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Hiring Policies at Int’l Schools

Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community #6: Saigon South Int’l School, Amer. School of the Hague & Changchun Amer. Int’l School

September 12, 2012

Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community:

Every week members are leaving information and comments about the hiring policies at international schools around the world.  Which ones go to the Search Associates Recruitment Fairs?  Which ones hold interviews over Skype?  Which ones have hiring restrictions imposed on them by the host country?  All important questions to think about when job searching, but where to find the answers to those questions?

Sometimes it is hard to keep track of which international schools go to which recruitment fairs and which interview style and tactic each international school employs.  At International School Community, we want to make the search for information about hiring policies easier for international school teachers. In the school section of each international school profile page on our website, there is a section specific to the school’s hiring policies.  The topic is: “Describe their hiring policies. Which recruiting fairs do they go to? How do they typically hire (e.g. face-to-face interview, Skype, etc.)? Are there any hiring restrictions mandated by the country?”

Here are 3 out of the numerous comments and information related to the hiring policies of international schools that have been posted on our website:

Saigon South International School (18 Comments)

Comment about their hiring policies: “It is varied how this school hires. They hire via the job fairs, online websites, school websites, and word of mouth is big. There is an age restriction (?) and if you are HIV positive.”

American School of the Hague (15 Comments)

Comment about their hiring policies: “I interviewed with them back in 2011 at the Search fair in Boston. I met with Richard. He was really approachable and personable. I quite enjoyed chatted with him. We knew some people in common as well, so that helped to make more connections in our conversations. The timing wasn’t right though for me to get the position vacancy…too bad. Age limit for hiring is 65 years old as retiring at 65 is mandatory.”

Changchun American International School (1 Comment)

Comment about their hiring policies: “There is an age limit for hiring and it is 60 years old. Interviews are via Skype mostly. Candidates should have at least a BA and a teaching qualification. Ideally you would have at least 2 years of int\’l school teaching experience. The school does prefer teachers that are already in Asia or have had teaching experience in Asia. They do like to hire teaching couples as well.”

Check out the more than 200 comments and information about the hiring policies of numerous international schools at www.internationalschoolcommunity.com.

Top 10 Lists

Retirement: Nine International Schools With Excellent Pension Plans

July 30, 2016

It’s never to early to think about your retirement plan. As many of you know, we have a wealth of information on the International School Community website.  There are now over 17500 reviews and comments submitted on over 900+ international school across the globe. We’re certain to reach 20000 by the end of this year! A number of schools have reached the 100 comments milestone (with a few even going over 200 comments!).  Check out this blog article regarding the most-commented schools on our website from July 2016.

A number of our members are curious about their future, especially if their future is to become a “seasoned international school teacher“.  Part of our future is planning for retirement. Many of us have unfortunately stopped contributing to the retirement plans we were paying into before we moved abroad.

In turn, we now are hoping that international schools will help us do the saving. But not all international schools are a great help in this area; the truth is that some have non-existent retirement plan options for their teachers.

There are a few though that are leading the way in terms of helping you save something for when retire. Using our unique Comment Search feature (premium membership access only), we found 203 comments that have the keyword “retirement”.  After scouring through these comments, we would like to share nine of them that highlight some schools that appear to have some excellent retirement benefits.

1. Seoul Foreign School (Seoul, South Korea)
“SFS is a treasure amongst international schools. It is not spoken of as much as other “top” Asian international schools–this is what keeps it special. This school has allowed me to grow professionally and in my faith, has set me up with a hefty retirement for my future and plush savings for the present. The amount of on site training, college certificates, and international conferences I have been allotted to participate in haa been fully funded by the school. The package retains teachers and the demand of hard work keeps the professional teachers here for the long haul. It is a living, learning, and growing community with lots of busyness and potential to never become stagnate.”

2. American School Foundation of Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico)
“There are 2 things:
1. Mexico has a “social security” plan and you pay into that so you pay in for your years, leave, and you can come back when you are 65 to collect.
2. The school has a 13% matching program that you can collect 1 or 2 times a year based on your choosing. This is the retirement plan but it is up to you to do move the money somewhere.”

3. International School of Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
“We get paid monthly but receive July’s salary in June also. Salary is paid in RM with up to 40% at a fixed USD rate. Tax is around 21-23 % depending on salary. Average for 8 yrs experience (max entry point) and an advanced degree would be appx 5000 USD after tax and deductions (this includes travel and housing allowance) Additionally 11% is previously deducted for retirement fund with an extra 17% added by the employer. On same criteria this would be 1500 USD per month into a retirement plan.”

4. American School in Japan (Tokyo, Japan)
“The school provides a retirement plan and contributes 5.27% of base salary in each of the first two years, 11.57% in year three, and increasing each year up to a maximum of 16.82%. The school does not participate in US or Japanese social security. The retirement age at ASIJ is 65 years old.”

5. Escola Americana do Campinas (Campinas, Brazil)
“Retirement plan is 8% school contribution a month. School pays 8% of salary to local savings plan for employee.”

6. United Nations International School (Vietnam) (Hanoi, Vietnam)
“In lieu of a school-established retirement plan, the school currently reserves an annual salary supplement of fifteen percent (15%) of the annual base salary and disburses the total amount of this annual salary supplement to the expatriate professional staff member upon termination of employment with UNIS. Alternatively, this supplement may be paid to the employee on an annual basis.”

7. Hong Kong Academy (Hong Kong)
“With a reasonable mix of some travel and eating out it is possible for a single teacher to comfortably save anywhere from 8,000-12,000 US$ per year not including the 10% +10% of base salary matching retirement plan.”

8. American School of the Hague (The Hague, The Netherlands)
“The school offers a retirement plan which is open to all employees on a voluntary basis. ASH offers two different plans: Nationale Nederlanden (pre-tax) and ECIS. ASH contributes 8% of the pensionable salary to the plan. Participation in the ECIS scheme on a pre-tax basis is only possible if one has vested and contributed regularly at another school before coming to the Netherlands. The teacher may make additional pre-tax pension contributions based on his/her age, ranging between 0.2% and 26% of the pensionable salary for employees. The pensionable salary is the gross annual salary minus about € 12,500 (on a full-time basis).”

9. Seoul International School (Seoul, South Korea)
“I have 14 years experience and my Masters. I earn about $1,500 per month in Won (about $400 of that is taken out of my paycheck for a retirement plan which is matched by school which I have access to at the end of the school year), and then another $2,000 in US dollars which is sent to my US account every month. I pay no taxes. The school takes care of it. I am paid 12 times a year although we get the summer pay all at once, in May.”

It’s never too early to think about retirement.

Of course there are many more schools that have attractive retirement plans for their teachers, but the nine schools we’ve highlighted here sure do seem nice! It all depends on what stage you are at in your career and how old you are, regarding how attractive a retirement plan would be to you. But we suppose that any retirement plan option is better then none at all!

Please share what you know about the retirement plans of the international schools you’ve worked at. Login to our website today and submit some comments here!

12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School

Selecting an international school: Tip #10 – Does the school facilitate learning about the host country?

May 9, 2013

What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons for why teachers choose to work at an international school abroad as well?  There are many different kinds of international schools and they are all in different situations.  How important is finding out about how well the international school deals with disciplinary problems?  It could be beneficial to ask these types of questions at your interview, before you make any big decisions to move or choose an international school at which to work.  So, how do you choose the right international school for your children to attend or for you to work at?  In this blog series, we will discuss the Tips for Selecting an International School.

Tip #10 – Does the school facilitate learning about the host country?  (This may seem obvious, but some international schools make inadequate efforts in this area.)

One of the exciting reasons to work at international schools is to live, work and learn about a different culture and region. Many international schools strive to embed the local culture into the academic curriculum, extra-curricular activities and overall vision/mission of the school. The benefits of doing so are enormous. It helps to create open-mindedness, a sense of belonging to a community, create local partnerships, inspire community action and outreach projects, and promote understanding of language and local customs. However, this does not happen by accident and a school must make a conscious decision to design this all areas of the school; starting with the vision, mission and core values of the school.

Assessing how much value an international school puts into its local culture can start with looking at the school’s mission, vision and core values. For example, the International School of the Hague’s mission statement states part of its mission is “to make an active contribution to global, international and local communities” while “interacting with global, international and local communities through the exchange of resources and knowledge.” Another international school in Indonesia, Sinarmas World Academy, has their mission to “engage, act, thrive” by engaging in service to solve local, Asian and global issues. So why does this matter? All school-wide goals, projects and action items must be aligned with an overall school’s mission, vision and values. Therefore, if you have an interest in engaging in the local culture, this is a good place to start your research.

The second place to start is within the formal curriculum. Does the school offer authentic ways to engage and connect with the local community within a unit of study? Some international accreditation bodies have it as part of their framework. For example, the IBO (international baccalaureate organization) has a strong action and community service component of the PYP, MYP and DP programs. The DP program has a creativity action service (CAS) program where students use local issues to take up action projects. Both the MYP and PYP have strong action components as well that are integrates into units of inquiry and cross-curricular units. This often leads to relevant and meaningful action projects where students get to learn about and help solve local issues. Often schools have CAS coordinators that help to coordinate these projects across the school. These projects do not just happen outside of school walls, but can happen inside school. For instance, local schools are often invited into the school for a mutual learning experiences tied to a unit of study.

Photo: An example of authentic learning in action. A Grade 3 student working with students from a local school using iPads to take photos for an art activity.

Another area to integrate with the local community is through extra-curricular activities, conferences, special events and sporting programs. An important question to ask your prospective school is what types of extra-curricular activities do they offer with the local community? Do they offer local conferences for teachers or parents? Do they offer sports tournaments with local teams? Do they offer cultural events celebrating local traditions or customs? These are often questions that are way down the list but contribute to the overall school culture and climate. They provide unique opportunities for students and staff to learn and develop friendships with local members of the community. For example, in some international schools in Asia, they celebrate Chinese New Year and often invite local performers, artisans and experts to offer musical, arts, culinary activities for students to engage with. This can really enrich the informal areas of the curriculum that can have long lasting effects.

The opportunity to learn another language is another popular reason for choosing to work at an international school. The ability to converse in another language opens doors for our future learners as well as professionals. Thus, a critical question to ask is what languages are offered at the school and what language levels? Do they offer language instruction in the local language, either in the formal curriculum or as an after-school activity? Do they offer language lessons for staff? Often being able to speak even a few words of the local language goes a long way and is often appreciated by locals.

Interacting and learning from local cultures provides a tremendous opportunity for rich learning experiences for students, teachers and parents. I believe this is one reason why we travel and live overseas. Often, this is an area that is forgotten in job interviews but remains an important consideration when choosing an international school in the future.

This article was submitted by guest author and International School Community member: Mark Marshall
__________________________________________________________________________

Have a specific international school in mind that you thinking of applying at? Check out our “Where our Members have worked” page and start contacting some of our members that know about the international school you are interested in knowing more about. Our 2400+ members currently work at (or have worked at in the past) 430 different international schools.  Feel free to send them a private message about how much their international school facilitates learning about the host country.

Hiring Policies at Int’l Schools

Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community #7: Int’l School of KL, Escola Internacional de Alphaville & Guangdong Country Garden School

December 10, 2012

Comments and information about hiring policies on International School Community:

Every week members are leaving information and comments about the hiring policies at international schools around the world.  Which ones go to the Search Associates Recruitment Fairs?  Which ones hold interviews over Skype?  Which ones have hiring restrictions imposed on them by the host country?  All important questions to think about when job searching, but where to find the answers to those questions?

Sometimes it is hard to keep track of which international schools go to which recruitment fairs and which interview style and tactic each international school employs.  At International School Community, we want to make the search for information about hiring policies easier for international school teachers. In the school section of each international school profile page on our website, there is a section specific to the school’s hiring policies.  The topic is: “Describe their hiring policies. Which recruiting fairs do they go to? How do they typically hire (e.g. face-to-face interview, Skype, etc.)? Are there any hiring restrictions mandated by the country?”

Here are 3 out of the numerous comments and information related to the hiring policies of international schools that have been posted on our website:

International School of Kuala Lumpur (65 Total Comments)

Comment about their hiring policies: “You cannot be hired into Malaysia over the age of 60, though once hired, you can continue to work. The school attends a range of fairs, but also conducts Skype interviews. They are thorough in recruitment practices.”

Escola Internacional de Alphaville (13 Total Comments)

Comment about their hiring policies: “Online Skype interviews are held with interested candidates. Selected candidates will start tenure with the school from January 15th. You need to be a native speaker of English with a teaching background with a minimum of one year’s experience to be eligible for a Brazilian work visa.”

Guangdong Country Garden School (17 Total Comments)

Comment about their hiring policies: “Candidates need to send a cover letter expressing why they are interested in the position they are applying for. You should apply to this email address: bgyheather@126.com. They look for native speakers of English and must at least have a BA degree in the related field. Interviews are by phone or in person.”

Check out the more than 515 comments and information that have been submitted about the hiring policies on numerous international school profiles at www.internationalschoolcommunity.com.

Great Resource

Want to work at an international school in the Netherlands? – Tips for Expats in Holland

February 14, 2012

Life in Holland does indeed sound nice.  Riding your bike to work and watching the canals as you dart in and out of the streets of Amsterdam could be something very easy to get used to every morning.  The Insego website has highlighted some excellent tips that international teachers and their families could find very beneficial.  I wish there would be a resource like this on every country in the world!

We have highlighted some of the tips’ categories:

10 Tips for Unemployed Expats
“Whether you are an expat’s wife or you came here because you fell in love or you just moved to a foreign country looking for new opportunities, whatever the reason, you may find yourself without a job. Well, I’ve been there. Without a job I lost my professional identity and I didn’t like this feeling at all…”

Media for Expats in Holland
“One of the most popular discussions on Insego is finding out the cultural faux pas in The Netherlands. Faux pas is a French term which literally means “misstep”. But for most of us, it means defiance from accepted customs and traditions. Faux pas varies from different cultures. Some behavior might be acknowledged in one culture while it is a no-no for another.

Here are the collected comments from our members on what they think are the cultural faux pas in Netherlands…”

What are the most common issues faced by expatriates?
“Transferring to another country whether for work, personal expedition or reasons of the heart can be tough and challenging. Aside from difficulty in adjusting to the new environment and culture, we also struggle with homesickness, making new friends and for some, finding a job and raising kids. Being an expat is a tough call. See what your fellow expats struggle with and may their experiences act as your inspiration and encouragement that you are not alone. You share the same experiences with many other expats in the world, so don’t be totally dismayed…”

What are some cultural faux pas in The Netherlands?

• Dutch News– Quality English-language news about the Netherlands.
• Dutch Daily News – Covers, analyzes, comments on and defines the news, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion and personalities that drive the Netherlands.
• Expatica.com- The biggest online English news and information provider for the international community in 11 European countries. It’s mission is to help Expats settle into their new country of residence. The content Expatica supplies covers various aspects of expat life, including relocation, culture, education, tax, immigration and local events.
• IamExpat– Online media platform that covers the local needs of the expatriate population, plenty of practical information.

• InterNations – Netherlands Expats Community, membership is invitation-only. Let us know if you want to join it, we will send the invitation.
• RNW- Radio Netherlands Worldwide. daily news in English as well as daily Dutch press reviews, opinion articles and links to the radio programs
• The Holland Times– News magazine covering Dutch current events and perspectives in the Netherlands.
• The Hague Online News for expat communities in The Hague region, including reviews and regular listings of cultural and leisure events.
• Xpat.nl -Publisher of famous Holland Handbook and Xpat Journal.

Amsterdam, Holland

Currently there are 9 international schools listed in the Netherlands on International School Community. They are:

Rotterdam International Secondary School
American International School of Rotterdam
American School of the Hague
International School of the Hague
The British School of the Netherlands
British School of Amsterdam
International School Amsterdam
Amsterdam International Community School
International Secondary School Eindhoven

Check out their school profile pages on internationalschoolcommunity.com by clicking on the links above.  If you currently work at one of these schools or have worked at one in the past, share what you know by leaving some new comments and information on your school’s profile page today!  Out of our 281 members (since 14 Feb. 2012) we have one member that has listed that they work at or have worked at an international school in the Netherlands.

ISCommunity Newsletters

International School Community Newsletter v2012.02 – 04 February, 2012

February 4, 2012

Recently updated schools:

Recently added schools:

Requested schools to have members leave comments on:

• Kinabalu International School
  (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia)
• Lincoln
  (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
• American School Valencia
  (Valencia, Spain)
• International School of Havana
  (Havana, Cuba)
• Canadian International School Beijing
  (Beijing, China)

This last month we have had visits from 89 countries around the world!

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Site Stats: Current members: 258 ( 34) School profiles: 1088 ( 32) Blog entries: 205 ( 26) Posted comments & info: 2689 ( 542) Twitter followers: 266 ( 29) BIG improvements: Recently, we have made some changes on our school profile pages. One of the most important sections on this page is where members can read and submit comments and information.  In turn, our comments and information section has been revamped.  Now the four comment categories (School Information, Benefits Information, City Information and Travel Information) are on tabs. This change was made so that members could go from one section to the other much easier and faster. The City and Travel Information sections have also changed.  Now they been linked up with other school profile pages that share they same city.  For example, if a members has left comments and information in the City Information section on an international school in Shanghai, those submitted comments will now show up on all the other international schools in Shanghai listed on our website!  Now it will be much easier to access information about the city and travel information on international school profile pages that share the same city! Another improvement made has been with how our members view, write, submit, and then edit or delete their submitted comments on each school profile page.  For each topic in the four comment sections members will now be able to only view the last 3-4 comments submitted and the dates they were submitted. Then to read all the comments that have actually been submitted, members can now click on the “Show more” link.  In a pop-up screen members will be able to read every submitted comment and information (in full) for that section’s topic.  Members can also submit a new comment on this pop-up screen at the bottom. From this pop-up screen members are now able to edit or delete one of their previously submitted comments.  Only the member that has submitted the comment will see the “Edit” and “Delete” buttons; other members are not able to edit or delete other member’s comments. Check out pictures of the improvements and other details here! New members: · Kim Leus (American School of Barcelona) · Julie Bowen (Santiago College) · Ceri Thorns (Systems Little House) · Jeff Shaw (International School of the Hague) · Diamond Ndiamond (Abraham Lincoln School) · Paul Grundy (Taipei European School) Current Survey Topic: Vote here! Member spotlight: Annette Harvey “Shanghai Rego International School: great colleagues who have become friends. Again some wonderful, supportive parents and amazing children. Champagne brunches. My tailor who…” Check out the rest of her interview on our blog here.  If you’d like to be one of our next member spotlights send us a message here.  Highlighted members will receive a coupon code for 6 free months of premium access!

Highlighted Link Teachers International Consultancy (TIC)“Have you ever wanted to teach internationally but struggled to know what school and what country would be best? Do you have questions about getting an international job? Well Teachers International Consultancy (TIC) is holding two one-hour webinars on Thursday 9th February to help teachers during their decision-making process. Both webinars will be run by Andrew Wigford, Director of TIC, who has over 20 years of international teaching experience. The first webinar focuses on finding the right international school and the right job. This will include information on the different types of international schools, their locations and the different curriculum options. Plus, there will be a question and answer session where you can ask Andrew any questions you may have. This webinar will take place at 5pm GMT on Thursday 9th February…”

Highlighted blog of an international teacher: A few photos: “Here’s a collection of photos we took the other day, on the roof of our apartment block. If you consider the size of our apartment and that there are two like that on each floor, it’ll give a real idea of the size of the space up there. There’s a few ISD families in this block, with young children; we’re figuring it’d be great to meet up for brunch on the roof during weekends…” Where shall we go?: “I know we’ve only just arrived, but it’s time to start thinking about where to go on holiday.  We’ve a week in October, a month at Christmas, and two weeks at Easter.  So many places are relatively close, so we’re spoilt for choice.  Only problem is it costs about $200 in exit taxes per person….” *If you are an international school teacher and would like your blog highlighted on International School Community contact us here.

Video Highlight

Video highlight: The British School of the Netherlands (The Hague, Netherlands)

December 2, 2011

The British School of the Netherlands

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-T2Nax-Wac&w=560&h=315]

The campus looked quite purpose-built and new.  Most likely not the same building as they originally had in 1931.

How interesting that it has the highest number of students of all international schools in Europe; using the school search feature on our website, the other top international schools in Europe only have around 1400 total students.

Did you see that huge soccer pitch? Usually, you only see such large playing fields in international schools in other regions of the world, not Europe.

Looks like all international schools like to have an international day.  It is nice when a school specifically states that they welcome EAL students and are there to support them during their schooling.

Check out their school profile page on International School Community here.

ISCommunity Newsletters

International School Community News v2011.03 – 9 July, 2011

July 9, 2011

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v2011.03 – 9 July, 2011: The summer has now officially arrived for basically all international school educators.  Some will continue their summer vacation until the end of August, but many international schools start up again at the end of July/early August.  If you are moving to a new school this year, many new teachers must start work around that same time frame or even earlier!  Take this time of relaxation (on a beach in Thailand or Mexico for example!) to fill out some information about the schools you know about on International School Community.  So far, our current members represent more than 45 different international schools! Site Stats: Current members: 86 School profiles: 831 Surveys: 4 Blog entries: 68 Posted comments: 461 Member spotlight: Katie Jervis: “Originally, I was only going to go for a year in an attempt to save enough money to pay for teachers college…” *If you’d like to be one of our next member spotlights send us a message here.  Highlighted members will receive a coupon code for 6 free months of premium access! New members: Tasha Fletcher Chris Ma Floralisa Badescu Helen Temple Nexus International School Putrajaya New Survey Topic: Vote here! Website updates: Many updates are planned for later this July!  Stay tuned for updated school and member profile pages and the blog format.

Highlighted Link http://peacequilt.wordpress.com/ is a blog. This project began as an idea back in September 2008, the idea being to unite schools all around the world, in some way, potentially as a celebration of the London Olympics, 2012.  The people involved asked themselves to think of an idea of uniting schools all over the World. Many international schools have become involved already. A teacher who is inspired can inspire students and other teachers!

FAQ: What do you mean by “kinds of student” in the school search function? For many international schools the kinds of student there can be very important to know for certain teachers who prefer a certain type of students population.  “Mostly int’l” means that the majority of the student population is from other countries in the world, even if the majority of the population is from one specific country that is not the host country.  “Half int’l/half local” signifies that around 50% of the student population is from the host country.  “Mostly local” means that the majority of the student population is from the host country. Incentive program for free premium membership: Now when you submit comments on the school profile pages, you can earn a coupon code to receive up to 1 year free of premium membership access!  Putting-in 15-29 comments gets you 6 months free. Submitting over 30 or more comments will get you 1 YEAR FREE!  Please remember that the comments you submit on the school profile pages are anonymous, but we can keep track of which members write how many comments in our system.  Once we see you have submitted your comments, we will send you an email with a special coupon code to extend your current premium membership. Recent blog entries: · International schools that were founded in 1996 (China, South Korea, Moldova, etc.) “Busan Foreign School opened its doors to the Busan community and its surrounding areas in October of 1996. With only two students originally, it has….” · Which international schools do International School Community’s current members represent? “At International School Community, networking and gathering information is very easy.  Get answers about schools that you are…” · Do you want to teach in one of the most expensive cities in the world? “I was just talking with an international school teacher friend of mine who is part of a teaching couple with 3 children.  They are looking for…” · TEN COMMANDMENTS OF RELOCATING OVERSEAS: #1 – Learn as much as possible about… “1. Learn as much as possible about the host country in order to have realistic expectations.  How much can you learn about a host country before…” · To touch your produce or to not touch your produce: that is the question! “I don’t know about you, but I prefer to touch my fruit before I buy it….” Recently updated schools: · American School of the Hague (5 new comments) (The Hague, Netherlands) “Take home pay examples: single teacher BA step 10 = 3488 EUR, single teacher…” · Cairo British School (31 new comments) (Cairo, Egypt) “The school building is very small, no sporting facilities, the students have to go by…” · Pechersk School International (11 new comments) (Kyiv, Ukraine) “Travel in the city is easy; taxis and mini-buses are plentiful and cheap. A single taxi fare…” · The International School of Azerbaijan (5 new comments) (Baku, Azerbaijan) “Azerbaijan has a varied climate; notably hot summers, warm autumns and…” · Qatar Academy (5 new comments) (Doha, Qatar) “I interviewed with 2 administrators at the Search fair in Boston (2011). They were very…” · American International School Bucharest (1 new comment) (Bucharest, Romania) “The interview went very well, she was willing to allow me to lead the interview by…” (Click here for the last 40 schools to be updated with new comments) Recently added schools: Le Mont High School (Lavasa) (Lavasa, India) Egyptian British International School (New Cairo City, Egypt) Bina Bangsa School (Jakarta, Indonesia) The Gulf English School, Doha (Doha, Qatar) Cairo British School (Cairo, Egypt) Requested schools to be reviewed: International School of Indiana (Indianapolis, Indiana) International School of Johor (Johor, Malaysia) Nexus International School (Purtrajaya, Malaysia) Egyptian British International School (New Cairo City, Egypt) The Gulf English School, Doha (Doha, Qatar) This last month we have had visits from 51 countries around the world!

Categories: IS Community Newsletter Tags: comments, international educators, international school, international school community, International teaching, members, review

Comment Topic Highlight

Giving birth while teaching abroad: what are the maternity benefits like?

February 21, 2021

It’s true. International educators are having babies while working at international schools around the world.

But is it better to have your children back in your home country or while living abroad?

It depends maybe on what the maternity benefits are, and let’s not forget also about the paternity benefits.

Many international schools are obliged to follow the laws of their host country. Other international schools decide on their own benefits.

You are lucky (really lucky!) if your host country gives you even better benefits than your host country. It is nice to know that you are living in a country that truly values paid parental leave.

But then again, having a child in your host country often means you are having children away from your close family like your parents and your brothers and sisters. You want them to be a big part of your child’s life, and so do they. It is nice too when they are around to help out and help raise the child.

The fact is many international school teachers have babies while living abroad and have experiences that are both positive and negative. If you are planning to have children while working abroad, then it will be beneficial to do a bit of research ahead of you moving there.

Luckily, International School Community has a comment topic on our school profile pages related to this topic of maternity benefits. In this comment topic, our members can share what their experience has been working at various international schools around the world. There are a total of 170 comments (February 2021) that have been submitted by our veteran international school teachers on this specific comment topic (one out of the 66 in total) called – “Details about the maternity benefits of the host country and school.”

Here are a few of those submitted comments:

“BFS follows Korean law which allows female employees up to 90 consecutive days of maternity leave, 45 of which must be taken after childbirth. Male teachers may take up to 15 days of paid paternity leave and an additional 15 days of unpaid leave following the birth of their child…” – Busan Foreign School (Busan, South Korea) – 9 Total Comments

“From July 2020 onward there will be the possibility for partners to take six weeks of almost-fully-paid leave. If you are employed when you get pregnant you are entitled to 16 weeks of maternity leave (zwangerschapsverlof). This is true even if you’re self-employed! You are also allowed to decide when you start your leave. However, make sure you tell your employer a minimum of 2 weeks before you intend to take your maternity leave in the Netherlands! Taking your maternity leave in the Netherlands can be done at any moment from 6 weeks before the due date (34 weeks of pregnancy). However, in all cases, it is mandatory to take leave by week 36 (4 weeks before birth). Also, leaving at least 12 weeks of maternity leave after the baby is born. In special cases (eg. premature birth) the leave starts counting from the moment of birth…” – The British School in the Netherlands (The Hague, Netherlands) – 66 Comments

“Women’s maternity leave is still 12 weeks at 80% pay. As of this year, there is a 5-day paternity leave for male teachers, which can be distributed throughout the leave with permission from the division head….” – Zurich International School (Zurich, Switzerland) – 62 Total Comments

“After your first year, the school provides 3 months of paid maternity leave. Leave starts from the day of birth, or earlier if you choose. Paternity leave is 3 days, and follows the same guidelines…” – Bandung Independent School (Kota Bandung, Indonesia) – 120 Comments

“Right now, it is 10 weeks maternity leave for the female and the male getting 3 weeks paid leave. The 10-week leave can sometimes be extended without pay dependent on the discussion with HR…” – Shanghai American School (Pudong) (Shanghai, China) – 106 Comments

Discussion Topics

Teaching and living in “The World’s Happiest (And Saddest) Countries” – According to Forbes

January 4, 2012

According to this Forbes article, the top 10 happiest countries are: “Joining Norway and Australia in the top 10 are their neighbors Denmark, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand. Equally small and civilized Switzerland and the Netherlands are also up there. Rounding out the top 10 is the United States at 10th and Canada (sixth).” There are many international schools in most of these countries, offering many opportunities for international school teachers to live very “happy” lives, or so it would appear…

Imagine a beach, warm white sand, water blue and transparent, a nice cabin right by the water’s edge, maybe a nice cabana boy or girl, serving you cool drinks and then some… It’s like a picture perfect postcard, and it just might exist out there in the international school teaching world, all included, semi-secluded, your own private paradise. Happiness among happy people. Perhaps the happiest people of the world, living daily life happily.

Maybe you should scratch that, because according to the Legatum Prosperity Index of 2011 that place is so far from the description above, because that place is Norway; yes the place of cow bells, handball, snowy hills and cheese, the recipe for happiness. Or perhaps more accurate, Norway scored big in the combined ingredients that are: economy, entrepreneurship, governance, education, health, safety, personal freedom and social capital.

So the people of Norway have a good economy (this of course is thanks to a Danish minister who gladly gave away the Danish oil, but then again according to rumor he was drunk so…). They have good ideas and know how to transform them to reality, and of course cash in. They have a government freed from scandal and corruption. They’re highly educated, have good health, feel safe and feel free. They’re social and solidarity. All combined a happy people.  Who wouldn’t want to live there and work at an international school there? There are currently 9 international schools listed in Norway on International School Community.

You really can’t disagree that those ingredients listed might make you happy, if you can cross check all of them, you’re successful, rich, and smart and have enough surplus to care about other people. But defining happiness is more than just looking at the bank account or how healthy you are. How about values that can’t exactly be calculated or an international community somewhere that is very warm and supportive to you living there?  What defines personal freedom and social capital? What’s the percentage of divorces? How often do you go to church? What about culture?  And for international school teachers, what about the amazing professional community at an international school somewhere (anywhere) that is very rewarding for you? Having an amazing professional community at your work can definitely make most teachers extremely happy no matter where you at living…you do spend most of your time at work (most of the time).

Besides the international school itself, if you have to move to another country would you look at the economy of that specific country or is it the more soft values? Are the happiest people really happy people, and does that guarantee happily ever after? Of course things aren’t that black and white, which of course makes list like the one mentioned above quite redundant. So what’s really point?

Is there anything to learn from a list like this Forbes’ article

It’s maybe just following that gut feeling, and try experiencing it yourself. Otherwise it’s like wanting to read a book and then watching the movie adaptation instead, it’s not your vision.

There are different definitions of happiness, from happiness being a sweet little puppy, delicious chocolate, so maybe it’s all in between, it’s education, it’s economy, it’s Ferris Wheels and ice cream on a Sunday, it’s love and freedom, it’s good ideas and sleeping late after New Year’s eve. Maybe it’s a cabin or the beach or a small wooden house in the Norwegian Alps? Maybe it’s the people you meet and the chances you take, experiencing life yourself, instead of being blindsided by some list.

These are the things we look for as international school teachers, and we are definitely looking for happiness in our lives, especially when we can be quite far away from old friends and family.

If you want to know what life is like working at an international school in the “Top 10″ become a member of International School Community.  International School Community members represent the following international schools: The International School of Helsingborg, TASIS The American School in Switzerland, International School of Stavanger, Copenhagen International School, American School of the Hague and The British School of the Netherlands.

As a member you are able to send these members a private message and get the answers to the questions you may have about life as an international school teacher there. Networking made easy!