The International Schools Review Forum

Gringo1,
No need to be so patronizing. It was a simple question to a simple comment you made in your remarks. Your attitude speaks volumes!

The Carol Morgan School is mediocre at best. Decent faculty, decent students, barely OK pay, less than OK living situation, weak administration

Gringo wrote:Any teacher would be mistaken in not thinking the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Repubic is not one of the top schools in South/Central America. It has everything any other school has to offer without the hassles of a big, crowded, crime ridden SA metropolis. Top pay, benefits, staff and professional development that could leave a teacher with a great base from which to step up to one of the highest quality schools in another region. Just ask around and find out where CMS teachers go when they leave. It is a great place to prepare to move up. It is also a great place to work and live.

Disagree. Your experience stems from the fact that you must be a mediocre teacher. Obviously you have some issues with administrators also. Too bad you are stuck in such a rut in life. My time at Carol Morgan School was characterized by an excellent experience, grand living conditions, and motivating professional development that helped me obtain a great job at the top school in Asia. Never could have done it without CMS. With the exception of the deputy director, the administration would be hard to beat at any international school. Although they did seem to take issue with incompetent and mediocre staff members, Is that you again? Where did the Carol Morgan experience take you? Back to mom's house? Canada?

guest-o wrote:The Carol Morgan School is mediocre at best. Decent faculty, decent students, barely OK pay, less than OK living situation, weak administration

Gringo wrote:Any teacher would be mistaken in not thinking the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Repubic is not one of the top schools in South/Central America. It has everything any other school has to offer without the hassles of a big, crowded, crime ridden SA metropolis. Top pay, benefits, staff and professional development that could leave a teacher with a great base from which to step up to one of the highest quality schools in another region. Just ask around and find out where CMS teachers go when they leave. It is a great place to prepare to move up. It is also a great place to work and live.

Nasty, nasty, nasty! What is your problem, Gringo? Lighten up and stop going on the attack. It's just a difference of opinon.

Why does the head of school keep coming on this site pretending to be a teacher? We know it's you, Jack, so give it up!

gringo wrote:Disagree. Your experience stems from the fact that you must be a mediocre teacher. Obviously you have some issues with administrators also. Too bad you are stuck in such a rut in life. My time at Carol Morgan School was characterized by an excellent experience, grand living conditions, and motivating professional development that helped me obtain a great job at the top school in Asia. Never could have done it without CMS. With the exception of the deputy director, the administration would be hard to beat at any international school. Although they did seem to take issue with incompetent and mediocre staff members, Is that you again? Where did the Carol Morgan experience take you? Back to mom's house? Canada?

guest-o wrote:The Carol Morgan School is mediocre at best. Decent faculty, decent students, barely OK pay, less than OK living situation, weak administration

Gringo wrote:Any teacher would be mistaken in not thinking the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Repubic is not one of the top schools in South/Central America. It has everything any other school has to offer without the hassles of a big, crowded, crime ridden SA metropolis. Top pay, benefits, staff and professional development that could leave a teacher with a great base from which to step up to one of the highest quality schools in another region. Just ask around and find out where CMS teachers go when they leave. It is a great place to prepare to move up. It is also a great place to work and live.

As of Sept 06, ACS in LA Paz Bolivia has decent savings potential, good, fun staff and a caring admin. Parents are not overly overbearing like in Asuncion, PY. Politically, it could get rough. It's very cheap to live in La Paz.

Anonymous wrote:As of Sept 06, ACS in LA Paz Bolivia has decent savings potential, good, fun staff and a caring admin. Parents are not overly overbearing like in Asuncion, PY. Politically, it could get rough. It's very cheap to live in La Paz.

What do you mean exactly when you say "politically, it could get rough?" Do you mean at the school or the current state of politics in Bolivia? Please elaborate if you can.

SA schools are not for everybody. Many have a high percentage of host country students and that can make life difficult. If you read the posts on this website you can identify common themes, such as pushy parents, spoilt students, etc.
However, even with these problems, schools in SA can be rewarding places to teach. Those same pushy parents can be extremely supportive, and those "spoilt students" can be lots of fun, both in and out of the classroom If you value interpersonal relationships, travelopportunities, etc, SA is a great place to be.

Colombo Britanico and Bolivar are the best two schools in Cali from a package point of view.

The Brits I worked with really struggled with culture issues in the school - CCB. They loved the laid back atmosphere of the place but couldn't cope with the laid back attitude of the school administration.

mtncelt has it quite right about South America, its not for everybody.

Carol Morgan has its own thread on Forum 1.

I started my Int'l career at Bolivar in Cali, Colombia. It was a fantastic experience. The financial package is good for Colombia, but does not match the big schools in South America. Still, I had money for travel and saw lots of the continent. Cali is fun city and the people are truly warm and welcoming. Climate is perfect.

Nobody has really posted what would be considered a good salary for Central or South America. Can anyone give any ballpark figures for what is considered good and bad for International Schools there?

U$21,000 tax free was sufficient in Bogotá, Colombia. This is based on everything else being covered by the school...housing, water, electricity, etc. Yes, there were schools in the city that paid better, but I survived (ate out at posh places whenever I wanted, travelled extensively domestically and internationally, shopped, etc.) I still walked away with savings.

What can you tell me about American Institute of Monterrey? I would love to hear from people that have taught here or know of others who have taught here.

I taught at the Uruguayan American School in Montevideo. It's a good school. Small, very international, with students from everywhere. The package was only so-so (this was a number of years ago), but the teaching experience was very good.

In response to question about American Institute of Monterrey...I taught in Bolivia with someone who had taught there (AIMonterrey) back in the 2002-2005, I think. They had positive things to say. My current principal had a sister school at one of the IB schools in Monterrey when she was a principal in Dallas a few years ago...she said Monterrey Internat'l schools were excellent- very mod and best practice. I don't know if things have changed now with the recent drug violence, though. You might check out the school reviews in the ISR school reviews site to see what people are saying there about Monterrey. Hope this helps!

Good luck!
Steph
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