Cream of Tartar... to mix with white frosting if you want to make gingerbread houses during the holidays with your students. Can't remember what grades you guys teach as I haven't been on this site in a while. Will be checking though to see how you like Alexandria. Safe travels. :)

EBWhite,

You posted a terrific response. Do you mind posting what school you at now and where you are going next?

Thanks!

Hi,

I am currently teaching in the US but have four years of international experience in schools that were accredited by US associations (SACS, WASC).

I am beginning research to see if there are any state retirement programs that will give creditable service for international years. I am not referring to DODDS schools... they do get counted. I am referring strictly to international schools that have US accreditation.

I have yet to find any states that offer this in their retirement programs. If anyone knows of a specific state that does indeed give creditable service for international teaching experience, PLEASE post a response.

My plan is to try to get a bill passed for my state (Georiga) so that those of us who have taught abroad can have our experience counted as part of our retirement years. The way it is now, I don't get any credit for my four years overseas and will have to work an additional four years in order to retire. I am 42 years old and not close to retirement but would really like to get this bill passed.

This is something that I never really thought about when I decided to go overseas but my dad warned me about. I wuold not trade my international experience for anything and may very well wind up going overseas again one day. But, I would certainly like to have those years count toward retirement.

If anyone knows of any states that count international experience, please let me know.

Thanks so much!!!

I will post about Damascus. I did not teach there but a good friend did teach at DCS for three years. I can relay to you what she told me. She liked the school, the people, her church (Christian but very small as you can imagine). I visited her there and she had a pretty nice flat in the embassy area. The main inconvenience she mentioned had to do with the embargo that is in place between the US and Syria. Because of it, she could not recieve mail other that simple flat letters and they had to go to some special address... is the embassy if I remember correctly. She could not receive packages from friends or family. She could not order from US websites like amazon.com. She had a cat and had no problem finding cat food & litter. The school faculty seemed to be pretty tight. She saved a lot of money and was able to travel as well. Cost of living is low in Syria and you can live very well. Yes, there is pollution but the historic aspect of the city is absolutely unbelievable. Shopping in the old city is really neat. I have been to Syria twice and have found the locals to be warm, friendly and helpful. She made the same comments having lived there. If you are single living there could be a bit lonely. That is one reason she decided to move on to another country/school. The teachers would organize drives to Lebanon every few weeks to pick up certain items that they may not be able to get in Syria. It's about an hour drive it I remember correctly. The only American fast food restaurant you will see in Damascus is KFC. There is a WONDERFUL place called Sale Sucre that has the most delicious cinnamon buns you have ever had in your life. It's a little cafe/bakery/coffee place... very quaint and they make the sweets right in front of you.

Hope this helps and I hope you get more responses. Good luck.

HI,
I believe that United World College in Singapore offers one year contracts. I know I had a friend who worked there a few years ago and her first contract was for one year. I think it's suppose to be a pretty good school although I did not see any reviews on this site.

I think going overseas with kids is a great idea... so much culture to learn about! Just beware if you choose a school that has mostly national kids (ex. school in Egypt that has mostly Egyptian kids, school in Korea that has mostly Korean kids). I taugt overseas for four years in two different countries and did see American kids in these types of schools have a hard time. If there are other staff members who have kids for your kids to hang with that's big help. Just keep that in mind. Try to find a school that truly has an international demographic.

Also, if you find a school you are interested in, you may even ask if they can put you in contact with current staff members who have children there. Then you can get feedback from them. If the school is good and reputable, they should not have a problem doing this.

It's a big decision especially with a family. Say a prayer for guidance and GOOD LUCK!!

Congratulations Stirdaddy. I was hoping someone would post about that fair. I taught overseas for four years and may look back into it at some point. What schools did you get offers from and which one did you take? In which area do you teach... HA, MS, ES? Which schools in SA do you think one could do the best financially? Also, did the school in La Paz, Bolivia have long interview lines? I thought that was suppose to be a good school but things always change. Thanks!

Oh my goodness. I guess I jumped the gun on that.

Still, if anyone goes, please post about your experience. I may target that fair next year.

Thanks!!

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.

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!

If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on the fair. Thanks.

Nope, have not heard from her. Will drop her an email to see if she replies. Will definitely post here when I hear from her.

I read your post. I am sorry that I don't have any direct info on this school other than knowing about it's top notch reputation. Best of luck to you guys on snagging a position!! :)

Czechs,

What school did you work at in the ME & Asia? How did you like them?

I know people who live there but they are in the military. They do seem to love being there, however. I also have an Egyptian friend who lives & works there. I have heard that it is quite expensive to fly out of if travel is your thing. Sorry I can give anymore info.

Do you mind posting what school you are referring to? I assume this must be a mid year offer, correct? Have you checked on the cost of living compared to your salary? That would be a good start if you haven't already done so.

Texan,

Where & when did you teach in Cairo?