Job Discussion Forums

The expat parent · Joined: 11 Jul 2009 Posts: 2 Location: UAE

Good news - the overall principal of AMESS is on his way. This will hopefully allow the school to be professionally run by the heads of primary and secondary. Inshallah it will grow without further amateurish mismanagement. Then again he is / was simply His Master's Voice...so perhaps not.

ardiles81 · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 71

Definitely good news. The man is / was a complete waste of space. I know of a number of people who have left their jobs because of the paucity of adequate post-primary education in Al Ain. This can only be a move forward.

hamergirl · Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 32

Unfortunately, the head of secondary is a complete nutcase. No one here expects AAESS to go anywhere but further down.

DesertStar · Joined: 02 Oct 2005 Posts: 80 Location: UAE Oasis

That's good news for sure.

However, I have to agree that it's a scary thought that the head of secondary will be on her own. She seems to be more than a nutcase!
Just ask any teacher there, it's a sad, sad situation. The owner of the school is detached and doesn't care. The school board of governors (or whatever they're called) is equally useless.

The head of sceondary needs to go, she is incapable of running scondary school, professionally or otherwise.

Tom Le Seelleur · Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 242

I have to disagree about the head of secondary. She is fighting institutional inertia and it will take time. She has sound ideas about where secondary should be but she has to deal with deadwood teachers and a lack of support from a varied of sources. If you don't like the board of governors have a vote of confidence and ask to be a candidate. It is easy to criticise the BOG but not so easy volunteering your free time to serve on it. (I was on the BOGs for a year)
AAESS has good primary but its secondary has been messy for years. Give the lady a chance. You normally need two-three years to change things around. The owner is never there because he runs a number of businesses and provides the shortfall between costs and revenue - so dont be so harsh. I saw the school last week and talked to a number of key staff hence my informed points.

PC Parrot · Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:01 am Post subject:

Smallbore · Joined: 20 Dec 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Dubai, UAE

They have just dropped their Special Needs provision - which I believe is actually illegal here.

Oh and no prior warning to parents, no consultation...

Just phonecalls on a Thursday saying "your kid needs to stay home on Sunday."

Nice.

Alained · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 1 Location: Al Ain

Tom, I understand your position and the need to defend the decision made by the BOG to appoint this woman but let me assure you that behind the professional fa�ade the secondary head has constructed lays absolute chaos, incompetence and outright deceit. I know this not from some fleeting visit to the school and a meeting with some �key people� there but years of personal experience trying to get these people to do what they should be doing.
I agree with you that the high school has been messy for years but in my long association with this school it has never been in a more desperate state then now at the hands of this woman. There has been ample time to make even slight improvements to the system; instead it is far worse than believed possible at the expense of the young people enrolled there who are preparing to enter international tertiary study.
The BOG of which you speak is non-existent and the chairman doesn�t seem to give a toss.
Please do your research a bit more thoroughly before you rush to defend a situation that is completely indefensible.
P.S. Congrats on the feature in �Friday�

DesertStar · Joined: 02 Oct 2005 Posts: 80 Location: UAE Oasis

lizaza · Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 2