As a matter of fact we were asked about our faith during our interview, so it does happen. At the school we worked at there was a feeling that a particular teacher wasn't given direct hire status because of her religious beliefs. Can this be proven, of course not, but perception can be reality.

As for uncertified teachers, we had an uncertified, brand new college grad teach in our IB program. Apparently there were a number of similar situations at other QSI schools that same year. There is a big difference between a certified teacher teaching outside their field and a person essentially walking in off the street and teaching higher level material.

I think gengrant is correct, the problem begins with the directors that QSI hires. These directors are not responsible to the parents of the school, they are responsible to QSI HQ and the old boys club that rules the roost. When problems begin to occur they can continue on longer than they would at other schools.

QSI does hire singles but I would refer to other references to QSI in this forum before contacting them. I think they prefer teaching couples to singles, housing is an issue in many countries, so couples are easier to place.

Shansar

I too have dragged three kids overseas, on two different occasions. I agree with everything that has been said on this thread, especially those points regarding your kids and the experiences that they are about to have. However, I have to warn you that getting there, wherever that might be, is only half the battle and you and your partner need to be prepared for all the challenges that are going to come up. Acclimating to a new culture, new climate, new school, new friends can take some time and everyone deals with it differently. The point I guess I am trying to make is that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and new experiences need to be given time to pan out. Good luck

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and from what I hear up to 80,000 California teachers may have more time to watch their grass grow as the California education system implodes. Every school and district that I have worked for, both in Canada and overseas has had issues, including SAS. Though today I saw our administrator take a step I didn't think he could take and it renewed my confidence in the school.

I doubt that I have ever met you Senator and I don't believe you can tell what type of teacher either my wife or I are. I don't believe we are Superteachers without lives outside of schools but I also don't believe that I am an incompetent teacher either. I have met many fine teachers in my career that don't fit either description and for you to label the "majority" of teachers this way is unfair and just plain silly.

Its just as silly to say that "MOST" international schools are mediocre or poor. Again, have you worked at "MOST" international schools, I doubt it? I have worked at 3 different International schools and while one could improve we were and are thrilled with the education our children have and are receiving.

Finally, your last point. Have you ever worked in North America? I have, and believe me administrators in North America are no better or worse than the administrators I have worked for overseas.

I wish you luck in your return to the United States and hope you find the nirvana you are obviously seeking. As for my wife and I, well we will continue to suffer in our overseas posting.

Rather than providing specific names of schools, though Vientiane International School in Lao was a wonderful school for my 6, 7 and 10 year olds, I would suggest a number of criteria for you to use when looking at schools.

1. Where are most of the students that attend the school from? If they are mostly host country nationals this might pose some problems for your kids.
2. What is the health care system like in the city/country where the school is located? You would be amazed at how stressful worrying about healthcare can be. We once thought my youngest son had been bitten by a snake, but the nearest health care was across the river in Thailand and out of reach in the time we had. Luckily nothing came of it.
3. Are there school based activities for your kids? I know we would all like lives outside of school and off school grounds but having activities at school makes your life a lot easier. I mean more than simple after school activities as well. A real community based school offers all sorts of things for students to do. A non community based school empties out at 3:30. This is probably even more true as your kids get older.
4. What is the educational philosophy of the school. Believe me when I say they are not all the same. We recently left a school that has an inherently flawed system which didn't do our sons any academic favors.
5. Does the school recognize dependents in their package? Are all flights covered, is all tuition paid, is busing provided, relocation etc?
6. Are holidays affordable? We are now in a situation where going anywhere is costing us more than what we would like. I wish we had done a little bit more investigation before we signed on, not that this is a deal killer but lets face it most of us enjoy our holidays.
7. Can you get adequate housing for a family of 4? We have a really nice apartment right now but its my first experience in an apartment and I really prefer a house with a yard. Where will your housing be in relation to the school, can the kids walk? Will you be able to afford after school care if necessary?
8. Does the school employ other families? I don't think I would like to be the only working parent on a staff. Having principals with kids in the school is an added bonus.
9. Don't necessarily write off small schools, or schools in out of the way places because they are sometimes the diamonds in the rough. At the same time don't always assume that large schools will meet the needs of your kids.

These are only my thoughts. We have had an amazing adventure with our kids overseas and wish you the best of luck in your search.

My wife and I have attended both the UNI and an ISS Fair (Bangkok). I disagree with the Walmart/Speciality store comparison in this case. I found the fairs remarkably similar and wouldn't have any qualm about going back to either one based on staff expertise. I would however make a decision based on the history of schools that have attended the fairs and the timing of the fair.

I think it would be safe to say that both fairs offer opportunities.

MYP is definitely not a requirement for being successful in IB. My daughter came out of a typical North American Junior High and Grade 10 program and graduated with honors from IB.

My experience is a bit dated, my wife and I taught at VIS from 99-01, but when we lived in Vientiane it was a wonderful place to both teach and live. The cost of living was extremely low and we saved a salary without skimping at all. The school was a true community school, something that we haven't been able to be part of since much to our regret, and the staff, students and parent were very caring. Lao offers many "National Geographic" moments and the culture will be right in your face.

The new school opens in early September 08 and I am sure it will be a great facility. Even when we were in Lao the internet connection was acceptable from home and I am sure it has only improved since then. If you have an opportunity to work at VIS I would certainly take advantage of it.

I would be very careful when negotiating a contract to work at this school. The Slovak Krown is appreciating rapidly vs the dollar and the Euro is going to be adopted in the future, though the timeline keeps changing. To give you an example when I arrived in Bratislava the dollar was worth 32 SKK. I checked the exchange rate yesterday and its worth less than 22 SKK while the Euro is at an all time high.

In addition, the cost of living is going up as prices rise for both commodities as well as housing, so people being paid in dollars are getting a double whammy. QSI is not known for being generous with its non overseas teaching staff. If you do decide to sign on, and Bratislava is a wonderful place to live, make sure you get all the extras included in your contract, like housing, insurance etc.

Jacket and tie is definitely the norm but if its not too late try a color other than blue or black. You'll be different from almost everyone else and your wife will have an easier time finding you during the signup.

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I have only gotten jobs through fairs so I can't speak to other methods. Personally I like the UNI fair, same result with less effort and fewer costs. You couldn't beat their $5 registration packet. They moved the fair ahead between my first and second fair but now even that earlier starting date can't compete with the ISS or Search Bangkok fair.

"BEST PACKAGE?" and again how are you determining this? It depends on what you are looking for and if living on a compound in Saudia Arabia and making a lot of money does it for you then great! For me, just making a lot of money doesn't make it the BEST PACKAGE.

I made more than that at VIS 8 years ago, but the best thing about Vientiane is the low cost of living (I should qualify that and say 8 years ago the best thing was..). My family of 5 easily save 3/4 of a salary and we traveled extensively. I was there again for a short visit last year and while it was a bit more expensive it wasn't over the top.

Just want you to know that we managed to overcome the three children issue when our kids were in elementary school and we wanted to go overseas. We initially offered to pay for one, though in hindsight I'm not so sure that was/is a wise idea because generally international schools are very expensive. Between the tuition and the benefits that you would need to pay for it might eat up one salary. In the end I was able to do work in kind to pay for one of our kids. We were happy the school was happy. Our second posting was with QSI, an organization that I have issues with but others are very happy with but do take more than 2 kids per teaching couple. I have also heard that Hong Kong International may take more than two, but I can't confirm that.

The other advantage with QSI is that they work on one year contracts, we went with the intention of doing two years so I can't vouch for their reaction if you said one. Personally I think you would be short changing yourself by only doing one. My rule of thumb is 6 months acclimating and 6 months thinking about going home, so you can see a year is easily eaten up. A two year stint allows you a full year in the middle to enjoy the culture and travel, plus it gives you that summer in between the first and second year to travel.

We were fortunate that our school district would give us two 1 year leaves. It was very hard last year giving up our positions and there are times when I wonder whether it was the right thing to do. Of course then we travel to the Philippines or Thailand or some other warm exotic place and I know it was the right decision. Our kids have benefited from it tremendously and you can see it in their confidence and world view.

Good luck in your decision making.