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Mistake to post here. I did not make a mistake working here. It is a bloody good school. The circumstances are unique and extraordinary, and I would thank you to remain civil. Goodbye.

Not at all, cynic! I have a feeling the Director will be following us out the door. Just hoping we can keep our heads down and survive a final year. Don't feel comfortable doing a runner, but if you knew what I know, you'd be putting out your feelers too.
Seriously, it is unreal.
Not everyone is the source of the "tabloid" reviews on ISR. And I would thank you for a little circumspection. Something none of us is being gifted with at this school right now.
Watch this space for developments.

Shit's about to hit the fan in our school. Can't believe it. Unreal. We are hoping for options...................

Sid, send me your email. I am not posting any identifiers! This was only a half joking post................

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Unless your dog has a pet passport, a microchip and has passed a variety of fairly stringent vetinarian standards, you will not be allowed into Europe. It will be very expensive and time consuming. There are also restrictions on certain breeds you might need to check into. In addition, there are many parks where you cannot take dogs because dog faeces (even when picked up by the owners - which is a fairly prevalent rule) and small children don't mix.
Having said that, there's plenty of countryside you can drive out to which is reasonably safe for dogs (fewer parasites, biting insects etc.)
I must admit, I am dreading our next move with our cat....wouldn't like to even contemplate moving with a large dog! Good luck! :-)

Top teacher salary here $5,700 a month, principal (I think) about $7,600.
Husband was a principal for a while and believe me, I don't begrudge a decent principal a penny! :wink:

They always need passport info. They will ask for social security I THINK because most countries have some sort of ID personal number and for Americans that will be it. In addition, once you are in-country, they WILL take your passport away for short stretches of time to get visas and other paperwork put in. Unless you sign up to a rubbish school (or go to Saudi) or REALLY put your foot in it you should get it back in a reasonable number of working days. The support staff at our school are absolutely marvelous and I have no hesitation in handing over my personal documents when it is required.
Lots of people get very twitchy about that sort of thing, understandably, but we've had more hassle with our own embassies dragging their feet over extra pages / new passports etc.
The only country we actually had a passport deliberately withheld was Venezuela, and that was because one of the school support staff made a derogatory comment about a Venezuelan ministry lady, and she dropped the passport into a drawer with a big smile and it took 9 months to get it back!
A MAJOR red flag would be asking for money or bank details. You should never be asked that. A recent scam fleeced a bunch a folks applying to a variety of international schools in Northern Europe.
Fortunately, horror stories are quite rare in the ME but ONLY if you do your research and sign up to a decent school. There are some wonderful schools here and if you do your homework you can easily find out which they are.
Good luck!

Hi There
It is not considered a stellar school, nor yet a rubbish school. Funnily enough, I know more parents there than staff (I teach at another school on Doha.) They seem pretty happy. Mainly they praise the staff and say they really care about the kids.
Teaching salaries in Doha (at my school at least) range from 12,000 to 22,000 QAR per month. On top of that we get housing (with utilities) and a range of other perks and bonuses.
If you get housing, a salary of 15,000QAR will go a long way, easily saving your $15,000. However, if you spend all your time boozing in the hotels, buying expensive imported food and generally not being careful it will easily trickle away!
On a monthly salary of $4,000 a single person could easily eat for $200 a week (we feed a family of four for a little over that.) You will need to pay for phone and car, or come to a sharing arrangement or hire taxis, also internet. You need to make sure you are clear on the housing allowance as this can take a big chunk of your salary. If we choose to live out, our allowance can be as big as 13,000QAR a month, but I am betting you will get much less than that.
Anyway, as I say, it's a fairly new school and definitely not highly sought after by parents. Doha tends to be dominated by ASD, Qatar Academy and Doha College. However, it's definitely NOT a dump like several schools here.
Good luck! As always, have your questions ready.

Yup. Movin' on out. Time to seek pastures new, or even a pasture! Some green is definitely top of our list of destination requirements! Xx

Yes, I looked it up. I'm afraid I am rather prejudiced against the idea of working in a Christian school, even if they are not "in your face" about it. It's a big drawback against many of the Korean schools. I understand that many schools happily recruit non-practising christians, so long as they're ok with the ethos. However, I have been told that there is a bit of a wave of some christian schools trying to really "up the ante" as regards the faith bit. E.g. HKIS. I wonder if anyone else has heard similar ideas?
Anyway, I have a sneaky feeling I actually know someone who worked at Concordia so I shall duck out and get on FaceBook and look them up!
Thanks, Shadowjack. You're in Doha, yes?

Thought I would join in this particular squabble.
I am in the ME. It's ok. Like virtually everywhere else, it is what you make it. I do not think it is a slough of "utter suckiness" as suggested by our old friend psyguy, nor is it paradise on earth.
My major caveat would be that you go to a proper school. National schools are indeed the epitome of suckiness. If you manage to get a job at one of the decent Omani schools, ASD/QA etc in Doha, or the established schools in the UAE, especially ASDubai then you will find not only money but great colleagues and multiple opportunities.
It has been good for us. When there is a lot of money knocking around then IB training is often within your grasp. In addition, our kids have had some tremendous opportunities. We pay for our mortgage and have saved, on average 35,000+ USD a year, despite some spectacular travel.
Our school has properly recruited admin (not someone's brother-in-law!) and properly credentialed staff. Despite having quite a few folks who have been here 6-13 years, the school is not backward or stuck in the mud. These are the sorts of things you need to ask about at interview. If all you do is look at the tax free status and the bottom line, then you deserve everything you get. Especially if you move here with kids.
I think the single hardest thing to get your head around is the culture. It is easy to sneer at Arabic culture, heaven knows I have moaned about it enough myself, but it is an inescapable fact that it is very different to many other places. You HAVE to work around it. You have no choice. YES, it will seem sexist, yes, they take your passport away (for short stretches of time to get residents permits etc) so don't get all whingey about it. Research, research, ask, look on the net, join forums (!), question and think hard about what you really want. Every time I move to a different country I learn more about myself and what my family needs, but you never find the perfect spot. There will always be something that bites you in the bum, something you never expected. If you do your research, that something is more likely to be a minor cultural eye-brow raiser, rather than a contract that isn't worth the paper it is written on.
Here endeth the lesson! Thanks for listening.