Should ISR Delete Old Reviews
When a New Director Steps In?
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: The comments page has a space for the name of the director and the years that the review covered. Surely a group of educated professionals can tell that a review from 2005 might not be applicable today. The same goes for a new Director. It’s nice to know what a school has been through.
text area: Some reviews are way out of date. Can you archive them so they are still available if a person wanted to dig deeper?
A school’s ethos can change every year if a significant number of staff leave and a new cohort arrives.
It might be useful to record the names of senior managers other than the Principal, eg Head of Primary, Head of Secondary as these people may have a greater impact on the day to day life of teachers and students in the school.
Most reviews are negative. Can you solicit positive reviews?
Sue Sands
The information in the table doesn’t really jump off the page.
Delete school history? no
text area: How good an international school is depends only partly on the director’s skills and successes. Other factors to consider include the Board or Foundation, the owner(s) of the school if the school is for-profit, the respect given to teachers by parents in the community, and the facilities and resources of the school.
Delete school history? no
text area: While a new school does adapt to a new administrative head, this takes time and I do believe that new staff should be aware of previous issues the school has faced and is hopefully, trying to amend. As well, new staff should be made aware of a change in management prior to arriving at the school as this may, in turn, reflect policy changes the staff member was unaware of at the time of hiring. This has occurred at my last two international posts and it is a shock to arrive without the same management in place that hired you.
Delete school history? no
text area: One would hopefully see a change in the comments from teachers if the new director makes positive changes. a new director is not always in a position to make major changes as this often rests with school owners/board of trustees etc
Delete school history? no
text area: It would then be a ploy to replace directors each year and wipe the slate clean.
Delete school history? no
text area: There are three reasons why I believe that old reviews should be retained.
First, retaining the old reviews helps provide a perspective about any progress (positive or negative) that a school makes over time.
Secondly, not everything about a school relates to the school director, there can be issues around the country, the location, the accommodation etc. that are unconnected to whether there is a new director.
Thirdly, from an academic perspective these reviews provide rich ground for research into the attitudes and behaviors of international educators; there are probably several PhD these being developed on the basis of them even now. It would be a loss to permanently remove them.
A significant improvement would be to reverse the listing order so that the most recent reviews are at the top of the list rather than the bottom. This would ensure that people didn’t have to scroll through old reviews to get to the most recent; and would probably go a long way toward meeting the concerns of new directors.
kind regards
Graham Evans
Delete school history? no
text area: History is there for a reason. Let’s make sure that the board members and/or owners who allowed a poorly performing director to ruin a school don’t repeat the same mistake. If they do, you will at least have been warned by the school’s past.
Delete school history? no
text area: Past history is important. Previous issues may still be unresolved, even though a new director has been appointed. The school board or a specific group often has great influence over decisions that affect the school.
Delete school history? no
text area: While I do take note of changes in administration in the reviews, I do believe old reviews should remain. I don’t believe a new headmaster or principal instantly changes a culture of a school, and it’s important to see “the story” of a school when making judgments about it.
Delete school history? no
text area: I agree that the atmosphere can change markedly under a new director but this is not always the case. A new director doesn’t necessarily mean a difference in owners or the governing board of a school or even middle management who can make a HUGE difference in the lives of the people working in a school. I think ISR has the right idea in keeping the old reviews – it is clear to people reading them what year/s each review is applicable for and who the director is/was at the time so there is no confusion.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: There is often an ingrained culture within a school that can’t be removed.
Delete school history? no
text area: Sometimes there is another power influencing the school, such as the school board or environment. For these reasons, teachers looking at a school should be able to read old reviews, understanding the history of the school to make a better informed decision. However, it should be noted when there is a new director, so the candidate can understand that there may be changes occurring.
Delete school history? no
text area: Simply make it clear that the current was NOT in charge when the survey was done. Let intelligent, educated people (a group to which most teachers belong) make their own assessment.
Delete school history? no
text area: It’s helpful to understand the history of a school.
Delete school history? yes
text area: In the case of our school, ISS, there is a definite sea change occurring for the better and it would be unfair to keep the old comments, since they tend to unfairly categorize and portray ISS as a troubled school. It does have its issues but things are far more positive here than in previous years and the new director is doing a great job at enrolling everyone in this process of positive change.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Whilst the arrival of a new Director might well change the spirit and direction of a school, its past will obviously linger on for a time, and may well have had a profound effect on the whole feel and direction of a school.
It seems to me that past comments, both positive and negative form an important document about a school and its board. A board that has tolerated a bad Director for any length of time is obviously one to be approached with caution.
However, I feel it would be a good move on the part of ISR to try and find some way to encourage teachers in schools that suffered from bad administration, resulting in a stream of negative comments to post new comments, in the review section, stating that things are now better and thus encourage teachers to apply to that particular school.
I say this as I know of one school (LIS in Luanda) whose reviews are more or less uniformly bad, but has now had a new Director for several years, and I gather from friends there is now a pleasant school to work in…. but the bad reviews are all one sees as no one seems to feel it is necessary to tell the world that things have changed for the better.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? yes
text area: I’d give the new director a year or at the most 18 months then delete the postings in the previous era or archive them so anyone really interested could check the history.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: A lot of the troubles at a school will now hopefully be addressed by the new Director.
I found it very useful to know the history of the school when interviewing with the new director, as I knew what to ask about, to see if he was ignoring or dealing with the issues that caused a lot of teachers to leave. Fortunately, he was and has dealt with many of the issues, making my current position a very happy one.
Delete school history? no
text area: I agree that past reviews should be removed at some point in time after a new director steps in. The question is not one of yes or no but when. In my experience a good director will leave him/herself 6 months to a year to acclimatize and get to know the new environment and faculty before making any drastic changes. Just because a new director is in a school does not mean that the school will change immediately. Perhaps a waiting period of 12 to 18 months would give the faculty of a school a clearer idea of what to report on the new director and then the reviews involving former school directors should be deleted or archived.
Delete school history? no
text area: At first blush I thought yes, but then remembered the old Board is still there and they really control the pulse of a school. The Director only follows their direction.
Dr. Jim Cooper
Head of School
Indianhead International School
Uijeongbu City, S. Korea
Delete school history? yes
text area: only if the change in leadership is the key reason for the concerns at the school. if a new director steps in but there are many other problems than there is a need to leave the old reviews to give as much information as possible to incoming staff.
Delete school history? no
text area: It helps to track how directors have been in the past otherwise there are no controls at all on directors. some directors are straight out bullies. I do however reject the reviews that are not subjective and contain inappropriate comments.
Delete school history? no
text area: no, a school’s history is its history. Should we erase any part of history ever, no history is what people mostly learn and grow from, and it gives a starting point for someone new. History is one of the most beautiful things in the world. These bad school reviews can maybe come unfairly but in my past experience the reviews of schools and directors are usually more correct than not, and it can be hard to take, and as I read the reviews, I love reading about the growth of a school and how it has taken shape with a new director, or not taken shape. Would I move to a country with a review of a director that is great, yes, would I think twice about a move if the director was not great, absolutely. We can’t get this information if you remove the history.
text area: I think perhaps your survey should be divided into two, if not three, portions: one, the particular educational environment created by the leadership at the school (the first items on your present survey), and two, the particular environment that exists at the school regardless of leadership. This last category would include such things as the profile of the typical families who utilize the school, the infrastructure/facilities/ materials of the school,etc. A third category might consider the quality of life for the staff at a particular school, such as its location and related amenities (such as access to city culture, housing quality, health care access and quality, etc. Because the final two parts of such a survey would not necessarily change rapidly, I would recommend ISR NOT remove these, since previous staff comments on these elements of a school are helpful for years. But the first part could be a changing feature, and would not necessarily “damn” a school by virtue of the difficulties of particular leadership. I also would recommend a statute of limitations on your headmaster reviews, since some people leave international education entirely, and don’t need their names bandied about, and others might improve, if they haven’t succeeded! I’d say, maybe three years of “report cards” on school leaders? If ISR wants to be an instrument of information, then current information will be most valuable when it comes to the changing conditions created by transient leadership, and more stable conditions, such as location and facilities could be kept on your site for longer periods, maybe 7 years. These are just my thoughts. I have always appreciated the reviews you offer, but think that the basic survey could be improved. Thanks for considering my suggestions.
Delete school history? no
text area: No. It should be made clear that the former director is no longer in post, but the review should stand:
1> sometimes it’s the board (or other power) running the school, and the director makes little difference;
2> sometimes one might need to look back at a director’s history in previous schools.
There does need to be a way to make it clear that there has been a change at the top. But anyone interested is surely looking for information in other places as well as ISR, so should soon be aware of any change of regime, if not of regimen.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? yes
text area: Don’t delete them completely but maybe archive them in a file with an appropriate title? Some are still pertinent because they are about the country/staff/building or other particular members of staff not the director.
Delete school history? no
text area: Sometimes the problem goes beyond the director (lack of materials, controlling board of directors, etc.), so old reviews should stand. A note can be added that there is now a new director.
Delete school history? no
text area: It is a good idea to know what the history of the school has been in order to make an informed decision about going there. ISR should make sure to have the correct dates on the review so as not to be confusing.
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? yes
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Since June 2006, we have had three Heads of School, two heads of Secondary and for three of those 36 months, no one but the teachers were in charge! However, the real center of power remains, our Board of Directors. As long as they are in place none of the policies will change substantially. Any perceived change is superficial and temporary which means all of the reviews are still relevant and, in some cases, quite necessary.
Delete school history? yes
text area: Additionally, reviews should appear in order of most-recent being displayed first instead of making viewers scroll through the history to get to the newest reviews.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Reviews more than five years old should be available with an additional click or two even though the administration has changed.
Let us not erase History. There are always lessons to be learned from what came before.
David Lincoln
Delete school history? no
text area: Although many things will change when there is a new Director takes command of a school. Many of the difficulties international teachers have are with the fundamental educational philosophy or the lack thereof to be more precise which the Board of Trustees/Owner (s) mandate to the Director.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: perhaps note on the site when there was a change of director…
Delete school history? no
text area: It may take time for a director to turn a school around, if at all, depending on the school and who actually runs it. In some cases, a new director will have absolutely no impact.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: You should ask for and wait for positive reviews before removing.
Delete school history? yes
text area: …but only after a year, because a new broom doesn’t always sweep clean. Or may not be allowed to sweep clean by a board or an owner. So, let him/her prove him/herself first.
Delete school history? no
text area: I think it is important that teachers contemplating employment at a school should know the history of the school. We know that things can change for the better or worse with a new director but boards do not always change and they have have an impact on the school too.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: As long as its clearly marked that the reviews are under an old director. It’s good to get a little of the history, and certain problems may linger – so you’d know what to keep an eye out for.
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
Delete school history? no
text area: Much useful information would be lost that has nothing to do with the director.
Delete school history? yes