Highlighted article: Why for-profit schools can be good.

We found are recently released article about the topic all international school teachers are talking about: for-profit international schools and non-profit international schools.

The staff at International School Community have experience working at both types of international schools and there are definitely important factors to consider and common experiences that we have shared. There are both negatives and positives to consider when you are about to sign a contract to work at a for-profit schools, but we must note that not all for-profit schools are the same.

“GEMS schools director: “We don’t care about profit”

A senior executive at leading private schools group GEMS Education has denied that the firm is motivated by profit.

“Our chairman Sunny Varkey doesn’t care about profit,” Raminder Vig, director of schools at GEMS UK told EducationInvestor. “He actually gives money away.”

Vig was speaking as the group embarks upon a major expansion of its UK schools business.

GEMS currently runs 10 schools in the UK, but it acquired these schools from other operators, rather than creating them from scratch. It now plans to open six new schools over the next two years, and promises that they will charge more competitive fees than many existing private schools.

The group plans to open the first of the new schools, in Hounslow, west London, this September.

Vig says the group yet to make a profit in the UK.

Vig’s comments represent an apparent shift in emphasis from comments made by other GEMS executives in the past, which have tended to call on the government to make it easier to make a profit in the UK schools market.

In 2009, the firm’s then chief executive Anders Hultin warned that the Conservative’s proposed free school programme would fail, if private firms weren’t allowed to run schools for a profit.

His successor Zenna Atkins, who spent seven weeks as chief executive of GEMS UK, made similar comments to the Sunday Telegraph when she took the job in autumn 2010.

“Currently the private sector, if you’re running a school, has to set up a charitable vehicle to do that and that seems to be an unnecessary level of bureaucracy,” she told the paper.”

Out of the 1209 international schools listed on www.internationalschoolcommunity.com 489 are for-profit and 720 are non-profit schools.  If you prefer to work at a non-profit international school, it looks like you are in luck as they are currently in the majority on our website!  There are many placement companies out there right now that have made a prediction indicating that for-profit international schools will be the way of the future.  In turn, we might see the number of for-profit schools rising.

What is your experience working at for-profit international schools?  Please share your questions and concerns by leaving a comment.

New Survey: How important is it to be able to communicate in the local language in your current placement?

A new survey has arrived!

Topic:  How important is it to be able to communicate in the local language in your current placement?

We all dream of becoming fluent in the local language of the place at which we are living, but it is not as easy task…well for most people.  I know international school teachers that have only lived in their city for two years and they are pretty fluent in the local language in my opinion.  We all secretly hate these people.  Then there are teachers who have lived in their city for more than 8 years, and they still don’t really speak the local language fluently enough to have friends that only can speak that language to them.

When that is the case (you are not able to do many things in the local language), it is important to know what the English language abilities of the local people are.  In some cities (for example in Scandinavia) most people speak English at a fairly high level.  In other cities (for example in China) most of the locals aren’t able to speak English at a high level (with many of them not knowing any English).

Each city is different, even within the same country.  In turn, let’s (international school teachers) share with each other what the language abilities of the locals are with each other; what is it really like when living in that city.

On www.internationalschoolcommunity.com we have a topic under the City section that is specifically about sharing information about the language abilities of the locals.  It is called: Languages of the host city and the level of English spoken there.


American School of Barcelona

There have been 100s of comments and information already submitted in this topic on numerous school profile pages on our website.  Log-on today to check out the latest comments related to the language of the host country people in the cities that have international schools that interest you most.  If you currently work at or have worked at an international school, please also log-on and share what you know about the English language abilities of the locals in your host country.

So, how important is it to be able to communicate in the local language in your current placement?  Go to the homepage of International School Community and submit your vote today!  You can check out the latest voting results here.

Survey results are in: How much does your school pay for your housing benefits?

The survey results are in, and it seems as if most visitors and members of International School Community don’t receive any housing allowance at all in their current placement at the international school at which they work.  The survey also shows though that there are just about the same number of teachers that are receiving housing benefits with many getting the rent and all utilities paid for by their school.

Some of my international school teacher friends don’t get any housing allowance, namely those that are living in Western Europe.  The ones that aren’t getting a housing allowance in these countries in Europe have a variety of different salaries too which is important to note.  Those in schools on the Mediterranean have lower salaries and many have to actually have a roommate so that they can more easily afford the local rent.  Those international school teachers working in Switzerland and in Scandinavian countries have higher salaries and are able to live more comfortably in a nice apartment all by themselves.  In turn, if your school doesn’t offer a housing benefit to you, then make sure to do your research on the local rental situation in the city that you will be living in.  Also, make sure that you look at your actual monthly salary and minus the rent that you will have to pay.  Then you will get a good indicator on what your actual salary will be after you pay your monthly rent bill.  After you deduct the costs of the rent, you still might come out fairly well when you compare your school with other international schools that actually offer housing benefits.

Which brings us to the international schools that do offer housing benefits.  How cool is it to not have to pay for your housing?  Without having to pay for your rent, you definitely have a different mindset about your money and how you spend it while living abroad.  If you don’t have a rent payment each month, you can more easily travel sometimes, you can go out to eat more often, and take taxis everywhere through out the city.  Basically the rest of the regions of the world are offering some sort of housing benefit: SE Asia, Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, Caribbean, Central America, etc…They do vary though from region to region and whether they include the costs of your utilities or not.  All things to make sure you understand completely when considering a placement in these areas.  The quality of housing varies as well from region to region and city to city, even the housing that is available more for the expats living there.  Many times too, if your housing is included, you will most likely be living in already furnished housing.  Do you enjoy living in an apartment with used furniture (sometimes quite old, ugly-looking and rundown)?  Some international school teachers enjoy the fact that they don’t have to buy furniture during their placement (and have to worry about getting rid of it/selling it when they leave).  Some teachers though enjoy collecting/buying their own furniture, thus possibly having a more “homey” feeling in their home.

So, what does the future hold for the kind of housing benefits that will dominate in the future for international schools in 2013?  Maybe we will see less international schools offering this benefit, maybe some will offer it more.  How important is it to you, the housing benefits, when considering a job at an international school? Some consider it the most important as your rent is usually the biggest chunk of your monthly expenses.  Without that payment to make each month, you have much more money to spend on other things….namely traveling!

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