Psyguy, get a life. You absolutely have no idea what you are talking about. You have no special insights to offer, other than the smug, trite tabloid-style assumptions you like to pass off as logic.
5,000 posts? You are essentially a troll, and this latest heap of drivel pretty much outs you as such.
I utterly and completely reject that any abuse took place, and I utterly and completely discount your nonsense on this forum. Fortunately, I think most people on the ISR forum have come to realise that your opinions are of no consequence other than to wound and cast spite on everyone who has been personally touched by this terrible chain of events.
If you had any idea of the bravery and dignity of Neil and Ferdi, and their families, you would be ashamed of yourself.
Shame on you.

It's meant to be some kick-ass pre-med super sciencey school. HAH! I taught a kid who went there for three years and the only practical lesson he'd ever done in science was build a papier-mache model of the sun. It is..........ahem, deleted expletive in keeping with current forum policy.........a leaky vessel in which to put hope, shall we say.

And quit slagging off Texas!

Psyguy
You don't know nuthin, Jon Snow!
Seriously, he didn't do it, he couldn't have done and there was no evidence it happened.
Having said that, wherever you are in this world, your career as a teacher is over when some half-assed tosser throws an accusation your way. You can be Mother Theresa and that shit would stick.
I don't think it'll change the dynamic either though. The chances are tiny and probably no worse than anywhere else. You only have to look at recent news reports about social media attacks on teachers to realise that teachers are vulnerable wherever they are.
Unless the government literally gets its knives out, JIS is unassailable as the go-to school in the city.
Still stinks though......
Just spread the word and don't forget these guys.

Yes, I need to be reasonably careful on a public forum because of all those poor people who are associated with JIS, but imagine every possible type of judicial screw up and venal, deliberate mishandling and it happened during this "case." The incompetence of those involved in these accusations and the way they were applied to those innocent men is breathtaking. Spread the word.

This entire thing is bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. There is not a shred of evidence. The mother is basically a "chav" who has a swathe of lawyers and other interested parties holding out their hands for a cut of the cash and dripping poison in her ear. In Indonesia "justice" is extended in the direction of whoever has the most cash. The "judge" (HAH!) closed the court for all of the trial, then opened it to read a 400 page document that consisted of the evidence for the prosecution. She ignored the defence evidence entirely. Indonesia deserves better than these superstitious, corrupt and ignorant officials who would rather sell their countries reputation for a fast buck than try to exercise any sort of critical faculties. This is the pits.

Accreditation means you are talking the talk in your school documentation, and then walking that walk. The last time I was part of a 3 agency accreditation it was extremely helpful. Hard work, true, but then any school that doesn't regularly take long hard looks at what it's doing isn't worth it's salt. Frankly, accreditation can be a huge opportunity for schools to make changes that they've secretly known they should be pushing along anyway. Then a school can then get the right people on the bus......read into that what you will...
My final thought is that this sort of objective observation can be great to instruct a school board. Poorly operating school boards can be the bane of hard working and well intentioned admin and faculty. One of the delightful aspects of accreditation is that it can expose bad practise and educate boards as to how they should be functioning.

I'm with Sid. Needless to say, if they even hint of asking for money you can write them off as scammers. However, I feel for you as there are so many smaller agencies and so many more schools calling themselves "international" these days it's hard to make out what's real and what isn't.

Thanks Fine Dude, good to hear from you.
Yep, have seen and helped kids participate in some of these. They are very good stuff in the main. Do you sometimes feel that the timetable has an almost god-like rigidity so that kids who arrive during the year end up doing stuff they really don't want to? I sometimes feel that this rigidity affects how we approach G&T kids.

A very laudible movement to get IS's to be more inclusive. Lots of heavy hitters on the schools list on their website. Very well known people behind this. Check it out!
In my past schools I have seen lots of initiatives for help with language skills, ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, etc yet the top part of the bell curve seems underserved. What are we actually DOING to challenge our gifted kids? Offering AP or subjects at IB HL seems to be the only response.
Do any of your schools accelerate? Offer alternative opportunities? Telescope the curriculum? Actually DO ANYTHING other than the lock step one-size-fits-nobody approach?

That doesn't sound very clever. Why are admin leaving? Sounds like a bit of a coup somewhere in the background...

22 years, masters + various other credits.

Is it easy to find taxis ? Usually. It's better than it was. If at all possible book in advance for known events. Usually not too difficult outside the big malls or hotels
Are there movie theaters ? Yes, lots, if you can stand the behavior of the other clientele
Good beaches ? Yes, some. Just don't expect to be able to wear a bikini. There are some fairly remote places that are quite easy to get to that have their own stark appeal, however, you will find that many more accessible places have a dozen or so land cruisers and tents. You probably won't get hassled, especially if you are in a group, but you have to be sensitive to local opinion. The locals can be quite friendly in these circumstances but you wouldn't want to be in Daisy Dukes and a bikini top..The manicured beaches at the hotels have varying guidelines with the general trend being towards conservatism in recent years. The beach at the Cultural Centre, Katara, costs a fortune to actually get onto and is very strictly regulated with regards to dress. If you want to "go western" you can pay to be at the pool in one of the big hotels like the Intercon, or join a club like the Dip(lomats) Club. Sometimes compounds have pools you can hang out at, but you need to consider the views of your neighbours. Some other beachs get frequented by hordes of the poor young men they import to do the labour, mainly from SE Asia. They sometimes get bused out in droves. You would need to avoid these situations because you would get stared at and surrounded. I doubt anyone would harm you but you would attract immense and uncomfortable attention. The best thing is to go with a group of friends and find somewhere ways up the coast. Often, though, beaches out of town can have trash on them.
Great gyms/spas ? Yeah, tons, to suit every budget. Probably have access to one at your school. If you get a job with a QF school in Doha you can use a variety of excellent facilities for free.
Lots of restaurants ? (Any cheap ones ?) Tons. Some really good food there. The best cheaper restaurants are Egyptian or Lebanese and you'll soon find your favourites.
How much do you spend on groceries per month ? Are you able to save ? Depends on your salary. The absolute top of the range salary for a teacher is about 25,000QAR a month. I was on 23,250 when I left. This is a LOT of money. However, chances are you'll be offered between 12,000-16,000. Anything less and I would be raising my eyebrows. I know teachers in the local schools are payed extremely badly at as low as 4,000. Groceries can be expensive. The quality of the fruit and vegetables is extremely variable. fruit, in particular was a HUGE disappointment. Things like peaches would look lovely, cost a ton, then taste like cardboard or be brown throughout the middle. Minute quantities of things like raspberries could cost $6-7 for less than 100g! The trick to saving is to cook from scratch with the dependable vegetables and cheaper meats, avoiding imported salads and the usual expensive refined rubbish.
Pros and cons in general: You can do very well there. It is generally very safe, with the biggest threat to life and limb being the unspeakable driving habits of the locals (I shall leave it at that but I could rant...) There are lots of fantastic, high calibre sporting events you can see very cheaply, the healthcare can be very good but you need to make sure you get worldwide coverage. There is shopping everywhere if that's your bag. Lots of big hotels and nightclubs and a few things to get around an see.
The cons..........for me, it's all artifice. Shallow, flashy and laden with hypocrisy. No culture, no real history, and the very dark unpleasant underbelly that usually accompanies authoritarian regimes. We had a saying...instead of grin and bear it, grin and bank it! Good luck.

I usually try to be positive on this forum, but I'm with chargerfan on this one. I would avoid all Qatar Foundation schools like the plague, unless you have no kids and are happy to take the money and let the crap just swirl around you. The Pre-University are systematically screwing up Qatar Academy and the other QF schools. Doha College and Sherborne are still decent schools if you like the British system, and that just about leaves the American School as the stand-out organisation. Anything that comes under the aegis of the Supreme Education Council is subject to idiocy on all levels.
OK, rant over. The thing is, as with any ME school, if you can deal with the day to day nonsense, you can make a good life and earn a lot of money but you need to be a suitable fit. By this I mean able to let things go and not angst about last minute changes, lax attitudes to things that many teachers hold dear and general disorganisation.
The Qatari students really do NEED good quality western teachers, even though it sometimes seem they are constantly rejecting and fighting everything you stand for. It's a knife edge - for them as well as you. You can make a difference, AND make a ton of money but it's not for everyone.

I respect what Vandsmith has said, he probably has more up to date info. As of the last academic year, however, my last location in the ME made it very difficult indeed to have wives sponsor husbands, just make sure you double check. Good luck!