Job Discussion Forums

[TeacherTammy]

Hi all,

Does anybody know about the Singapore School or Stamford International School in Bandung? I've heard some pretty bad stuff on here about Singapore International School but nothing about this branch of their school (the sign just says 'affiliated with SIS'). Also apparently Stamford International was Singapore School until they had some kind of 'management issues' this past year and now they are under a new name. Both schools seem to have long working hours 22-35 lessons/week, plus 2-3hrs extra remedial classes/week. Not to mention the pay is along the same lines as the starting salary at a general language center that has alot less working hours. Doesn't seem like the best deal but I'm running out of options, most of the schools here have already finished their hiring for the year. Bad idea? Or BAD idea?

Any info appreciated

[malu]

[laughing_magpie06]

After the events of today i'm sure there will be many vacancies in many schools. Terrible news!

[malu]

Indeed... expect a rash of sudden vacancies as new hires get cold feet and withdraw at the last minute.

[Vertumnus]

[TeacherTammy]

The Stamford School says they have completely separated from SIS after being joined with them for 2 years because of management issues (I was told about some issues concerning discipline of students), yet their contract is exactly the same as SIS including the important things that they don't write in the contract-ex:max teaching hours (they have said it's a hangover from SIS and would be difficult to change right now, but I mean how hard is it to type up a new contract???), same long hours plus additional extra curricular & remedial classes & 'some' Saturdays, and really low pay (they offer 500,000 more than the starting wage at EF). So...I've decided to pass on the position. I've been teaching for years & realize how incredibly long a year can be when you're stuck in a bad situation. Hopefully something else turns up...or it's off to Jakarta for a year & try again in Bandung for next year. Thanks guys!

[RichEgerton]

Hi,

I'm currently working as Vice Principal at Stamford International School, and I've been here since before the split with SIS (actually since SIS opened in Bandung almost 3 years ago).

I just wanted to clarify / update a few of the points raised.

Tammy said: "Also apparently Stamford International was Singapore School until they had some kind of 'management issues' this past year and now they are under a new name." There were many reasons for the split with SIS, and at the time I was not management level so I'm not aware of all of them. But the result was that Stamford held on to the majority of the teachers because they offered a better deal, and we kept 2/3 of the students.

Tammy said: "Both schools seem to have long working hours 22-35 lessons/week, plus 2-3hrs extra remedial classes/week." True about the lessons per week, but that's 30-minute lessons so it works out at around 15 hrs a week - fairly standard for international schools, I think. For remedial, that would really depend on the age of students that you were teaching. It would be no more than that.

Tammy said: "Not to mention the pay is along the same lines as the starting salary at a general language center." I was really suprised to read this. Stamford pays a whole lot more than this. There is no set salary as it depends on experience and qualifications, but we always offer considerably more than any language centre, because we know it's harder work and also because we require a lot more in terms of experience and qualifications than your average language centre. Compared to salaries in other international schools in Bandung, our pay is also good (although you'll always be able to earn more in Jakarta).

There was a period before Stamford opened and when the split from SIS was going on when recruitment was being handled by an organisation who run an international school in Jakarta and who were helping the management with the changeover from SIS to independent school. If Tammy was offered such a lousy salary, it must have been by them. As it turned out, our relationship with them was short-lived. By the time the school opened its doors we were handling recruitment by ourselves.

Tammy said: "their contract is exactly the same as SIS including the important things that they don't write in the contract-ex:max teaching hours." Our contract is not exactly the same as SIS, but it does not state maximum teaching hours.

Tammy said: "same long hours plus additional extra curricular & remedial classes & 'some' Saturdays." Longer working hours, extra curricular and remedial classes are part of the deal of working for an international school rather than a language centre. You have to decide if it's woth it for the extra money, longer holidays and better career development and opportunities. As for Saturdays, 'some' for this year (since July) has meant 3 for teachers, which I think is pretty reasonable. Definitely much better than SIS, who kept sending us all the way to Jakarta on Saturdays - more like 10 Saturdays in a year.

By the way, if anyone is not career minded and is looking for an easy and moderately paid job in Bandung, try UPI. I used to work there and only moved because I needed more money and better career options for the future.

Thanks for reading,

Rich

[malu]

[phis]

This is weird!! We have posts from 2006 and 2007 mixed up with recent post!!!

[phis]

Sorry... 2009!

[spunkmonkey]

May I ask what criteria do you use to define your school as an International school as I see 'International' schools springing up everywhere.

And I do not agree that 30 minute classes are standard for international schools. This sounds extremely subject dictated and ineffective; rather like a national curriculum school.

Many thanks.

[malu]

Just looked at their website and I'd hardly call it an international school.

[RichEgerton]

Dear Spunky Monkey,

The main criteria I use for defining our school as an "international school" are as follows:
1) We teach from the Singapore, Cambridge Primary and Camrbridge Secondary curricula, rather than following the national curriculum.
2) We are registered under DIKNAS as an international school.
3) The majority of our teaching staff are from overseas.

Out of interest, I'm not sure if you are aware that DIKNAS has recently done away with "National Plus" schools. I'm a little confused about the current situation, but I know that international schools are no longer required to have a limit to the number of Indonesian students in their schools. And now if a school is not registered as an International school, they must follow the national curriculum.So now you'll find that a lot of schools that you and Mr or Mrs Malu may have turned your noses up at for not being "international" enough (dunno - maybe not enough white faces among the teachers or students? maybe "international" actually means "Western"?) have now become international schools.

So now in Bandung there are a whole lot of international schools: BIS, BAIS, SMN, Bina Bangsa and Stamford. Interestingly, last time I saw the list of registered international schools, SIS Bandung were not on it. If they haven't solved that problem then technically they are obliged to follow the nationa curriculum and have an Indonesian head.

SpunkyMonkey, I meant that our contact hours for teachers are about the same as other international schools, not the length of period. Our timetable is broken up into 30 minute periods, but most major subjects, especially in Secondary, are taught in 2- or 3-period blocks. In terms of being "subject-dictated" then yes, I guess it is. The Cambridge system encourages links between subjects but essentially assesses them individually.

Malu, our salaries are unfortunately not as high as BIS, which as far as I've heard is the best deal in Bandung. BAIS also pays well, I think, but only employs devout Christians. Our salaries cannot compete because our fees are lower, but apart from these two schools, we pay among the best salaries in town - much more than TeacherTammy was offered!

[malu]

[RichEgerton]

Hi Malu,

Aplogies, I got it slightly wrong. DIKNAS never issued any National Plus permits, so technically the classification never officially existed.

There are legally 4 types of school in Indonesia:
National
National with International Standard
International
Foreign/Diplomat

Like I said before, Nat and Nat with Int Standard schools must follow the national curriculum (as well as meeting a number of other requirements). In the past, many so-called "National Plus" schools, like all of the SIS schools apart from Bona Vista, were breaking the rules by using international curricula without having the proper license to do so. This is one of the things DIKNAS is now clamping down on.

All of these schools now have to choose: downgrade and use the national curriculum and employ more Indonesians, or upgrade to International, get the proper license and AND meet a dizzying array of new regulations from DIKNAS, including finding a sister school, being part of a foreign foundation, getting ISO certification, having a certain percentage of teachers with masters degrees (and interestingly still having a minimum percentage of Indonesian teachers, same as the Nat schools).

So the "National Plus" schools will, after a couple of years, not be the same. Some may still brand themselves National Plus, but they will not have the freedom to follow their own educational paths.

And of course it's going to be difficult for international schools to meet all the new requirements as well.

The only schools who will not suffer are the Foreign/Diplomat schools because they do not fall under DIKNAS so can keep doing what they like!

Saya tidak paksa Malu percaya saya. Terserah. Tapi ingat, yah, ANPS itu bukan pemerintah! Bukan ANPS yang buat peraturan! Kamu silahkan tanya ANPS, yang pintar tanya DIKNAS