The International Schools Review Forum

I have some typical and one atypical question/s.

The typical is this: I’m a Board Certified HS Math Teacher with 6 years teaching experience in the States. I have a Masters in Teaching with endorsements in Math and ELL. I’m interested in teaching at an International School and have no experience thus far with teaching internationally but have done some traveling that I can point to. I’ve heard that for your first international school job you can’t count on getting a job in a “good location” or at a “good school.” I’m not sure what this means exactly as locations that are good/interesting for me might not be the same as they are for someone else. I’m most interested in South America and Southeast Asia (ex: Columbia, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam with a few other scattered countries that interest me like Spain and maybe South Africa). Can someone explain the types of job I should expect to be able to land and help me understand the distinction between opportunities I might expect to be open or not open to me based on my experience? Also, I like the idea of an international school best, but are there other options I should/could consider for finding a job internationally teaching math?

Atypical: I have a bit of a family in tow. I would have a trailing spouse and baby (maybe school age by the time I am looking to work, maybe not). Moreso, we have a German Shepherd. If it were only up to me I would leave the dog behind but my wife doesn’t have the heart to. She says the dog comes or we don’t do it which I can understand given how important the dog is to us and with this breed you only get to enjoy like 10 years anyways .i don’t know if international schools give a stipend for family and you can shop around or if they have specific apartments they put you up in. Which is more common? Or are both? The former I imagine would allow me to locate a spot where we could have a dog, vs the latter I imagine we would be subject to rules which exclude the possibility. Also, how would you modify your answers above about my marketability based on these circumstances? I know we need to find a location that would allow our family To live off a single income so while I would love to teach in Western Europe, I’m assuming it would be too expensive in most countries (except possibly Spain?)

Very much appreciate any advice and insights!

Stephen

I would say it's possible but not guaranteed, and you'll need to be flexible and do some hard thinking about what will work for you.

As a math teacher you are likely to be in demand if you have strong references although I don't know what kind of math you are best at teaching.

My advice (which will run contrary to several others here so take what I say with a grain of salt) would be to sign up with Search Associates and/or consider to AASSA fair for South America. The advantage to both is access to their databases, although I don't know how extensive the ASSASA database is. With the Search database, schools will state if they hire candidates with non-teaching spouses, some housing information (but not a lot), and if families can get by on one salary. Use the "get by" data and the salary/savings data as guidelines rather than absolute truth. It should make it easier to get a sense of how you stand. I have not heard of a school giving a stipend for non-teaching spouses. Some better/elite schools will try to find a job for a non-teaching spouse but it's best not to depend on that happening. You will also want to look at savings potential in addition to cost of living. It will take some time to sort out the extent to which jobs will or won't work for you.

As for dogs, I've had colleagues with dogs at every international school I've worked at but it's something to ask about, especially if housing is provided by the school. You may also want to think about climate and a German Shepherd. How would one fare in the tropics? I hope some dog owners will chime in.

Also bear in mind that taking a pet overseas can be costly. Meeting quarantine requirements and payments, shipping, and figuring out what to do with a pet during vacation periods are factors you may want to take into consideration early on and as you research schools and countries that look good. If you will be leaving your pet behind during breaks you will want to consider if your pet will be OK without you for 3+ weeks.

It can be done and has been done, but do your financial and logistical homework and think about your dog's best interests. You might also want to consider an earlier job fair (AASSA is one of the earliest) so that if things don't go your way you can still keep your current job. You will likely need to be upfront with your current admin about looking for an international job to get references, but you can also let them know that what you are doing has an element of being exploratory since there are a number of factors to take into account with your search.

Dog owner chiming in.

For you the biggest factor will be references and perhaps which math you teach. Assuming good and beyond algebra, you should be able to find a decent job. The top jobs (IS Bangkok, Hanoi) are a bit of a stretch, but a lot of decent school sight be in your reach. Vietnam and especially Thailand are popular destinations, South Africa and South America less so. Spain doesn't pay well, so supporting family and dog would be tough.

Trailing spouse and kid make it harder to be hired at some schools. But not so much that it should worry you. I agree that Search or possibly AASSA make sense. The savings is less reliable, but the "make do" on one salary feature might be more helpful as it's pretty accurate. I know exceptions, but they are rare. For all intents and purposes except hiring, you are a family of four.

Now to the dog: first find out if his breed will be a problem; some countries have breed restrictions, especially with a Shepherd. Then just browse expat forums and do some googling to find out what living in that country with dogs is actually like. Look for dog parks, for example, or whether pets are allowed on public transport. Look at housing availability and price differences. (Do you need a yard?). Look at climate and vaccinations. And once you have made a determination, look at quarantine rules. All of this can be done before interviewing or even applying to schools.

Once in an interview, you can ask. Sometimes admin even have dogs and will be able to help a lot; other times they direct you to other staff with dogs. They can answer more about any school housing or what they have seen out and about.

Finally there is transport. You will need an airline approved crate that your dog knows and in which he is comfortable. Note that for domestic shipping the sizes are different than for international. Find out what health papers are required. Some require certain vaccinations months before transport, so plan accordingly and talk to your vet. We needed a rabies shot AFTERthe implantation of an international microchip. Then we had to wait a month before the next round of shots. We also needed a 10 day health certificate valid upon arrival (not departure), and you will ant a buffer to cover cancellations or delays. So a week before we. Left we did the vet visit, then overnight ex the paperwork to the office for the stamp, and included a prepaid express rerun envelope. The vet followed up with a phone call. Talk to your vet about medication for the flight. Generally they will give anti-anxiety rather than sleeping meds, or nothing at all. Our vet was familiar with shipping dogs and talked us through the whole thing.

Choose an airline and a route. Lufthansa is hands down the international animal shipping giant, and Frankfurt the best airport. They do millions of animals ranging from pets to exotics. But if you can avoid layovers, do it. We rented a car and drove a few hours on both ends rather than fly city to city--avoided two layovers and it was way easier on the animals. We just requested that from the school in advance.

A Shepherd might still fit the checked luggage size requirements and would be on your flight, but he might also need to be shipped on a cargo flight. The latter is a lot more expensive, and your best bet is to go ahead and have the dog sent later. Depending on the time of year, this might be your only option, especially for warmer climates.

There are pet shipping companies that will do all of this for you, but they are expensive. We have always done it ourselves, including the cargo flight dogs. The checked luggage dog was only about 200, while the cargo dogs were a LOT more expensive. Talk to your school about shipping allowance!

Hope that helps.

Thank you both for the helpful info!

Both of you asked about what math I teach. Unfortunately, I’ve only taught lower HS maths so far: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 (all for 4+ years). I hope to pick up a Precalc class not next year but the year after. That will likely help me, right? I don’t see Calculus being possible at my current position as we don’t even teach it some years due to low demand and a more experienced teacher always gets it when we do.

Does this modify your answers about my marketability?

Up to algebra 2 and certified for upper level helps--some are only certified up to algebra1. Obviously the higher the better, but high school vs middle is the big question.

If you're teaching Algebra I, II and Geometry you'll likely be looking at the medium-large to large end of school size, but that's where a number of the good jobs are.

Having pre-Calc or Calc helps, but if you can show demonstrated enthusiasm and ability in differentiating instruction for somewhat mixed classrooms with the math classes you teach (and can show a strong track record of partnering with learning support) you'll have a significant advantage. Teachers with strong experience and willingness to differentiate tend to move to the front of the line, and math is an area where recruiters especially like to see differentiation skills.

I've taken a dog and a cat overseas and I have a number of colleagues who have as well. @Thames Pirate covered most of what you need to consider already.

A lot of it will be country specific, and some may depend on where you're bringing the dog from and if it's an area that has rabies. Some island countries may not allow importation at all or have highly restrictive quarantine, so if you're taking the dog you could be limited by the countries you consider.

From what I've seen, the bigger the dog (crate) the more it will cost you. Policies vary substantially from airline to airline too. Just because one airline might not work, it doesn't mean other airlines won't work or that they may be way less expensive. So it can be worth to call around, and unfortunately at times it may be hard to find airline people who know their own companies policies.

One issue is that airport often limit animals on planes if the temperature taking off is too hot/cold or the landing location is too hot/cold. Usually since most schools are on a Aug - June schedule it's a heat issue in the northern hemisphere or in the tropics. So you may want to be careful with times and locations you take off and land.

Quite a lot of my colleagues have dogs and cats. It's generally not an issue for marketability. For marketability, your trailing spouse and child are likely to be an issue. In the end it will depend on how badly they need someone as you'll be relatively expensive. The ability to teach upper level math and experience with AP Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, and IB Math High Level would help. You help yourself by having experience and interest in helping with after school activities and clubs regardless of what you teach. So coaching, advising debate/MUN/student council, etc can help you land a decent job.

Good luck.

Eion

I would argue that marketability is not even a factor as you are under no obligation to tell the school about your dog; that said, I don't see it being an issue at all if you do.

Yes, should have mentioned the heat (not an issue for our departure or destination in Europe, but I know it could have been). Good catch.

Our experience was by weight (dog plus crate).

Oh, and one thing we did--we wore old t-shirts for workouts and then didn't wash them. We put them under the padding in the dog crate so that it would smell like us and be a calming thing. Be aware if your dog eats things like that, it might be a choking hazard.

Again, for shipping Lufthansa/Frankfurt are hands-down the best, but not always the most direct or cheapest. We used them once (dogs as cargo, not luggage, and with a transfer) and were impressed. We used another airline once (dog as checked bag, direct flight) and things went smoothly as well. I would steer clear of United. Enough horror stories to make me nervous.

In regards to this:

'I would argue that marketability is not even a factor as you are under no obligation to tell the school about your dog; that said, I don't see it being an issue at all if you do.'

I would say that if taking your dog(s) is a deal breaker then you should mention it, as if you were offered a position then had to reject it because of the dog(s) it will have just been a waste of everyone's time.

True, but the responsibility of knowing where you can take a dog falls on you.

Agreed, but for me it's like the question of putting age/children/marital status on your CV or in your application.

We all know that for some places there are reasons that certain things mean you can't be considered for employment, so better just to have it all out there.

I guess for me it would only come up once discussing a package; obviously if it's school housing, that's different and might end things quickly. But I don't have my pets--dog, horse--on the CV because they aren't relevant there the way kids might be. So in terms of marketability, it's probably a non-issue until you are discussing housing and/or restrictions. It's more likely to come up in the context of "do you have any questions about our school or country," but even then I tend to do my own homework as much as I can, and that includes information about importing my dog. But it's up to the individual as to whether to bring it up, and usually it's a non-issue on marketability.

Board certified doesnt mean anything in IE unless your recruiter or leadership happens to be board certified as well.

Good locations are socially high desirable regions, such as France, Italy, Spain, and WEu, in Asia they would be places like Japan. A good IS means a 1st or elite tier IS. You can find my treatsie on tiers below. As to your marketability the PASS is below:

PASS (PsyGuy Applicant Scoring System):
1) 1 pt / 2 years Experience (Max 10 Years)
2) 1 pt - Advance Degree (Masters)
3) 1 pt - Cross Certified (Must be schedule-able)
4) 1 pt - Curriculum Experience (IB, AP, IGCSE)
5) 1pt - Logistical Hire (Single +.5 pt, Couple +1 pt)
6) .5 pt - Previous International School Experience (standard 2 year contract)
7) .5 pt - Leadership Experience/Role (+.25 HOD, +.5 Coordinator)
8) .5 pt - Extra Curricular (Must be schedule-able)
9) .25 pt - Special Populations (Must be qualified)
10) .25 pt - Special Skill Set (Must be documentable AND marketable)
IT CLASSES:
1) INTERN ITs have a score around 0
2) ENTRY ITs have a score around 2
3) CAREER ITs have a score around 4
4) PROFESSIONAL ITs have a score around 6
5) MASTER ITs have a score around 8

You have around a 5 assuming a vacancy that hits all the advantages you bring. Unfortunately your maths experience is only at Algebra level, you dont have SLL experience in any curriculum, and whats really going to kill it is you have a trailing spouse and a dependent. This makes you a logistically very expensive hire for a lower secondary maths IT.
Youre probably going to have to start like most ITS in a third tier IS, in which case location becomes more important. It also depends what your goals are, savings, lifestyle, etc. You can probably achieve one goal on one salary and support a family of 3 in a third tier IS on the economy.

The LCSA (Columbia and Peru) might be open to you, but the coin really isnt there if economics are any of your goals. The problem is going to be your going to be so expensive compared to other ITs.
Vietnam has some of the worst ISs in the world, the ones worth teaching at arent going to find you a very attractive candidate, again your just too expensive for a lower secondary maths IT, but your chances in Vietnam are better than your chances for Thailand. Youd probably have to take a major cut in lifestyle and coin to make Thailand work. You will starve to death in Spain on one salary for a family of three.
South Africa, not that much of a possibility, if you said anywhere in Africa than maybe yeah, there are some hardship regions that you might be competitive for. South Africa isnt on anyones OMG list. Really you just need to apply to anywhere and everywhere with a math vacancy, and then go from there. If you want the interview practice dont mention the family or your maths levels, if you dont want to waste your time be upfront about them, but dont be surprised if you dont get much interest in your application.

What are you most likely to find? An IS that caters to local host national students in China or the ME. Of the ones you listed Vietnam is probably the best location.

ISs dont give family stipends. Your salary is generally based on years of experience (step) and your degree (band), typically bachelors and masters bands. Where family comes in is mostly housing. Typically ISs either provide housing directly (you fly in, and move into an apartment they provide you) or they provide you a housing allowance which does vary based on the size of your family. There are variations of this, such as direct housing unless your over a certain family size, or direct housing your first contract and then the option of an allowance afterwards, etc. Its a very gross generalization, but globally direct housing is likely more common. In the WEu you generally dont get housing at all. They arent going to pay you more coin though just because your married and have kids.

Id avoid the issue of your maths level experience, if an IS asks you if you can teach calculus the answer is yes. If they ask you if you can teach upper level SLL maths the answer is yes. If asked why you havent taught those an answer around "thats the age group you enjoy working with the most" is what you want to say.
Some ISs will make an offer that includes creating a job or position for a trailing spouse, you ant to seed your interview with tasks your spouse might be able to do to add value, but you basically want to give the presentation that yes your expensive but your a maths IT who can do it all.

The dog isnt really an issue. The only problematic scenario is going to be an IS that provides housing directly and would not allow your dog. Youre going to waste some time if your not upfront about it and its a deal breaker. Otherwise its really non of the recruiters or ISs business provided you have done your research and know what regions are going to be problematic for importing your pet. Since its a definite deal breaker for you its probably worth being upfront about it from the start.

Its not all subjective, but there is no 'definition' of Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3, There are several models generally applied to dividing of the tiers, the teacher model is:
Elite Tier: Top schools in the first tier usually 1-2 schools.
1st Tier: The top 5%
2nd Tier: 75%-95%
3rd Tier: Bottom 75%
Upper tier is typically the elite, first tier and some portion of the second tier. Lower tier is the third tier and some portion of the second tier.
In general when teachers describe a tier 1, etc school from one another it comes down to

1) Compensation package
2) Work environment.

Historically the compensation package is the priority, not because of greed or anything, but because its easy to quantify. If your in Brazil, $30K is better then $28K. Schools that pay more for a given region tend to have more stable finances (a sign of longevity, given enrollment, and reputation), and have larger endowments, meaning they have been around long enough to develop efficiency and have well planed capitol projects. Better schools can charge more in fees, and be more selective in their admissions. This creates more "cash" on hand for salaries and benefits.

COMPENSATION:

Typically includes (in this order of importance/priority:

1) Salary (based on number of contract or teaching hours per week)
2) Housing (including utility costs)
3) Tuition (If you have kids. In addition if you have a non teaching spouse, how easy is it for them to find a job)
4) Transportation (Including Airfare, moving, and settling in allowances).
5) Insurance (Mostly how good the medical is)
6) Retirement (Including end of year bonuses).

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

Working conditions is the far more subjective of the two. It means something slightly different to everyone. But can include as a general principal (and these get more "fuzzy" the lower I go):

1) Staff/Faculty/Parents:How qualified are your co teachers? Do they know what they are doing? Do the aids, secretaries try and help you? Is the PTA crazy helicopter parents? Are the parents really the ones running the school?

2) Admins Management Style: Biggest reason for a school to go down hill. Does the admin back the teachers? Are they just a spokesperson for the owners? Do they yield to parent pressure? Do they value faculty input? Do they care?

3) Organization: Does the front/back office run efficiently? Do you get reimbursed in a timely fashion? Are salaries paid on time? Is the school relationship with the local immigration bureau good, can they process visas, permits, etc quickly?

4) Resources: Do you have a projector? Access to computers, internet? Can you make copies when you need too. What about textbooks, are they old and out dated, do teachers even use them? Whats the library look like? Whats the cafeteria look like (do they feed the teacher lunch?) Do you have a classroom/department budget, or do you have to ask for everything?

5) Academics: Do they have a curriculum? Do they use the curriculum? Does the department share a common curriculum or does everybody teach what they know and prefer? What are the assessment/grading policies and procedures?

6) Community: Are the people nice, friendly, helpful? What's there too do in the area? Is it safe? Clean? Is transportation easily accessible? Availability of shopping/groceries? Medical Care? This could be a long one....

JOB SEARCH:

1st tier schools are typically non-profit private prepatory schools that focus on an international student body. They are very westernized, and would be very similar to a private school in western cultures.

2nd tier schools are private private non-profits that act like for profits. They are predominately domestic students, who are affluent. They are equivalent to a "good" public school in a western culture.

3rd tier schools are for profit schools that are run as business. The purpose is to make generate revenue, and provide the owner with some level of prestige and status. Education is just the product, the students parents just the consumers.

Most 3rd tier schools advertise on TIE Online, Joy Jobs, and with SEARCH. You can also find them on Daves ESL Cafe (They advertise everywhere, except the "selective" recruitment agencies, such as ISS)

Tier 3 schools either pay very well because the only reason someone would work there is the money, or they pay enough to get by. Most of these schools are in the middle east or africa. There are some very "beautiful" schools that Dante could use to deepen the levels of hell a bit, and the only reason they have faculty is because 1) The money, 2) Desperate teachers who cant do any better. Of course one issue that i see common with Tier 3 schools is related to "safety" either the regional culture is very very rigid, with serious consequences for what you might consider "minor rule infractions" or the region/area could become quickly hostile and dangerous...

Your typical "ESL School" is right around the border between tier 3 and tier 2 schools.

"Elite" (also called prestige or premier) schools are a subset of tier 1 schools, that represent the top school(s) in the region.

Tier status is only comparable to other schools within a region. Local economies, costs of living, cultural differences make global comparisons unhelpful. For example; most european schools dont provide housing, and taxes are high so even though salaries would rival many that you would find in a place like China, the savings potential and lifestyle you can live are very different (and often better in asia).

An "elite" or "premiere" international school is simply the top (or contested top) tier one school in a region (or city). What differentiates them is they usually have the best reputation in an area as "THE" school, and you see that in a compensation package that is substantially higher then the other tier one schools in the area, as well as in their staff support, resources, and facilities.
Elite (also called premier) doesnt equal easy. Elite schools typically expect a lot from their teachers. Some teachers thrive in that environment, some dont.
Why a separate category? well there is typically a substantial and significant increase in work and compensation between the "elite" school and the other tier one schools.

I guess thats 4 levels. is there a lower level, some people throw tier 4, and lower levels around, but i have to think that is really just an individual adding insult to injury when they call a particular school a "tier 4" school.

As someone who recruits, take the previous poster's points guide to hiring attractiveness with many grains of salt. I don't find it accurate in any way when assessing the fit of a candidate for a position, and I don't know of anyone who hires speaking in the terms that such a points system would indicate. There is only the right candidate for the position.

@interteach

Right its all magic. They dont need to speak in those terms they just have to come down to those terms.
We disagree.