I have to disagree with seashell, not that i dont think her experience is valid, or even wrong, I just dont see it very often. You may very likely find a Pre-K program in asia or the middle east that hires you, but it wont be the package or job that other overseas teachers has, because and no offense, but they ARE TEACHERS, you are a day care provider. I know your thinking "whats the difference"? Well most school s that would have a similar program for you will be "american" schools and they are usually tier 1 if not tier 2 schools, and if you dont have an EC teacher certification they arent going to be all that interested, because 1) there will be a lot of PYP, and Kinder teachers who will be more competitive then you. 2) You basically have no post certification experience as far as management or supervision. 3) Kinder or Nursery seldom exist as stand alone programs, and are almost always attached to schools that need a certified educator.

Im not saying you wont be successful, I just feel in my experience that outside the third tier schools at a fair, your not going to get much interest and the probability of a position is going to be very low.

If you have a EC/Pre-K TEACHING certificate and 2 years post certification experience you would be as marketable as any newbie, but you would be handicapping yourself, if you dont pursue a primary teacher credential, and its just because Pre-K is such a small part of a schools overall program, they couldnt move you up to any other grade which makes you inflexible.

I really didnt want to come of that cold or insensitive, which is why I apologized and explained. I was writing more from the POV of what would likely be going through a recruiters head. In these cases recruiters/heads tend to think "worst case scenario".

You send your letter and passport to the embassy in DC. Turn around in house should be a week, add transit time based on sending and receiving methods. I'd plan on 2 weeks.

Where is the school located, what country? Unless the country has a national health care scheme, and the school buys into it, then no. Schools almost always exclude pre-existing conditions. The few times they have accepted them, they have Ben minor conditions and or only limited treatment. Like a plan will cover high cholesterol medication, but not a bypass kind of thing. They aren't going to cover cancer treatment, and honestly having that situation would be an obstacle to even getting hired. They know your wife is at some point going to need care and assistance from you and it's only a matter of time before a turn for the worse happens, and then your on leave for half a year. An insurance company won't take on that obligation and a school is going to see the situation as a headache waiting to happen.

I'm sorry if it seems harsh or cold, I don't want you to think I'm insensitive, but I thought you deserve a straight response, without the wrapping. I do hope your wife has many years ahead of her with you.

ESL and G&T couldn't hurt, though a primary school certification, since your SPED is working with primary school students would be far more valuable, and you have relevant experience, though minimal with primary. If you could, getting PYP experience would be VERY bennificial for you.

What you know of as SPED isn't like anything you will find in an IS, most of the cases are mild learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia (which seems to be the magic DX) most of the time. Just about every SPED. Student I've had or worked with was pretty indistinguishable from the norm. Either that or they had a mild behavioral issue.

I can't take credit for "special ed lite" worldtraveler came up with it in some conversations a while ago.

According to the OP wife is going to be a stay at home mom until both kids are in full time school, and since they have an 18 month old, thats going to be a while. By then the OP wont need a teaching couple as he will have 5+ years teaching SPED, in primary (and being a guy at that).

One of my rules is there is a job for anyone if you will accept anything. I think you could get a few offers, but I doubt they would be the offers you would accept, as the pay would be on the low side, and youd have to absorb some of your own costs most likely.

Of course waiting is the most viable advice, I just dont want you to get frustrated when your going to fairs, and interviewing and you start to wonder "Whats wrong with me? I teach SPED, I have a masters, 6 years social work experience, im fully certified, have teaching experience and good references. Why am I not getting the offers???" It will make you angry, and depressed, and you will start to think, that where you are is the best your goig to do, and your never going to get the opportunity that will allow you to jump the gap you need. Dont think that way, its not only un-useful, but wrong. The differences between IT candidates overall are very, very small and minor. Its not so much picking the right person really in a sea of hundreds of applicants but picking all the wrong people out, and hiring the person thats left. We personally rejected a candidate who during their Skype interview didnt tie their tie in a double windsor. Does that have anything to do with the quality of teacher they are, not a bit, but when you have a group of people who really are for all professional purposes equal, and you can only pick one person, you have to make a decision on some criteria, even if it has nothing to do with the job.

It may, but to really be marketable you would need to be qualified to teach high school level science mainly 8-12 grade, and not just science but chemistry and physics, and not just chemistry and physics but AP/A level/HL chemistry and physics. Can you do that? Do you have any teaching experience doing that? I ask because middle school only positions while there are some vacancies every year, they arent exactly in high demand, and you still dont have any experience teaching middle school science either.

On top of that you still have the "cost" issue, as your an expensive hire based on your family size, and limited experience.

Im not saying its not possible, and i hope im wrong, you seem like a dedicated and stable teacher. I just think your going to go to fairs and interviews and hear a lot of "were waiting" from recruiters, and what they are waiting for is someone cheaper, which compared to your minimum experience and qualifications wont exactly be difficult.

Fair enough, so the "conveniently" quoted the higher salary in the salary box. There are still plenty of places/spaces for a school to clarify what their salary range and stipends really are. They are hiding instead of disclosing their true and accurate compensation, and in so doing are encouraging the ruse that they pay more then they do in all cases?

Excuse me but what do you mean by "some schools enter their details on the Search forms differently at times."???

The form is basically a bunch of empty boxes that schools fill out entirely on their own. The only reason any value in that salary box is there, is because the person at the school filling out the form put it there. So if the salary is wrong its for one of two reason: either 1) Its an honest error and mistake, in which case the school should be quick to fix it when they find out, or 2) They are trying to mislead you. there really is no other viable explanation. what other "possible' reason could they have for reporting their salary as anything but what it is? Its either a mistake or its a lie...

Learning Support is pretty much the non american term for SPED (at least Special ed lite).
Since youve been lurking you probably know that 2 years is typically the minimum for an IT (international teacher), which you will have. Asia is a bigger market and there is more demand and its not a highly desirable region. The masters, and prior experience is nice.

Cutting right to the chase though, you are going to be a hard sell, for two reasons: 1)Your family size. Your basically 1 teacher and three dependents, that makes you an "expensive" hire. 2)The second tier schools dont generally do special ed, or dont do it very well. The schools that could afford you are going to be tier one schools and they like to see a little more experience, since you will basically be applying during the middle of your second year of recruiting. There are large parts of asia where SPED isnt done at all. Thats going to greatly reduce your marketability.

Your really going to need to be lucky.

If his wife was applying for a vacancy n her own merits, I'd agree with you, but in this case the OP is a fully qualified and experienced math teacher and they are really just exploring how to make his wife "legal" as a teaching couple, instead of a trailing spouse. Pardon the -, but the OP is the steak, his wife's just the gravy...

Even if it was different there aren't many schools you could do QTS at outside the UK, some yes, but not many. You would have to either be working at one of those schools or be close enough in commute to be employed at one. While its possible, it's not very likely. In that regard though if it's doable, of course QTS would be advised.

Yeah but your not supposed to pay taxes on the first 6 months of your income until you meet your residency period. His though was that he shouldn't have to pay the tax on the tuition, because tuition is assessed at the beginning of the term which was month 1 and month 5. Even then his argument that he should only half to pay tax on half of it, since he wasn't resident until half way in the year.

Of course what he doesn't realize is that the school has to collect the taxes the government orders/ requires. The school wasn't going to absorb the substantial cost of those taxes, which were a months salary.

They aren't the greatest school. Depending who you listen too, and their bias, they are somewhere between a third tier and a second tier school. The salary, is good compared to the cost of living on the economy, but compared to other ISs it's not impressive. The housing is nice though. The hardest part is the admins, you get the sense that their hands are tied on a lot of issues. They mean well, but most issues involve resources, and they just can't write a check, approve orders, or hand out reimbursements. HR runs the finances, and they don't report to the admins. For India you could do better, but if your a newbie, it would be an "ok" first post.

One of our teachs worked there, and he had nothing to but bad things to say about the school, specifically the administration, but from what I've heard they seem to revolve around personality conflicts and minor differences in taxes. Mainly, that the tuition waivers were taxed.

Well then QTS is a definite waste, and any PGCE will due. I understand the need to double your income, and there is very little in law your wife cold do on her own. If she's going to teach, and so are you, and you have 2 infant children, who is going to care for them during the day?