I’ve just completed adding the 300th school to The International Teacher e-book. In addition to the 300 school reviews, there are 16 articles about international recruitment organizations and tips for finding an international teaching position. While this website has about 190 school reviews, you can find an additional 110 in the book, as well as the tips for job searches. Take a look at my new video to see how you can use The International Teacher in your job search.
Monthly archives for February, 2012
The International Teacher e-book reaches 300 reviews
The British International School Kuala Lumpur
The British International School Kuala Lumpur is a private, co-educational day school for students from the ages of 2 through 17. The school is a member of the British Schools Group.
image: Erin Silversmith
The British School moved to a new purpose-built facility in September 2011. It is located in a suburb northeast of Kuala Lumpur and just a 25-minute drive from the Central Business District. Facilities include modern, well-equipped classrooms, a gym, a pool, science and IT labs, a theatre and music centre, football pitches, a library, and specialist rooms for language and music. A new Secondary Campus is in the works and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
Curriculum
The British School uses an adapted form of the English National Curriculum to meet the needs of its international student population. The school is organized into three departments: Early Years (this includes Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Reception), Primary (Years 1-6), and Secondary (Years 7-13). Primary School students often engage in cross-curricular study that is topic based – similar to the PYP approach. Students take the Standardized Assessment Tests or the National Curriculum Tests in English, Mathematics and Science at the end of Year 9.
Extracurricular Activities
After School Activities (ASA) are required for all students who generally take two clubs per term. Among the activities offered are football, dance, drama, arts and crafts, board games, computer, tennis, golf, badminton, community service and more.
Technology
IT is integrated throughout the curriculum, and students have ICT classes as an independent subject as well. All classrooms have interactive whiteboards with internet connections.
Professional Development
While the school does mention that it has a PD program, it doesn’t give the specifics anywhere on the website.
Employment
The minimum requirements for teaching candidates for the British School are a university degree, a teaching diploma and experience in other British schools. The school website says that the package is outstanding, but doesn’t tell how outstanding the salaries are. It does mention a few of the benefits if you sort around through the job descriptions. These are relocation allowance, scholarships for children, housing, annual flights home, medical insurance and an optional pension plan. Job openings are listed online with specific details for each position. Interested candidates can send their resume and a cover letter to hr@britishschool.edu.my.
Tanglin Trust School – Singapore
During my career as an international teacher, I spent most of my time working in mining schools with limited school facilities. Looking at schools like Tanglin Trust School, I wish that I had had a few years teaching in one of these well-resourced schools. The Tanglin Trust School is a private, co-educational day school founded in 1925 that provides educational services for students from the ages of 3 to 18. Tanglin Trust School is an IB World School with authorization to use the IB Diploma Programme. There are over 2,650 students at Tanglin Trust School; about 70% of the student population have at least one parent with a British passport. Maximum class size is 24.
image: jeCCo
The school mission is to provide a British-based international education that values students as individuals and promotes responsibility, enthusiasm and integrity with the goal of developing in TTS students a love of learning and a desire to become responsible global citizens
Facilities
The school campus is centrally located in Singapore and has indivual buildings for the three divisions of students: Infant, Junior and Senior. TTS also has a newly-built Six Form Centre that is part of the Senior School. Among the many impressive facilities are: a six-storey Sports and Performing Arts Complex, 4 libraries, multi-purpose rooms, music rooms, drama studios, ICT suites, science labs, health centres, food service areas, a 25-meter pool, playgrounds, tennis courts, playing fields, playgrounds and much more.
Curriculum
Tanglin Trust School uses a curriculum based on the National Curriculum of England that is adapted for use in an international school. The curriculum is organized into Key Stages. Students at the end of Key Stage 4 get the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE); students at the end of Key Stage 5 end up with the A-Levels or the IB Diploma. The school seems to have a strong arts program based on the space it has on the school website. So, if you are a teacher in the arts, this may be a great school for you. I found it interesting to read that the school does random drug tests on students in the Senior School. This isn’t really related to curriculum, but it does give one something to think about.
Extracurricular Activities
Tanglin Trust School has a full range of what they call co-curricular activities (CCAs). These include chess, newsletter production, cooking, arts and crafts, rugby, basketball, rock climbing, gamelan, orchestra, netball, rock band, jazz band drama, community projects and much more. The school has a competitive athletic program for Junior and Senior students. Sports include football, T.Ball, swimming, badminton, basketball, tennis, cricket, netball, and more.
Technology
There is almost nothing on the generally excellent school website about their technology program.
Professional Development
The school’s PD program is called Continuous Professional Development. PD activities include job-a-like workshops, on-site activities, working with other schools, conferences, courses given by the IB and the Institute of Education, peer observation and online learning.
Employment
The school has 185 teachers. There is a staff reflections page which I always find interesting (on the rare websites that have them) because you get a chance to see what a few teachers will pick as the highlights of their teaching and living experience in a school. For instance, one of the teachers on the TTS site, mentions the excellent opportunities for professional development and for an outstanding lifestyle. That right there, makes me interested in working at this school. More schools should have teacher reflection sections.
That being said, there is no information on salaries and benefits, and the information on teaching candidate qualifications is extremely thin. These should be improved. What I did glean from the site is that teachers must have at least two years’ experience using the British curriculum. Specific requirements for individual positions are listed on the school website. Interested teachers should send the school a letter of application that rives evidence of recent experience along with a CV, a passport-sized photo and contact details for three professional referees. These can be send to the school at tanglin@kingpartnership.co.uk. Job openings are listed online.
International School of Krakow
The International School of Krakow is an independent, not-for-profit, co-educational day school for students from Preschool through Grade 12. ISK was founded in 1994 and is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The school has over 170 students that represent 27 nationalities.
Mission
The school is committed to offering students an education that provides for excellence in the areas of intellectual and personal development.
image: Yaros
The campus is located in a green area on the outskirts of Krakow. ISK recently opened a new building for the Preschool in order to keep up with their expanding student population; the school also completed an indoor sports field house. Among the facilities are playgrounds, and Early Elementary Wing, a library with over 10,000 volumes, a computer lab, a dining hall, a Fine Arts room, a science lab, a medical office, a student center, sporting fields, and a Junior and Senior Common Area.
Curriculum
The Elementary School uses the International Primary Curriculum. The Middle School curriculum is based on US standards from the state of Virginia adapted for use in Poland with a international student population. ISK also uses standards from America Education Reaches Out, the province of British Columbia, and the national curricula from Poland, France and Germany. The High School uses standards based on the state of Virginia’s Standards of Learning. Advanced Placement courses are offered for high school students. ISK offers six foreign languages and also has an ESL program for non-native speakers who are in the process of learning English. The school website has a special page for their Fine Arts Department – good to know if you’re an art teacher.
Extracurricular Activities
The school offers a variety of activities including swimming, karate, basketball, astronomy club, ballet, cultural arts, arts and crafts, tennis, speech and debate, homework help and more.
Technology
ISK has a computer lab with a dozen desktop IBM computers with 21-inch monitors. IT is taught as a separate class and it is integrated throughout the curriculum as well.
Professional Development
No information is available online.
Employment
Teachers must have a Bachelor’s Degree and teaching certification. No other information is available on the school website. Job openings are online. Interested candidates should send a letter of interest, a CV, a copy of their teaching certification and contact information for three referees to director@iskonline.org.
About Krakow
Krakow is the second largest city in Poland with a population of around 1.4 million. The city can make claim to having existed since the Stone Age. Krakow is located in southern Poland and has an Oceanic climate. The city of the city that includes the Old Town district is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Krakow is a center of culture and education with over 10 universities and academies, 28 museums and several theatres and the Opera Krakowska. Among the museums are the National Museum, the Czartoryski Museum and the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology. The city has an active nightlife with many restaurants, bars, clubs and cafes.
Changsha WES Academy
Changsha WES Academy is a new private, co-educational, day school located in Hunan Province, China. It currently provides educational services for students from Early Years through Grade 5 with plans to expand up through Grade 12 in the future. CWA is managed by China-Singapore SIP International Education Services. This may be an interesting place to work for teachers who want to help build a school in its earliest days.
Mission
The school mission is to develop an active and welcoming school community where students are challenged academically and personally, and where they develop compassion and a spirit of innovation.
image: Shizhao
CWA moved to a very attractive new 27,000 square meter campus in Xingsha in February 2011. Facilities include purpose-built classrooms, art rooms, a broadcasting studio, play areas, computer labs, a dining room, library/media centres, music rooms, sports field, sports hall, science labs, a theatre and a teaching kitchen.
Curriculum
CWA’s curriculum follows inquiry-based, transdisciplinary units of study with the core elements of concepts, knowledge, skills, attitudes and action. The curriculum emphasizes connections to real life situation, decision making, problem solving and research. In other words, sounds a lot like the PYP.
Extracurricular Activities
The school is developing their extracurricular program and note that some of the possible activities will be Japanese, French, Chinese Opera appreciation, chess, sports, media club, baking and cooking, arts and crafts, math club, science club, community service and more.
Technology
CWA has computer labs. Interesting that they don’t put any emphasis on their technology program like many of the new schools do these days.
Professional Development
The school has seven to ten professional development days per year.
Employment
This school has only 20 students according to their website, but my guess is that of this writing, there are probably more as the school website says that they are the only English-medium international school in Hunan.
CWA is looking for teachers who are flexible, determined, patient, skilled in using ICT as an educational tool, willing to sponsor after school activities and able to improvise in the unique situation of starting a new school. Teaching candidates must have a minimum of two years experience in an international school, be certified, be computer literate, have PYP or inquiry-based teaching experience, be committed to the school mission, be willing to be ambassadors of the school and have experience with differentiated teaching techniques.
Teachers can expect to put in a lot of work here. CWA has 185 contact days along with 7-10 professional development days and up to 32 teaching periods a week. Plus, supervisory duties, after school activities and meetings.
Job openings are listed online. Teachers who are interested in working at CWA can complete an application that is available online and send it to the school along with a letter of application and a CV.
The salary range is not listed on the school website, but it says that the salaries are competitive and paid in Renminbi. Benefits included visa processing, a re-signing bonus, free tuition for dependents, medical insurance, “position of responsibility” allowances, a furnished apartment with broadband internet, an annual travel allowance, and shipping.
About Changsha
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province and has a population of around seven million. It is situated on the Xiang River and has a humid subtropical climate with average temperatures running from 17 degrees Celsius in January to 29 degrees Celsius in July. Changsha has four real seasons with hot wet summers and relatively dry winters.
Changsha has a small expat population and in comparison to cities like Shanghai or Beijing, bars, restaurants and social activities that cater to foreigners are limited. However, there are international supermarkets like Carrefour, Metro and Walmart, and the usual Western chains are here like McDonalds, KFC and Starbucks.
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