The International Schools Review Forum

@smile2017

Just read one of your posts on another thread after this one, and realized that you are married with a baby.

On that basis, and along with everything else you have said, I'd get out - fast. If you can wait for the first paycheck / rent allowance then great, but if not I'd consider just upping and leaving now.

@smile2017

Have any updates?

@PsyGuy and others who graciously responded to my request for advice:

My spouse did not want to leave, as we had already spent thousands of dollars to uproot our life to move for the position.

I have since been reimbursed for my tourist visa (and now have working visa), my initial flight here, and I was paid the original salary amount from the original contract.

I have yet to be reimbursed for the cost of the hotel and the real price of the health insurance compared to the contract was off by $3,000 so that was another surprise increase in costs that I'm now expected to bear, on top of losing an administrative bonus that they have not agreed to pay, per my original contract.

As the recruiting season for School Year 2018-19 begins, I sincerely hope that all prospective teachers are treated with professional courtesy and respect by school leaders and administrators, as they should recognize the enormous amount of energy, time, money and heart it takes to uproot one's life for an employment opportunity, sight unseen. What we do as international educators is incomparable to any other expat experience. Most times when a company is recruiting a foreign worker, they and their families are offered an opportunity to visit the company and city, and make sure it's a good fit for the worker and family. Professional teachers arrive to their posts with the credentials, experience and passion needed to produce fantastic results for children and their families. It's only fair that school leaders and administrators do the same. This means at the most basic level, that they should honor professional commitments and honor the terms of a contract that has been offered to a new hire and their family.

Prospective teachers, don't settle for unsatisfactory terms. Know your worth!! If you settle for unsatisfactory terms, you are lowering the industry standard for everyone teaching overseas.

Good luck everyone, and choose wisely this recruiting season!

@smile2017

So you stayed, and thus are teaching the year 2 primary position, thus they provided you the coin for flight, visa, and salary. They arent paying the hotel, because they had the apartment ready for you, and they arent paying the leadership supplement because you are a year 2 IT and not in leadership. If you had been insistent on leaving they would not have paid the coin for the visa and flights or salary. You essentially got the OSH comp for a primary years IT, which is what you do. They still lied to you, you came there under false pretense that this would be a leadership appointment with X comp and got there and they gave you a primary IT appointment instead. Do I have that right?

@OP:

Please please please name and shame. I know no-one likes to draw a spotlight onto themselves, but this is exactly the kind of information people need to know before accepting positions at this school. Please make sure your horrible experiences aren't worthless, and at least allow someone else to make a better decision in the future!

Are you in the ME/NA region perchance?

Curious if OP did any type of research on the school. OP did you talk with current teachers?

@Old Republic

Above and beyond the standard research one conducts before moving overseas, I had direct knowledge of the organization as I had worked for their "sister" school for four years; a school that is consistently ranked very highly on this site. It was an organization I was happy to work for again. I actually didn't even apply for the role. I was working in administration Stateside, minding my own business, when a former colleague of mine from the sister school reached out to me with the school president, and offered me the administrative role. So their dishonesty hit me on a personal level, as well as professional level. :(

@smile2017

Ouch, I hope you name and shame them in the reviews section.

smile2017 wrote:
> @Old Republic
>
> Above and beyond the standard research one conducts before moving overseas,
> I had direct knowledge of the organization as I had worked for their
> "sister" school for four years; a school that is consistently
> ranked very highly on this site. It was an organization I was happy to
> work for again. I actually didn't even apply for the role. I was working
> in administration Stateside, minding my own business, when a former
> colleague of mine from the sister school reached out to me with the school
> president, and offered me the administrative role. So their dishonesty hit
> me on a personal level, as well as professional level. :(

So you did or did not talk to current teachers and asked questions on various facebook city groups and other medians?

HI everyone! Me again...

So I did the grade 2 song and dance all this year without incident and was just told yesterday via email that my 2 year contract is being terminated this summer. It's now May and I'm left with few employment options for the fall.

I have no words....

@smile2017 I really hope that you've posted a review of this school now! It's vital for new teachers to know what your experience has been.

Can I ask what region or country this school is on?

South China.

Proceed with extreme caution.

@smile2017

Saw that coming, from the ISs POV you were never going to be happy, and better they do it to you, than you do it to them.

@PsyGuy

This has less to do with my unhappiness and more to do with their poor management. The school's enrollment has been stagnant and/or declining for each of its 7 years of operation. They can't afford the teachers they hire. In fact, it's come to light that the turnover rate for the past 3 years has been over 50% for foreign/local hires combined. It appears this is actually the school's strategy: lure teachers in, then get them out so that they don't have to pay benefits that are promised at the end of the two year contract. They're doing it again for SY 18-19. Close to 60% of staff have had their contracts terminated, while "fresh meat" is coming in.