Thank you all...I think what I'm taking from this is that different administrators will review the application differently so I should make sure to fully represent myself in every aspect of the application process.

Walter...It is tough to imagine and in my principal's defense she is incredibly dedicated to our students. I should say that I work in the public school system in the States where leaving schools is usually seen as a sign of unhappiness in your current situation unlike the international school circuit where leaving schools may be a sign of unhappiness but may also just be a sign of wanting to move on to a different country. I had to comfort a coworker last year who was moving to another state to pursue a relationship and was called out openly in a meeting and made to feel guilty because she was putting her relationship before her commitment to the kids. I realize that the guilt trip comes from a good place but it's a reality nonetheless and a very uncomfortable one if you're on that side.

I don't know much about the international schools. They don't seem to have gotten rave reviews on the review site. I did live in Trinidad about 8 years ago. I would imagine that things have changed significantly since that time although I'm not sure if they have changed for the better or for the worse.

When I was there there were definitely incidences of crime and some that were violent and very tragic. That being said, I don't think the country is inhabitable or so dangerous that it's not worth considering taking a position there. I didn't encounter any problems while there and I used public transportation and travelled pretty extensively around the country. I did however take certain precautions that I think anyone would take in a place where you don't know:
1. Don't walk around alone at night. I rarely went anywhere alone in the evening.

2. Don't get caught up in the ex-pat culture. A lot of times people will go to a country and quickly jump into an expat clique where they have very little interaction with anyone who was born in the country. I found that Trinidadians had a much better understanding of the violence in the country including extensive knowledge about which places were safe and which to avoid.

3. Avoid making yourself a target by flashing valuable items. I live in an urban area in the states and I do this at home.

I personally found Trinidad to be an exciting country and there are definitely problems with violence and crime but I think some good common sense, won't make you immune, but could minimize your chances of coming into contact with it.

[quote="Walter"]Hi yelsol:
You should believe whomever you prefer. Dave Jaw has had six jobs in seven years and obviously has a lot of experience in trying to find work. I have been to over 100 recruitment fairs as a school head and have a lot of experience in trying to find teachers.
Unlike Dave, I can't tell you what all recruiters do or don't do. I can tell you what I do. If I am at a fair, I spend the two days before candidates arrive looking at files. Depending on whether it's ISS or SEARCH or CIS or UNI, the method changes slightly because of the organization but essentially it's the same.
[/quote]

Walter,
Thank you very much. This is very helpful. I've been teaching in the same school for the past four years so hopefully that will be in my favor. If I'm interpreting your response correctly, I should find a way to present my full self both in my resume and bio. I have one more question.

You mentioned "red flags" in references. I posted about this at some point but I'm concerned about asking my principal until I've been offered a position. I work at a small school and this results in very close relationships amongst faculty and staff, unfortunately it also results in a lot of things taken personally and a lot of gossiping etc. and I've seen other teachers who were leaving or hoping to leave get the cold shoulder for the rest of the year because of there choice. If I'm not offered a position at any school then I would continue to work at my school and try again for next year but I'm concerned about having to spend a year being glared at because of this. My current references include a college professor with whom I co-taught a class on Educational practices, the teacher who mentored me during my graduate work and teacher developer whom I've worked with since I started teaching. All of have been in my classroom over the past two years and have seen me teach. Are these sufficient? Would references that don't include the current head of school be a "red flag"? And what are some other

[quote="PsyGuy"]Where are you in your career? Are you a newbie, less then 5 years, more then 5 years, applying for admin/leadership position?

Your resume should be complete, in relation to the position. So teaching experience, education, certifications, and other CLOSELY related information should be on your resume. If your an admin or veteran teacher you should have 2 pages. If your new or still around entry level it should be about a page.

A 2 sided resume is very acceptable at a fair. Your resume is more an introduction anyway, recruiters will review your SEARCH profile before an interview. During sign up they will mostly look at just the first page. Keep your 1st page the way it is, and add the less priority teaching/education information on page 2. Cover letters arent used so much at fairs, but when applying through email you copy/paste your cover letter into the body of the email.[/quote]

This is my 5th year of teaching and aside from that I've pretty much just been teaching and doing a lot of community service outside of work. For my Search application would it make sense to stick to the one pager and then include the other information in my bio?

I just finished updating my resume. In an effort to keep it to one page, I've only focused on my teaching experience, education and certifications and have opted to include other experiences that may inform my teaching in my cover letter. I just asked a friend to look over my resume and he suggested that I forgo the one page rule and include my other experience because "principals probably aren't going to read the cover letter anyway". Should I stick to the one pager and put supplementary information in the cover letter or try to include everything in my resume?

Thank you!!! Anyone know how much support the school provides in terms of transition?

Thank you everyone for all of the advice. I haven't ruled out the Middle East but have been focused primarily on Latin America or the Caribbean simply because it's a little closer to home and this is a new experience for me so I'd like to get my feet wet before I completely jump in. I plan to make a career out of this and am delighted at the idea of being able to live in different countries. Does anyone have any experience single parenting in some of the Latin American or Caribbean countries?

I currently teach in the US and am looking to teach at an IS school abroad. I have a 6 year old who would be coming with me. I'm well aware of difficulties and wonders of single parenting (because I've been doing it for the last 6 years) but I'm interested in hearing about how that translates to living and teaching abroad.

I've been working at a "high needs" public school in the States for the last 5 years and am now looking to transition into an international school position abroad. I LOVE my students and I LOVE teaching but have ached to live abroad for most of my life and last year decided it was time to fulfill that dream. I went to a US private school all through elementary, middle and high school so I'm aware of some of the differences but I'm interested in getting some perspective from folks who made the transition from "high needs" urban public schools to private international schools. I know that experiences probably vary depending on where you came from and where you ended up but I would love to hear about some of the triumphs and challenges of the transition.

[quote="flyingrob31"]I am in the exact same position. I got a letter from a former principal, my current math department head, and my current science department head. These are people that I trust (a lot) and I told them to keep it TOP SECRET. I do not want to jeopardize myself if I just stay where I am.[/quote]


That's my dilemma. I love working at my school but teaching abroad has been one of my dreams so I'd like to be able to do that but if I'm unable to find a position then I'd like to stay in my school so I don't want to risk jeopardizing my good standing. You've given me some good ideas though about who I might use as a substitute.

Anyone have any experience with the International School of Curacao? I noticed that there are no reviews on the school.

I'm currently teaching at a school in the U.S. but am looking at moving abroad. I've noticed that most schools require three letters of recommendation. I'm hesitant to ask my current principal for a letter of recommendation because I haven't disclosed that I'm looking at other schools and while I have a good relationship with my principal I'm concerned that my choice to look at other schools will be taken personally (somewhat illogical...I know... but I've seen it happen to other coworkers and the remainder of the year turned out to be hell for them.) Is it just expected that a letter of recommendation will come from a current principal and if I don't have a letter from my current principal will that be frowned upon? Any other suggestions for how to proceed with this?