Any information on this school in Alexandria, Egypt? No reviews on this site and not much about them when I google. Is that a good sign or bad?
We'd like to be in Egypt next year, but have heard bad things about most of the schools with the exception of Cairo American College which has marginal reviews. Can anyone recommend any other schools in Egypt?
Thanks.
Schutz American School
I agree with Botox. I taught at AIS from 2000-2002. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, I taught kindergarten so the kids were just lovely and the parents were mostly terrific. As long as you love and show respect to their children the parents are wonderful back to you. Those babies were definitely easy to love! I will say that I would never, ever want to be a female teacher working with the HS kids there... the boys in particular. They don't show much respect in such a situation.
As for the overall feeling, I have read all the negative posts about AIS on this site. Here's the thing... if you are going to teach international then you know that a great majority of schools are proprietary... run like a business. If that is a huge issue for you then simply don't waste your time interviewing with such schools. When I went overseas I wanted a school with National students. I wanted to see what it was to work with Egyptian kids. That's why I was drawn to AIS over CAC. After interviewing with AIS, I actually cancelled my CAC interview. Yes, there is grade inflation in the HS, yes many of the students are spoiled rotten. Unfortunately, this is part of the culture in these proprietary international schools. As for the owner, I have heard lots of horror stories but he was always very kind and gracious to me. I never had any problems. Of course, I am also one of those teachers who pretty stays in her classroom and out of the staff lounge. I like to make a point of keeping my nose out of the gossip mill. That will help you and make you look better in any situation. I had also heard terrible stories about the financial manager of the school. He helped me out greatly in two situations one of which was when my landlord was trying to screw me over with a 400LE phone bill that was not mine but from the previous tenants!! The business manger investigated the claim and knew that I had not made the calls. He called my landlord and nipped that problem in the bud!! I had heard all these stories about him but he was a sweetheart to me. Just gaes to show that you must form your own opinions and not go by what other people say about someone.
As for Schultz, I know a guy whose parents taught there and he went to school there but this was probably 20 years ago. The reputation was fine back then. Not sure now... just never anything about it really. It might be fine.
Cairo is a wonderfully, interesting city. So much history in Egypt!!! Plus, your are very close to European countries like Italy if you want to get away somewhere different.
Good luck!
As for the overall feeling, I have read all the negative posts about AIS on this site. Here's the thing... if you are going to teach international then you know that a great majority of schools are proprietary... run like a business. If that is a huge issue for you then simply don't waste your time interviewing with such schools. When I went overseas I wanted a school with National students. I wanted to see what it was to work with Egyptian kids. That's why I was drawn to AIS over CAC. After interviewing with AIS, I actually cancelled my CAC interview. Yes, there is grade inflation in the HS, yes many of the students are spoiled rotten. Unfortunately, this is part of the culture in these proprietary international schools. As for the owner, I have heard lots of horror stories but he was always very kind and gracious to me. I never had any problems. Of course, I am also one of those teachers who pretty stays in her classroom and out of the staff lounge. I like to make a point of keeping my nose out of the gossip mill. That will help you and make you look better in any situation. I had also heard terrible stories about the financial manager of the school. He helped me out greatly in two situations one of which was when my landlord was trying to screw me over with a 400LE phone bill that was not mine but from the previous tenants!! The business manger investigated the claim and knew that I had not made the calls. He called my landlord and nipped that problem in the bud!! I had heard all these stories about him but he was a sweetheart to me. Just gaes to show that you must form your own opinions and not go by what other people say about someone.
As for Schultz, I know a guy whose parents taught there and he went to school there but this was probably 20 years ago. The reputation was fine back then. Not sure now... just never anything about it really. It might be fine.
Cairo is a wonderfully, interesting city. So much history in Egypt!!! Plus, your are very close to European countries like Italy if you want to get away somewhere different.
Good luck!
One more thing...
The only case where I would not recommend AIS Egypt is if you have children. When I was there the Western children were not accepted by the Egyptian kids very easily. Might be different now, but if I had kids I would target CAC instead.
Again... not sure about Shultz with regard to this situation.
The only case where I would not recommend AIS Egypt is if you have children. When I was there the Western children were not accepted by the Egyptian kids very easily. Might be different now, but if I had kids I would target CAC instead.
Again... not sure about Shultz with regard to this situation.
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TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
What do you mean by targeted and harassed? Kid stuff (which can be awful anyway) or something scarier?
My husband was born in Egypt, so my son is half-Egyptian. He doesn't speak Arabic yet, but we expect him to pick it up soon since he's been around it before and he's only 4. Do you think kids would "target" him too or give him a pass?
My husband was born in Egypt, so my son is half-Egyptian. He doesn't speak Arabic yet, but we expect him to pick it up soon since he's been around it before and he's only 4. Do you think kids would "target" him too or give him a pass?
Taught There
Themeleks.
I taught at Schutz for two years, and that was three years ago. My spouse and I enjoyed our time at the school; it is a small school, however. Living in Alex can be quite a challenge sometimes; the school campus (where you'll live) isn't located in a great part of town, but you are a 10 minute walk to the seaside.
You can take a cab with relative ease to a number of places in Alex, but there isn't a lot to do in the city. Cairo is certainly the place to be because of the ex-pat community.
If you're still interested in Schutz and would like to know more, feel free to contact me...
I taught at Schutz for two years, and that was three years ago. My spouse and I enjoyed our time at the school; it is a small school, however. Living in Alex can be quite a challenge sometimes; the school campus (where you'll live) isn't located in a great part of town, but you are a 10 minute walk to the seaside.
You can take a cab with relative ease to a number of places in Alex, but there isn't a lot to do in the city. Cairo is certainly the place to be because of the ex-pat community.
If you're still interested in Schutz and would like to know more, feel free to contact me...
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TexianTravel
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:35 pm
- Location: Egypt
In the case of my daughter, it meant inappropriate touching, mocking her when she spoke, forbidding her to speak, downgrading all her opinions, stuff like that.
She got so tired of it all, she told us she was going to punch her most serious tormentor. Since we had tried talking to the students, talking to the teachers, and talking to the administration, we said okay, but if the school gave a punishment she was taking it. People since have lectured me about cultural differences, but I said this then and I say it now.
If the Egyptians didn't understand that when an American woman says "no, stop", she means "no, stop", then they needed to learn it.
My daughter should not have to tolerate having her private parts "accidentally" fondled on a daily basis in ANY culture. And no one can convince me that the Egyptian culture promoted or even tolerated such behavior. I know it did not.
My son's was more serious. They baited him unmercifully, taking his things, tripping him, calling him names, pulling his chair out from under him... they alternated between that and treating him as an "untouchable", someone who couldn't be spoken to or touched.
My principal put it best, after she had talked with him about some of the things going on. "It's hard watching someone in that much pain, isn't it?"
My husband, who also worked at the school, actually heard a group of students, who were unaware he was my son's father, planning on how they were going to do something (I forget what) and blame my son for it.
Even the class he got transferred to (the other one had some real sociopaths in it, let me tell you) took advantage of his unfamiliarity with Arabic, telling him to call himself a donkey.
If your son is part-Egyptian, and has learned (or can learn) Arabic easily, you shouldn't have much trouble. My son was the only non-Egyptian, non-Muslim, non-Arabic speaker in his class; my daughter only one of two non-Egyptian, non-Muslim students in her class, and the other girl spoke Arabic.
She got so tired of it all, she told us she was going to punch her most serious tormentor. Since we had tried talking to the students, talking to the teachers, and talking to the administration, we said okay, but if the school gave a punishment she was taking it. People since have lectured me about cultural differences, but I said this then and I say it now.
If the Egyptians didn't understand that when an American woman says "no, stop", she means "no, stop", then they needed to learn it.
My daughter should not have to tolerate having her private parts "accidentally" fondled on a daily basis in ANY culture. And no one can convince me that the Egyptian culture promoted or even tolerated such behavior. I know it did not.
My son's was more serious. They baited him unmercifully, taking his things, tripping him, calling him names, pulling his chair out from under him... they alternated between that and treating him as an "untouchable", someone who couldn't be spoken to or touched.
My principal put it best, after she had talked with him about some of the things going on. "It's hard watching someone in that much pain, isn't it?"
My husband, who also worked at the school, actually heard a group of students, who were unaware he was my son's father, planning on how they were going to do something (I forget what) and blame my son for it.
Even the class he got transferred to (the other one had some real sociopaths in it, let me tell you) took advantage of his unfamiliarity with Arabic, telling him to call himself a donkey.
If your son is part-Egyptian, and has learned (or can learn) Arabic easily, you shouldn't have much trouble. My son was the only non-Egyptian, non-Muslim, non-Arabic speaker in his class; my daughter only one of two non-Egyptian, non-Muslim students in her class, and the other girl spoke Arabic.
During my two years in Egypt teaching, my spouse did often get cat-calls and the like; however, she was only ever touched once. (It was by a 10 year old boy who hit her butt and then ran like crazy...she wasn't too disturbed by the experience.) I don't doubt that there are people who have terrible times (like TexianTravel describes), but I do question about how frequently this is the case.
In the classroom, I found that SOME foreign students, like SOME of the Egyptian students, hung around with other foreign students. I wouldn't not go so far as TexianTravel as to say this can be expected in all classes or in all cases.
In all the classes I've taught overseas, it seems on the first day of school you can bet all the students of one language or culture will congregate together. During the course of the year, however, things do change. Usually, everyone learns a couple of common languages...
In the classroom, I found that SOME foreign students, like SOME of the Egyptian students, hung around with other foreign students. I wouldn't not go so far as TexianTravel as to say this can be expected in all classes or in all cases.
In all the classes I've taught overseas, it seems on the first day of school you can bet all the students of one language or culture will congregate together. During the course of the year, however, things do change. Usually, everyone learns a couple of common languages...
People thinking about teaching at Schutz should first talk to some of the foreign hire teachers. Ask them why is there so much turnover? Why does the strategic plan have as one of its goals finding and KEEPING quality teachers? Why don't people stay? Would make me wonder. Maybe somebody who's there now can respond to this...
I don't see a review for Schutz so it would be nice if someone wrote a review. Alexandria is such an awesome city. Wow, talk about the different historical eras - from ancient Egypt, to Greece, Roman, and Persian times. Wow! It would be nice if there was a really good school there. Much less hectic than Cairo LOL!
Well we wound up getting an offer from Schutz and we took it. We really wanted to be in Egypt, but not necessarily in Cairo, so we think this will be a good fit for our family.
So we haven't been there yet, so I can't write a review or speak to any of these concerns, but I can say that we have done extensive research and have talked to people who work there now and others who have left. Most of these say that Schutz is a good school with a good reputation. Facilities are nice, pay/package is appropriate, people are great and the cost of living allows for some nice savings/travel.
What we did learn though is that all of the people leaving this year are singles and all of the couples have chosen to stay beyond their contracts. Alexandria sounds like a great city, but it's hard place to live if you're single. There's no single scene and most activities seem to be couple/family oriented.
When we have a few months under our belts, we'll write a review. Personally, we can't wait to start our international career at Schutz.
So we haven't been there yet, so I can't write a review or speak to any of these concerns, but I can say that we have done extensive research and have talked to people who work there now and others who have left. Most of these say that Schutz is a good school with a good reputation. Facilities are nice, pay/package is appropriate, people are great and the cost of living allows for some nice savings/travel.
What we did learn though is that all of the people leaving this year are singles and all of the couples have chosen to stay beyond their contracts. Alexandria sounds like a great city, but it's hard place to live if you're single. There's no single scene and most activities seem to be couple/family oriented.
When we have a few months under our belts, we'll write a review. Personally, we can't wait to start our international career at Schutz.
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moshimoshi
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:42 am
[quote="themeleks"]
What we did learn though is that all of the people leaving this year are singles and all of the couples have chosen to stay beyond their contracts. Alexandria sounds like a great city, but it's hard place to live if you're single. There's no single scene and most activities seem to be couple/family oriented.
When we have a few months under our belts, we'll write a review. Personally, we can't wait to start our international career at Schutz.[/quote]
See I agree with some of what you have written but disagree with other parts you have written, alot is opinion and you can make up your mind when you get here but you should know that the reason stated for why people are leaving is not only a poor single scene. I knew that when I took the job. Also couples have not chosen to stay beyond their contracts. It is a 2 year contract and singles are not coming back for year 2. You have a good attitude and will need it! :D
What we did learn though is that all of the people leaving this year are singles and all of the couples have chosen to stay beyond their contracts. Alexandria sounds like a great city, but it's hard place to live if you're single. There's no single scene and most activities seem to be couple/family oriented.
When we have a few months under our belts, we'll write a review. Personally, we can't wait to start our international career at Schutz.[/quote]
See I agree with some of what you have written but disagree with other parts you have written, alot is opinion and you can make up your mind when you get here but you should know that the reason stated for why people are leaving is not only a poor single scene. I knew that when I took the job. Also couples have not chosen to stay beyond their contracts. It is a 2 year contract and singles are not coming back for year 2. You have a good attitude and will need it! :D
Moshimoshi,
Please elaborate. Are you at Schutz now? Can you tell us why, specifically, you are leaving?
We've already signed contracts and have every intention of fulfilling our obligations, but we'd like to go into it with our eyes open. We talked to several people and they painted a decent picture, but we'd love to have another viewpoint. We appreciate any information (even opinion) you can give us.
The Meleks
Please elaborate. Are you at Schutz now? Can you tell us why, specifically, you are leaving?
We've already signed contracts and have every intention of fulfilling our obligations, but we'd like to go into it with our eyes open. We talked to several people and they painted a decent picture, but we'd love to have another viewpoint. We appreciate any information (even opinion) you can give us.
The Meleks