The International Schools Review Forum

Curious to know if anyone has had experience returning back to the USA after being abroad for some time. How did the schools you applied for react to your experience? Did they understand what an international school is/does? Did you feel like you stood out more compared to local candidates?

I have been in conversation with a few schools systems, not to return, but rather they are old friends interested in what exactly I am doing. Even though I say I am an international teacher, they assume it is ESL. After describing what I do and where I work, they usually say that is great. I am fortunate enough to work at a really good school that is well known around the world. This school is one of those schools at fairs people are lined up for miles for so no question I am not at a tier 3 school... So I know I come in with a solid background of prior work experience and arguably more diversity in my profession compared to local hires in the USA.

In my experience it will vary wildly by principal/school/district. Some will have a good idea of what you have been doing, some will be fairly clueless. How much they value your diverse experience will also vary quite a bit. Some will find it intriguing and/or an asset they would like to bring to their school. Some will be turned off by what they don't fully understand or that lies far beyond their experience and some won't care one way or the other. Many principals seem to want their candidates to have the exact experience that matches up with their opening, their school setting/environment.

So, not necessarily a chance killer, not necessarily a golden ticket, but probably a wash overall. If your name implies your teaching field, you should have few worries. I am in SPED and have found it very easy to find jobs overseas and back in the states (and now with DoDEA).

Here is an ISR article with about 100 reader comments on this topic.

https://internationalschoolsreviewdiscu ... ur-career/

My experience has been less mixed as @WT123 wrote, its mostly been:

1) No one wants to hear how awesome your travels were.
2) Leadership in DE is concerned you have been out of the DE environment such that you dont know rules, regulations and statutes anymore, what assessments are like, and what the objectives of the curriculum are.
3) That your behavior management skills are laxed or were non-existent in the first place.
4) That youre just back temporary, and that you wont really put in the time and effort and heart.
5) That your classroom presentation skills have gotten dated.

I would agree with PsyGuy. People might want to hear briefly about what brought you overseas and what you experienced--but schools in general are creatures of habit--I'd want to be up-to-date on what domestic schools are focused on and working on and make sure I can talk about my work experiences in a way that supports that and assures them that you are current on trends and initiatives the school is working on. If you've been out of the country a significant amount of time, it becomes important to show that your experiences have been relevant and transferrable.

Because of my dependent situation, I've been reduced to applying to schools in the USA. I want to go somewhere cool that befits an international school teacher so I'm focusing on the Virgin Islands.

One good thing about public schools in the USVI, compared with schools in Florida, Indiana and Arkansas anyway, is that they do skype interviews. I'm guessing public schools generally in the states don't do skype interviews so that was some good news.

@Doctor

That is unusual, even locations like Hawaii which is suffering a teacher shortage and has a consolidated district would rather send reps out on recruiting trips than do virtual interviews.

The USVI though has really high standards for a credential, they essentially only have traditional/academic pathways.
Its also really expensive to live in the USVI, the tourist areas are nothing like the commons where the locals live, and you pay a lot even for that.