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Top Tier International Schools

 
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NeoDTB



Joined: 06 Jun 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:22 pm    Post subject: Top Tier International Schools Reply with quote

Hey everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. I am looking into teaching in an international school setting for the 2018-19 school year. I am a licensed teacher in the USA, certified in various subject areas, have several years of teaching experience, and attained my MEd last December. There are many options and locations to look into but a question did arise while making my list of schools to apply for that I was wondering if any of you could answer. What is the work life balance like when working in a top tier international school? Long hours staying after school to get work done, and spending some time during the weekends during the the start and end of semesters is not foreign to me at my current position. Teaching is a labor of love for sure, but the summers off are well deserved! However, are the professional expectations at top tier international schools far more intense then say a typical suburban public school in America, or is it the same to varying degrees and really just a matter of how you manage your own time? I know that top tier international schools typically compensate very well, but money isn't everything.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's no global, one-size-fits-all answer to your question. Expect variations in hours and time commitment based on numerous factors, including accreditation standards, expectations for professional development, participation in extracurricular activities, parent-teacher conferences/office hours, etc.

Definitely check each school's website for info about the length of classes/school schedule. Also ask the teachers on International Schools Review's forum about specific schools. Obviously, if the school's job ad doesn't indicate the typical hours for prep time, bring it up during the interview.
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NeoDTB



Joined: 06 Jun 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, thank you Nomad Soul! And thank you for the information regarding the other site. Have you personally had any experience in top tier international schools by chance, and if so what was your work life balance?
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NeoDTB wrote:
Have you personally had any experience in top tier international schools by chance, and if so what was your work life balance?

No, my EFL/ESP teaching experience was in higher ed abroad, although my MAT is under secondary school education. (I've never held licensure.)

Work/life balance is subjective. There are Type As/workaholics at one end, unwavering part timers at the other, and in the middle, those who seek some sort of balance of both. I've oscillated between workaholic and balanced based on my role and job responsibilities. I've also worked in funky situations in which the country socio-political climate wasn't conducive to leisure activities even though I had extra down time.

Keep in mind, you're teaching content in an academic program; whereas, many EFL teachers are not. Since you're targeting top IB and American-curriculum private schools, it's probably realistic to assume the workload, structure, and academic term will somewhat mirror public schools in the US. You'll have to wade through job offers to see which one meets your work/life needs.

Definitely give International Schools Review a look since it's specific to your teaching domain.

By the way, as a kid, I was educated in US Dept. of Defense schools (overseas), a private/international school (also overseas), and the US public school system. Wink
.
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JoThomas



Joined: 08 Jan 2017
Posts: 148
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I work in what I would call a second-tiered international school. I teach about 31 hours. I have 8 preps a week, but three of those I have to attend grade level meetings. There are usually lots of meetings because in international schools (especially IB), you have a lot of collaboration. I am expected to do an after-school activity for at least ten weeks for one day a week.

We have to keep daily blogs about what we do in class. I teach EAL, but the homeroom teachers seem to have more work to do. We have to do detailed report cards four times a year and parent-teacher interviews twice a year.

I hope this helps answer your question. You need to have a lot of experience in IB and international schools to actually get into a top tiered school. They usually pay the highest and have great benefits. However, I have friends in top tiered schools and they work just as hard if not harder than me. A lot of how much lesson planning, observations, etc. are expected is really down to the administration. I've heard that previous admin at my school barely observed teachers, whereas, the current administration observes us twice a year and does regular drop-ins. I worked in public schools before teaching ESL, but this is a lot more work in every regard. There are standards to be followed and adhered to.

I sometimes do work after school especially when report card season comes around. I have 54 children that I work with and they all have to have a comment. I personalize them and don't just grab sentences off the internet.
This takes time of course.

The first year is always the hardest as you are developing lessons and resources to use. After the first year, things should get easier as you have resources and are used to the grade level. Good Luck!
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1st Sgt Welsh



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting post. Thanks, JoThomas!

Just out of interest, (I'm about to get certified in about 5 months), did you have any post-graduate experience in a school before getting your job? You mentioned the IB program a few times, so I'm assuming you are working in an IB school, right? Also I hope you don't mind me asking, but which agency did you go through or how did you find the job? Many thanks!
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currentaffairs



Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828

PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would be interested in hearing from others about their class workload. JoThomas says he teaches about 31 hours per week. That seems very high to me. Is that close to what others have to teach at international schools? In the UK most teachers don't teach more than 22-24 hours per week.
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yurii



Joined: 12 Jan 2017
Posts: 106

PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

currentaffairs wrote:
I would be interested in hearing from others about their class workload. JoThomas says he teaches about 31 hours per week. That seems very high to me. Is that close to what others have to teach at international schools? In the UK most teachers don't teach more than 22-24 hours per week.


I'm interested too. This couldn't be actual teaching time could it? As Currentaffairs says, in the UK state school teachers have about 22 hours of lessons a week. Of course they do say the actual number in the UK could be as much as 60 hours when we consider lesson planning, marking, extra curricular duties, form teacher duties and so on (and a reason why so many want to quit teaching in the UK).
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JoThomas



Joined: 08 Jan 2017
Posts: 148
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Tue May 02, 2017 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1st Sgt Welsh wrote:
Interesting post. Thanks, JoThomas!

Just out of interest, (I'm about to get certified in about 5 months), did you have any post-graduate experience in a school before getting your job? You mentioned the IB program a few times, so I'm assuming you are working in an IB school, right? Also I hope you don't mind me asking, but which agency did you go through or how did you find the job? Many thanks!


Yes, I had four years of ESL experience and two years of international school experience. I am working at an IB school. Some of the good sites for international schools that I have used are www.tieonline.com and www.schroleconnect.com. There are a few others, but I use both of these.

In regards to teaching hours, I recounted the number of classes that I teach. I teach twenty eight, 40 minute classes a week. I think this is pretty standard for most international schools. In the UK, I believe that may be in a public school where he teaches 22-24 hours a week. I taught in the UK previously and that sounds about right.
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1st Sgt Welsh



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

PostPosted: Tue May 02, 2017 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Many thanks!
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NeoDTB



Joined: 06 Jun 2016
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Wed May 03, 2017 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry for the late reply, end of year grind is on!

nomad soul wrote:
NeoDTB wrote:
Have you personally had any experience in top tier international schools by chance, and if so what was your work life balance?

No, my EFL/ESP teaching experience was in higher ed abroad, although my MAT is under secondary school education. (I've never held licensure.)

Work/life balance is subjective. There are Type As/workaholics at one end, unwavering part timers at the other, and in the middle, those who seek some sort of balance of both. I've oscillated between workaholic and balanced based on my role and job responsibilities. I've also worked in funky situations in which the country socio-political climate wasn't conducive to leisure activities even though I had extra down time.

Keep in mind, you're teaching content in an academic program; whereas, many EFL teachers are not. Since you're targeting top IB and American-curriculum private schools, it's probably realistic to assume the workload, structure, and academic term will somewhat mirror public schools in the US. You'll have to wade through job offers to see which one meets your work/life needs.

Definitely give International Schools Review a look since it's specific to your teaching domain.

By the way, as a kid, I was educated in US Dept. of Defense schools (overseas), a private/international school (also overseas), and the US public school system. Wink
.


Thanks for the advice, already joined thanks to you! You’re always so insightful! I have never been one to shy from hard work and putting in the time. I spend about 60 hours a week (22.5 teaching, everything else in between after that) working in the US school I'm in now, plus I also teach adjunct courses now. I know, it’s a little insane. However, if I am busting chops I would prefer to do it in another country if I can because, why not? I’m still in my 20s and just want to see what else is out there. I have been looking into the DoD jobs as well, this summer is crunch time to get my ducks in a row to land something I can be happy with for 2018-19. Life is too short, and if we must work I would love to see the world along the way. And maybe pay off a mortgage in the states while I’m at it sometime in the future. Wink

JoThomas wrote:
I work in what I would call a second-tiered international school. I teach about 31 hours. I have 8 preps a week, but three of those I have to attend grade level meetings. There are usually lots of meetings because in international schools (especially IB), you have a lot of collaboration. I am expected to do an after-school activity for at least ten weeks for one day a week.

We have to keep daily blogs about what we do in class. I teach EAL, but the homeroom teachers seem to have more work to do. We have to do detailed report cards four times a year and parent-teacher interviews twice a year.

I hope this helps answer your question. You need to have a lot of experience in IB and international schools to actually get into a top tiered school. They usually pay the highest and have great benefits. However, I have friends in top tiered schools and they work just as hard if not harder than me. A lot of how much lesson planning, observations, etc. are expected is really down to the administration. I've heard that previous admin at my school barely observed teachers, whereas, the current administration observes us twice a year and does regular drop-ins. I worked in public schools before teaching ESL, but this is a lot more work in every regard. There are standards to be followed and adhered to.

I sometimes do work after school especially when report card season comes around. I have 54 children that I work with and they all have to have a comment. I personalize them and don't just grab sentences off the internet.
This takes time of course.

The first year is always the hardest as you are developing lessons and resources to use. After the first year, things should get easier as you have resources and are used to the grade level. Good Luck!


Wow thank you JoThomas, your comments have really helped me see what it is like to teach at an international school! In all honestly, it sounds a lot like what I do now in the US school I am in so I am somewhat relieved. Of course like you said though every school is different, and in our field we must be able to pivot or we will flounder, sink or swim, baptism by fire, etc. I guess the only “issue” I am going to have is that I don’t have IB or international school teaching experience. I of course don’t mind working my way up the ladder but is it a pipe dream to think that I can find a decent package at a reputable school with 5+ years of teaching experience stateside? I hope my CV will hold some weight. From your personal experience, should I really go through recruiters or will I have better luck with more advantageous positions applying to schools on their webpage? Also, when is the typical hiring season for international schools? I hear they are much earlier than public schools in the US which is late July early August.
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JoThomas



Joined: 08 Jan 2017
Posts: 148
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Thu May 04, 2017 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NeoDTB wrote:
Sorry for the late reply, end of year grind is on!

nomad soul wrote:
NeoDTB wrote:
Have you personally had any experience in top tier international schools by chance, and if so what was your work life balance?

No, my EFL/ESP teaching experience was in higher ed abroad, although my MAT is under secondary school education. (I've never held licensure.)

Work/life balance is subjective. There are Type As/workaholics at one end, unwavering part timers at the other, and in the middle, those who seek some sort of balance of both. I've oscillated between workaholic and balanced based on my role and job responsibilities. I've also worked in funky situations in which the country socio-political climate wasn't conducive to leisure activities even though I had extra down time.

Keep in mind, you're teaching content in an academic program; whereas, many EFL teachers are not. Since you're targeting top IB and American-curriculum private schools, it's probably realistic to assume the workload, structure, and academic term will somewhat mirror public schools in the US. You'll have to wade through job offers to see which one meets your work/life needs.

Definitely give International Schools Review a look since it's specific to your teaching domain.

By the way, as a kid, I was educated in US Dept. of Defense schools (overseas), a private/international school (also overseas), and the US public school system. Wink
.


Thanks for the advice, already joined thanks to you! You’re always so insightful! I have never been one to shy from hard work and putting in the time. I spend about 60 hours a week (22.5 teaching, everything else in between after that) working in the US school I'm in now, plus I also teach adjunct courses now. I know, it’s a little insane. However, if I am busting chops I would prefer to do it in another country if I can because, why not? I’m still in my 20s and just want to see what else is out there. I have been looking into the DoD jobs as well, this summer is crunch time to get my ducks in a row to land something I can be happy with for 2018-19. Life is too short, and if we must work I would love to see the world along the way. And maybe pay off a mortgage in the states while I’m at it sometime in the future. Wink

JoThomas wrote:
I work in what I would call a second-tiered international school. I teach about 31 hours. I have 8 preps a week, but three of those I have to attend grade level meetings. There are usually lots of meetings because in international schools (especially IB), you have a lot of collaboration. I am expected to do an after-school activity for at least ten weeks for one day a week.

We have to keep daily blogs about what we do in class. I teach EAL, but the homeroom teachers seem to have more work to do. We have to do detailed report cards four times a year and parent-teacher interviews twice a year.

I hope this helps answer your question. You need to have a lot of experience in IB and international schools to actually get into a top tiered school. They usually pay the highest and have great benefits. However, I have friends in top tiered schools and they work just as hard if not harder than me. A lot of how much lesson planning, observations, etc. are expected is really down to the administration. I've heard that previous admin at my school barely observed teachers, whereas, the current administration observes us twice a year and does regular drop-ins. I worked in public schools before teaching ESL, but this is a lot more work in every regard. There are standards to be followed and adhered to.

I sometimes do work after school especially when report card season comes around. I have 54 children that I work with and they all have to have a comment. I personalize them and don't just grab sentences off the internet.
This takes time of course.

The first year is always the hardest as you are developing lessons and resources to use. After the first year, things should get easier as you have resources and are used to the grade level. Good Luck!


Wow thank you JoThomas, your comments have really helped me see what it is like to teach at an international school! In all honestly, it sounds a lot like what I do now in the US school I am in so I am somewhat relieved. Of course like you said though every school is different, and in our field we must be able to pivot or we will flounder, sink or swim, baptism by fire, etc. I guess the only “issue” I am going to have is that I don’t have IB or international school teaching experience. I of course don’t mind working my way up the ladder but is it a pipe dream to think that I can find a decent package at a reputable school with 5+ years of teaching experience stateside? I hope my CV will hold some weight. From your personal experience, should I really go through recruiters or will I have better luck with more advantageous positions applying to schools on their webpage? Also, when is the typical hiring season for international schools? I hear they are much earlier than public schools in the US which is late July early August.


With 5+ years stateside, you shouldn't have a problem getting into an international school. I'd suggest searchassociates.com as they have job fairs in different states. They screen you first through an online application system and also check your references. If you go to a job fair in the US, you will have many options of schools in various countries. You could also find a country/school you are interested in and check their website and contact them as they know you are interested in a position. You can then meet them at a job fair. Check searchassociates.com, tieonline.com, or schroleconnect.com as most int. schools use these sites. Many international schools only use these sites to post jobs (not always on their website), but you'll have to check certain schools websites that you may be interested in.

I'd start looking in early December for teaching jobs as this is when hiring season starts till about March. This is when the best schools hire. By March, many of the decent school positions are already filled. Best of luck! Any other questions, just ask.
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