International School Community Blog

We are excited to unveil the new and improved school profile page!  The school profile pages are arguably the most important pages on our website; for they are where you can read and submit useful and informative comments.

Based on member feedback, we have designed a better interface for submitting the comments and also an easier, more intuitive way to submit the comments.

1. The “Show all # comments” link.  Simply click here to view the rest of the comments in this comment topic; which will show up almost instantly right below the three most recent comments. No more pop-ups!  This part of our website really sets us apart from other comment/review websites because it puts all the information about a specific comment topic all in ONE place!

2. The “Edit/Delete” links.  Made a mistake on a submitted comment?  Want to delete a previously submitted comment? Only the comments that you have personally submitted will have these Edit/Delete links.

(Taken from the American School of Barcelona school profile page – 119 Total Comments.)

We’ve also add another major update to our school profile pages.  Now there are 26 more comment topics!  Members can now submit comments on over 65 comments topics in total.  The new topics are the following:

School Information:
– Has the school met your expectations once you started working there?
– What does the school do to create a harmonious state of well-being and high morale amongst its staff?
– Describe the technologies available at the school and how people are/are not using them.
– Details about the current teacher appraisal process?
– Is the student population declining, staying the same or increasing? Give details why.
– How have certain things improved since you started working there?
– How is this school different or the same when compared to schools in your home country?
– What controversies have been happening lately? Please be objective.
– What insider information would you give to a teacher considering working at this school?
– How much curriculum development work are you expected to do? (Atlas Rubicon, etc.)

Benefits Information:
– Details about the maternity benefits of the host country and school.
– What is the process of getting reimbursed for things?
– Details about new teacher orientation.
– In general, why are people staying at or leaving this school?
– Details about the teaching contract. What important things should prospective teachers know about?

City Information:
– Describe a funny culture shock moment that you’ve had recently in this city.
– Where did the school take you in the city when you first arrived? What were some staff outings/party locations?
– What is the best part of living in this city for you?
– What advice can you give on how to set things up like internet, phone, experience dealing with landlord, etc.?
– Tell your experience moving your items to this city. What company, insurance policy, etc. did you use?
– Tell about your experience with the local banks and dealing with multiple currencies.
– What are some locals customs (regarding eating, drinking and going out, family, socializing, etc.) that you find interesting for expats to know about?
– Tell about your experiences in the local grocery stores. What can you get or cannot get? Which ones are your favorites.
– What is the most challenging/difficult part of living in the city?

Travel Information:
– Are there many teachers that travel during the holidays? Where are they going?
– What are the airports like in this city? (arriving, departing, shopping, customs, etc.)

One more update to mention though, on the new and improved school profile pages, is the “jump links” we’ve added.  Now you can get to the topics that interest you faster by clicking on these “jump links”.

Example “Jump Links” on the Benefits Information tab on the school profile page

Log-on today and check out all these school profile page updates.  Also, please take a moment to test them out by submitting your comments in one or all of these new comment topics on the school you work at now or on the schools that you have worked at in the past.