:idea: :?:
We have been hired to work here but school
has mixed reviews on the ISR website:
there are at least 3 good reviews that could have been written
by administration but it is difficult to know for sure
and the rest of the reviews are NOT good. We are concerned.
Anybody here know anything more about the school ?
Apparently housing is located in awful areas ?
Need feedback ASAP.
[b][/b]
REPUTATION???
REPUTATION???
Last edited by missy on Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
Mixed Reviews
I read the reviews for the school, and I would say that number 3 was written by an administrator, although I am not completely sure. I think numbers 4 and 5 were written by teachers, but remember, almost every administrator has one or two flunkies. I would say that at least two of the negative reviews were written by the same person, so keep that in mind.
I will place my advice in two parts. One, if you're not sure if an administrator wrote a review, consider these things. Does the person know more than they should, like the history of the school or the credentials of the people that work in it? Do they seem to take the negative comments personally? Do they respond as if the negative comments are exaggerations, admitting there is something wrong, or out and out refute them, pretending everything is wonderful? Do the reviews have great similarity in either the scoring or what is said?
Watch for voice. It is the voice which makes me think two of the negatives were written by the same person. If you want an example of administrator and/or flunky written reviews, go to Narmer American College. Reviews 12 and 13 were written by administrators, and there is another which is extremely questionable.
Now for the second half of the advice. My former school was in exactly the position you describe. A brand-new building that resulted in a 50% increase in enrollment. Regardless of what staffing is or is not considered, this is a HUGE RED FLAG!
A school that goes from 250 to 500 (just about what my school did) must also make a mental shift. The change in its size means it cannot operate in the way it is familiar with. My school was never able to change its paradigm from small school to medium-size school, and many many things suffered as a result, the teachers not the least.
It takes both time and money to get a new school going. My school bought beautiful furniture for the library, but didn't have the money for books. They bought computers for the labs, but didn't put in the data drops for the computers. Some of this is natural and to be expected, but you may find things that you take for granted (like books in the library) won't be there.
The government had given some sort of building incentive, and most of the international schools were moving out to the desert on the edge of town. That had consequences too, as at the first of the year we did not have city electricity but a generator. That gave us significant electrical issues, which in turn caused significant network issues. Computers, especially servers, like a steady and stable supply of eletricity, and they can be damaged when they don't get it. Ours were, which caused us issues later in the year. The significant amount of building in the area also caused network issues, as the only internet was wireless and our line of site continually changed as new buildings were erected.
Our students were affected by the long ride into the desert. Many were on the buses two hours each way. The teacher bus ride was anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, and that is a long time for people used to driving their car. In addition, the ride became a 45 minute venting for people who were frustrated.
Because so many schools had or were getting new buildings, my school had to make a choice. It could take its time and build a quality school, but lose students to other schools in the meantime, or it could throw up a new building as fast as possible and get those students before the others did. It chose the latter course, and that new building already has cracks up the walls less than a year after its construction, in addition to many things that were forgotten or overlooked due to the speed of the construction.
Since it had to get a loan for the building, it needed to cover that loan. That meant students, students, and more students. It is worth saying again, many of the school's problems this past year were because it wasn't ready for such a huge increase in enrollment. But also, because the increase was based on the attraction of a building, and not the quality of the program, those students aren't staying.
The school's enrollment will drop in this coming year. The teachers thought the quality of student was low this year. I predict they haven't seen anything yet.
I understand that just because this was my experience does not mean it will be yours. But the paralells were too great for me to ignore. If you take my advice, DON'T GO!
I will place my advice in two parts. One, if you're not sure if an administrator wrote a review, consider these things. Does the person know more than they should, like the history of the school or the credentials of the people that work in it? Do they seem to take the negative comments personally? Do they respond as if the negative comments are exaggerations, admitting there is something wrong, or out and out refute them, pretending everything is wonderful? Do the reviews have great similarity in either the scoring or what is said?
Watch for voice. It is the voice which makes me think two of the negatives were written by the same person. If you want an example of administrator and/or flunky written reviews, go to Narmer American College. Reviews 12 and 13 were written by administrators, and there is another which is extremely questionable.
Now for the second half of the advice. My former school was in exactly the position you describe. A brand-new building that resulted in a 50% increase in enrollment. Regardless of what staffing is or is not considered, this is a HUGE RED FLAG!
A school that goes from 250 to 500 (just about what my school did) must also make a mental shift. The change in its size means it cannot operate in the way it is familiar with. My school was never able to change its paradigm from small school to medium-size school, and many many things suffered as a result, the teachers not the least.
It takes both time and money to get a new school going. My school bought beautiful furniture for the library, but didn't have the money for books. They bought computers for the labs, but didn't put in the data drops for the computers. Some of this is natural and to be expected, but you may find things that you take for granted (like books in the library) won't be there.
The government had given some sort of building incentive, and most of the international schools were moving out to the desert on the edge of town. That had consequences too, as at the first of the year we did not have city electricity but a generator. That gave us significant electrical issues, which in turn caused significant network issues. Computers, especially servers, like a steady and stable supply of eletricity, and they can be damaged when they don't get it. Ours were, which caused us issues later in the year. The significant amount of building in the area also caused network issues, as the only internet was wireless and our line of site continually changed as new buildings were erected.
Our students were affected by the long ride into the desert. Many were on the buses two hours each way. The teacher bus ride was anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, and that is a long time for people used to driving their car. In addition, the ride became a 45 minute venting for people who were frustrated.
Because so many schools had or were getting new buildings, my school had to make a choice. It could take its time and build a quality school, but lose students to other schools in the meantime, or it could throw up a new building as fast as possible and get those students before the others did. It chose the latter course, and that new building already has cracks up the walls less than a year after its construction, in addition to many things that were forgotten or overlooked due to the speed of the construction.
Since it had to get a loan for the building, it needed to cover that loan. That meant students, students, and more students. It is worth saying again, many of the school's problems this past year were because it wasn't ready for such a huge increase in enrollment. But also, because the increase was based on the attraction of a building, and not the quality of the program, those students aren't staying.
The school's enrollment will drop in this coming year. The teachers thought the quality of student was low this year. I predict they haven't seen anything yet.
I understand that just because this was my experience does not mean it will be yours. But the paralells were too great for me to ignore. If you take my advice, DON'T GO!
Reality check !!
Although we truly appreciate
your lengthy response 8) , TexianTraveler, you are making assumptions based on your work experiences
at a totally different school in another country !!
We can not base our decisions based on this kind of logic
(or should I say illogical reasoning ?? :lol: ).
Again, thanks for sharing but we prefer
advice based on real experiences.
This is why it is so difficult to appreciate ISR reviews
these days as the information posted on here can
often seem misleading :evil: ?
your lengthy response 8) , TexianTraveler, you are making assumptions based on your work experiences
at a totally different school in another country !!
We can not base our decisions based on this kind of logic
(or should I say illogical reasoning ?? :lol: ).
Again, thanks for sharing but we prefer
advice based on real experiences.
This is why it is so difficult to appreciate ISR reviews
these days as the information posted on here can
often seem misleading :evil: ?
TYPO
Typo mistake
OOPS= did not mean to have the word evil in there....was supposed to be an emoticon but did not post. SORRY !
_______________________________________________
[quote="missy"]Although we truly appreciate
your lengthy response 8) , TexianTraveler, you are making assumptions based on your work experiences
at a totally different school in another country !!
We can not base our decisions based on this kind of logic
(or should I say illogical reasoning ?? :lol: ).
Again, thanks for sharing but we prefer
advice based on real experiences.
This is why it is so difficult to appreciate ISR reviews
these days as the information posted on here can
often seem misleading :evil: ?[/quote]
OOPS= did not mean to have the word evil in there....was supposed to be an emoticon but did not post. SORRY !
_______________________________________________
[quote="missy"]Although we truly appreciate
your lengthy response 8) , TexianTraveler, you are making assumptions based on your work experiences
at a totally different school in another country !!
We can not base our decisions based on this kind of logic
(or should I say illogical reasoning ?? :lol: ).
Again, thanks for sharing but we prefer
advice based on real experiences.
This is why it is so difficult to appreciate ISR reviews
these days as the information posted on here can
often seem misleading :evil: ?[/quote]
-
TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
Real Experiences
I appreciate the point about extrapolating from one school and one country to another. I agree that one cannot assume just because things went wrong at one school they will go wrong at all. Your school may be well built and well staffed with a visionary director who can handle such growth. I hope it is.
I do not believe that qualifies my advice as "illogical reasoning" however. It is not illogical to assume that the same conditions (50% increase in one year) might produce the same results, or be caused by the same factor (a new building). "Illogical reasoning" would be basing your decision SOLELY on my advice, which as you say is based on a different school in a different country. But you could use what I said to ask some pointed questions about how the school is planning to deal with such a major increase. It never occured to me that a new building meant no books in the library.
I also object to the term "real experiences." This implies that my experience was not real, and I assure you it was.
I do not believe that qualifies my advice as "illogical reasoning" however. It is not illogical to assume that the same conditions (50% increase in one year) might produce the same results, or be caused by the same factor (a new building). "Illogical reasoning" would be basing your decision SOLELY on my advice, which as you say is based on a different school in a different country. But you could use what I said to ask some pointed questions about how the school is planning to deal with such a major increase. It never occured to me that a new building meant no books in the library.
I also object to the term "real experiences." This implies that my experience was not real, and I assure you it was.
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Umm Rashid
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:07 pm
From Dubai
My sister's girls are there and like it a lot. The school is 30 min away from the city centre which is the Deira City Centre. The area is high class.
Re: From Dubai
[quote="Umm Rashid"]My sister's girls are there and like it a lot. The school is 30 min away from the city centre which is the Deira City Centre. The area is high class.[/quote]
__________________________________________________
What is the school building like ?
Do they have enough textbooks, materials etc for the students ?
Is the school big ? How many classrooms ?
Any more information would be great.
__________________________________________________
What is the school building like ?
Do they have enough textbooks, materials etc for the students ?
Is the school big ? How many classrooms ?
Any more information would be great.