Around the world, there are cities (like Jakarta) that have a bustling international school scene. Many times there is an American school, a British School, and an international school that uses an international curriculum.
The big question always is…how do the comments about each school compare to each other? This feature of the ISC website helps international teachers discover those best kept secrets amongst international schools.
This blog series looks at comparing some of these comments, all coming from international schools in the same city.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Currently, we have 32 schools listed in Jakarta on International School Community.
19 of these schools have had comments submitted on them:
Australian International School (Indonesia) (39 Total Comments)
Beacon Academy (Indonesia) (32 Total Comments)
British School Jakarta (73 Total Comments)
Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School (203 Total Comments)
Global Jaya School (94 Total Comments)
Jakarta Intercultural School (86 Total Comments)
North Jakarta Intercultural School (118 Total Comments)
Sekolah Victory Plus (143 Total Comments)
Professional development allowance details.
“PD opportunities exist which is taken care of by the school…” – Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School
“In-house PD done consistently. IB PD is based on needs and staff should take turn to get it…” – Global Jaya School
“Great PD opportunities as long as they align with the school’s destiny plan…” – Jakarta Intercultural School
“Everyone has gone through a ton of IB trainings over the last few years. There are some outside opportunities as well that Coordinators pass around and encourage people to attend…” – North Jakarta Intercultural School
School Campus
“SVP also has a brand new multipurpose gym but has not yet fitted the gym with equipment. Currently, the dance clubs and yoga clubs are enjoying using the new facility…” – Sekolah Victory Plus
“The Kemang campus is very green and small; great for the kids to get around…” – Australian International School (Indonesia)
“The new campus is purpose-built. The campus is 2.3 hectares. It is in the inner-city of North Jakarta. The neighborhood is a shopping and business district…” – Beacon Academy (Indonesia)
“Located in Bintaro, 7km southwest of Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, on a spacious, 18-hectare estate. There are dedicated areas for Primary, Secondary, and specialist studies, such as Languages and Performing Arts. The theatre complex includes two stages, a dance studio, and rehearsal and make-up rooms. BSJ is also one of the best-resourced schools in Asia for sports. There are five tennis courts; extensive grass and artificial playing fields; covered areas for games; and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The Sports Centre contains courts for basketball, volleyball, and badminton; a gym and weights room; and a dance studio…” – British School Jakarta
What types of budgets do classroom teachers/departments get?
“Very large budgets for faculties on the whole. School is looking at budgets coming out of covid and trying to ensure value for money. This will likely mean some budgets are decreased to the ‘right’ amount…” – British School Jakarta
“Budgets are within norms for classes and dept. of this size of an I international school…” – Australian International School (Indonesia)
“Each teacher gets 2mio rupiah to use how they want for their classrooms. Other, bigger purchases require approval…” – North Jakarta Intercultural School
“There is a huge budget for parties though not related to academics. No such budget is available for class teachers or heads…” – Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School
Explain how salaries are decided (e.g. is there a pay schedule? extra step for master’s degree? Annual pay raises? Bonuses?).
“Gratuity at the end of the contract. 2 months for a 2-year contract / 4 months for a 3-year contract. There is a pay step, there are annual rises, but you will not get it in writing as it is sensitive information…” – Global Jaya School
“No performance bonus. No annual pay rise. No transparent salary structure exists…” – Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School
“There is a transparent salary schedule for all employees…” – Jakarta Intercultural School
“There is a salary scale, though the school owners, like many Indonesian companies, insist that it is kept top secret. An extra step for a Master’s degree…” – Sekolah Victory Plus
Average class size for primary and secondary. Describe any aide support.
“In the senior school (yrs 9+) the numbers are in the late teens. Some subject areas have very small classes…” – Beacon Academy (Indonesia)
“In primary and secondary, class sizes are normally around 20…” – Australian International School (Indonesia)
“24 max in the secondary school with lower class sizes in many subjects and lower class sizes for DP where the aim is 12 or fewer at HL and 16 or fewer at SL…” – British School Jakarta
“Many students exit. Less numbers now in each class. The class size is between 10 – 24. If the number of students in a class exceeds 24, the class will split into two classes…” – Global Jaya School
(These are just 5 of the 66 different comments topics that are on each school profile page on our website.)
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