The International Schools Review Forum

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

starts tomorrow.

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!!

What, where and when, and how do you register?

I just returned from the fair and it was awesome!!!

There were about 90 candidates and 30 schools in attendance -- most candidates seemed intent on a few top-tier schools (Graded, Nido de Aguilas, Lincoln BA). It wasn't super competitive or stressful: all the candidates were quite collegial and eager to help each other. Most people (the ones I talked to at least) eventually found a position somewhere -- including myself. Despite my lack of formal teaching experience in my subject area, I received three offers from decent schools.

That's the advantage, I think, about the AASSA fair: there are few formal pre-requisites for attending -- I brought my letters of recommendation (and other documents) with me. When a recruiter made an offer, s/he contacted the references at that point. It was all very simple. I haven't been to any other fairs, but from what I hear, there's a high level of tension/anxiety. AASSA was, however, much more chilled-out, if that makes any sense. And it's the first fair of the season, so you get the first shot at the available positions (though, of course, a lot of schools don't know their positions yet).

Anyways, I totally recommend it, especially for people just entering the scene for the first time.

Okay, but I still don't know who sponsors this fair and where it is held.

www.aassa.com

This year it was in Atlanta, but they said it might be in Orlando next year.

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!

It was, overall, a quality fair even though all the vacancies at some schools won't be known for another month or so. There also seemed to be several "tiers" of schools in terms of professional reputations and benefits offered. For example, the "top" schools who garnered the most interest seemed to be (all from my perspective and from numerous talks with other educators and administrators):

Top Tier

-Escuela Campo Alegre in Venezuela (even with the political issues)
-Graded School in Brazil (solid school- only prob. is the tax issue and if you can "handle" Sao Paulo)
-Nido de Aguilas in Chile (Chile is a great place to live)
-Lincoln School in Argentina (school is supposed to be mediocre, package ok, but living in B.A. wonderful)

Middle Tier

-FDR in Lima (some loathe MYP/PYP programs, though. also, the pay isn't as high as the 4 mentioned above)
-Colegio internacional Puerto La Cruz in Venezuela (great package, but tiny oil school)
-Escuela Bella Vista (good package, mixed reviews on the school and Maracaibo)
-Academa Cotopaxi (package pretty low but supposed to be a good school)
-American School of Asuncion (an improving school with a personable, new Headmaster, package is mediocre)

Those were the schools which stood out to me. This is just my perspective, and more opinions are encouraged.

Stirdaddy

Thanks for posting your experiece on the forum. Did you find there were a mix of nationalities at the fair? My one concern that stopped me going was that I thought they might only be hiring Americans and I am not American. I am looking for a librarian position in South America. Did you see any on offer there? :)

Ellen:

a) in regards to nationalities, it was overwhelmingly US citizens -- though I think that's because it's such a small fair and, hence, it would attract few people willing to travel great distances to get there

b) ...but that shouldn't stop you. You said, "they might only be hiring Americans...", but that's something of a misnomer. Each individual school does its own hiring, using its own policies, regardless of nationality. There is no "they" at the fair -- just individual schools.

c) Didn't see any librarian positions, though I wasn't really looking. The AASSA website lists (announced) job openings at each school.

Saiyara:

a) I teach HS English/Humanities
b) Overall, Venezuelan schools offer the highest salaries (as far as I've been told)
c) I think the La Paz school didn't come to the conference

Hi there everyone who went! I am wondering if there was any mention of the political situation in Columbia and Venezuela from the recruiters? I also am wondering if anyone has any experience teaching in a S.A. school that they would share.
Thanks.

...

If you find that all Venezuelan schools had high packages, you should ask your self why. The correct answer has nothing to do with the political climate. COST OF LIVING. Even when schools offer housing in VZ the cost of living makes it hard to travel and enjoy the expat life.

I'm not sure where Guested has worked but I can confirm that the cost of living is Venezuela is not very high. Plus if you trade your dollars on the black market- which many do - you'll actually get a good exchange rate.

I worked at ECA recently and saved a lot of money - 15-20 G a year cash as a single. I traveled three times a year, internationally, and went out every weekend in Las Mercedes. Although the dollar is tanking everywhere, you can save way more money in Venezuela if you work at schools like ECA, CIC, or Colegio International Puerto La Cruz, than you can almost anywhere else in South America.