or even staff. Leave it up and let people sort out for themselves.
Delete school history? no
text area: No,in many cases a new director does not make any difference at all to the underlying problems of the school.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: I think it is very fair to note that there is a new director since the comment was made. Often the situation that caused a director to make unpopular decisions lies with the board and they haven’t changed. Schools are like large ships, they take time to turn. It fair to know the history. If the new director is able to turn the situation around, then surely the new comments will reflect the new conditions.
Delete school history? no
text area: A director does not fix a toxic staff or environment in many cases. Many schools have a history of changing directors like a person changes their underwear. This is a sign that the school may have additional problems. I know of several schools in which entrenched old time staff members have more power and wield it than the directors that cycle through.
Delete school history? no
text area: Directors are not gods, although some may think they are, and they do not have the power to change a school by just arriving. Readers take note of the dates listed on reviews and can determine how relevant they are at the present time. As well, the review offer other valuable info. about employment packages and the local environment which is important when considering a school.
Delete school history? yes
text area: If you don’t remove old reviews it does not paint a clear picture of what the school is like now- this can be very misleading. If the school has replaced Mussolini with Mother Theresa, the school will never get the chance to attract teachers who would enjoy working there.
Delete school history? no
text area: A change in director does not always mean a change in bad policies.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Certainly it should be noted that there is a new director, but the old comments continue to be valuable.
Delete school history? no
text area: The additional comments made by reviewers regarding their experiences in the host city and with teachers are also helpful.