Yes, the private message function is currently not operational it appears. Uncloudy, I followed your entire story last year, and I am hoping for the best for you. Have things not gone according to plan? I always say safety first, and I hope you are able to do that for your family in Venezuela.

Some positions for 2015-2016 have already been listed on Search. I find that some of the best positions are posted August - October on Search and are gone before the fair season. As to how to know what roles/schools will be losing a lot and therefore hiring a lot for 2015-2016, we would need some posters on here who have some inside information AND are willing to share. I have the former but am not the latter - at least not yet. You always need to look out for yourself first, especially in the world of international teaching! Good luck to all!

wrldtrvlr123, have you met parents of students who are close to graduating from (i.e. juniors and seniors at) top international schools? Do you think they don't care "all that much where" their children go to college? I promise you that they do, otherwise, they would not be sending their kids to the school in the first place. There are amazing educators from all different types of colleges and who have all different types of experiences, but just like you would want a Johns Hopkins trained doctor over one trained in Greneda and just like you would want an American Airlines pilot over one for Malaysia Airlines, if you are a parent of a student who is now going to and who has maybe gone to an international school for over a decade, you want a college counselor who is at the top of her/his game. The most direct way to assess if this is the case is if she or he has the education and experience to prove it.

eion_padraig wrote:
> I have to say that if you went to an Ivy League school as an undergrad and
> all you're doing is college counseling, you probably weren't very
> successful in college. At the very least you wasted a great deal of money
> on an expensive education to get a fairly low paying job compared to what
> your former classmates are doing.


I think this is a pretty narrow view of "successful in college." It's not always about working in an investment bank or consulting firm. I know many Ivy League grads in those fields, and I know many who were just as smart and just as successful and are today just as happy if not more so doing work in the world of education, non-profits, starting their own businesses, etc.

Back to the original topic, top ISs like highly credentialed people in college counseling both for superficial and substantive reasons: it impresses the parents AND it proves the person knows how to get into the best colleges himself or herself, which also means that he or she can help students pull their applications together successfully. I know that I would not want a college counselor at a school I am paying $30K who graduated in six years from Florida Atlantic University advising my student who wants to get into UCS, UCLA, UCSD, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. There is something wrong with that picture. Thus the arguments by Psyguy and Ffmary. I have done the UCLA program, and it was quite good especially for those who don't have the undergraduate academic background that impresses. Additionally, college counselors are usually not on the teachers' salary scale. They are admins at many top domestic and international schools. The pay/benefits are not too shabby, especially in the right markets.

This entire thread should be removed if this forum is to have any ability to attract users who will actually add to the dynamism of the forum. If a new user came on here this week he or she would be completely underwhelmed by the utility of ISR's forum and ISR overall.

Not showing up for an interview with no follow up is completely rude and no matter how much one wants to work for a school, please take this as a sign to stay the heck away from that school and that administrator. International heads have this idea that because there are so many fish in the sea they can treat candidates who fall out of favor like s---t. What this proves is that the head is s---t and his or her ego has gotten too big and he or she thinks that this world is so big his or her behavior won't come back to haunt him or her later. This is not the case. Karma comes back to everyone, even those who are on the top of the heap today. They may not be tomorrow. Especially if more of us out these heads for what they are.

As a follow-up to this, I am more certain of my hypothesis than ever before. Each school I have visited or met with admins from in the last few months has been tested on this characteristic because I have thrown in questions about Halloween. In every case those that get really excited by their Halloween festivities have been the schools that completely suck. Those schools that do very little for the holiday truly mean business because they focus on education every day of the school year. For new teachers, please research Halloween at the schools on your list to get an idea of whether or not the school will be an aggrandized day care or an actual educational organization. Cheerio!

I am shocked and appalled by how much time posters on here have taken to bash one guy. Get a life everyone. If you don't like one poster's opinions, ignore them. I can't believe you are all educators. I would not want my children educated by such petty, fragile, and immature people who can't deal with one person who rubs them the wrong way. Let's get this forum back to discussions about international schools, education, cities, countries, fairs, pay, benefits, etc. Lord have mercy!

I would work in Trieste, Italy before I worked in American School of Madrid with its current leadership.

I empathize with those who want moral support, but really, international education is not for the faint of heart. PsyGuy is nothing compared to the admins you may find yourself working for if you are "lucky enough" to get an offer. Or the single who will stab you in the back, work for peanuts to live in Europe, and sell her soul while you won't because you have to think of your children. If you want a more supportive environment, I would recommend working in an independent school in America; these schools (many, not all) often are more reputable establishments and have longer serving heads who are invested in their communities; therefore, these heads/recruiters are less likely to behave poorly to potential recruits since they may have to face them in the supermarket one day instead of just jetting out of London or Bangkok with no intention of ever being bothered by them again.

This is a classic case of make sure you find your right fit. While AS Madrid gets a lot of attention for being "the best" I know from first-hand experience that "the best" often comes along with downsides. I would avoid until the new head comes on and the direction in which he or she intends to take the school becomes clear.

How bad must your current situation be to want to go to Albania? I had a maid who went to Greece to get out of Albania. Greece, where they hate Albanians and just elected true Marxists because they are in depression and about to go back to the drachma. Yet, this is still better than Albania.

Maybe Uncloudy's situation is unique because the country she is going to is experiencing hyperinflation and schools buy tickets when they can or on the black market, which can change normal operating procedure.

After years of research into International Schools, I am more convinced than ever that if a school prominently displays Halloween parade or event pictures and videos on its website it is a school that is pretty weak. In fact I would argue that this and this alone is the leading indicator of whether or not a school is of high quality. The less emphasis on Halloween on a school's site the more likely it is a true tier one school.

What are your thoughts on the theory, namely:

The greater the emphasis on Halloween at an International School the more likely the International School is a joke.

I faced this issue before and it is a serious one. First, know that if you have strong qualifications, you can get a job without having your husband to get a job too. It does, however, become harder the more dependents you have that will depend on your salary. So your husband does not have to teach or work in education. I recommend you ask your husband point-blank: does he want to go abroad or not? If not, then he will feel like he is sacrificing his needs for your needs and this could create problems in the future. If he is excited about it but just not teaching then you need to just stay realistic that this will limit your options but at least all will be happy if you get an offer that meets your family's needs. There are plenty of freelance/internet-based things he could do but if he feels like he is giving up too much by going then you have a shaky foundation from the start.