International school orientation must-have for new teachers #4: Help finding a place to live!

In this blog series, we will talk about the ins and outs of an excellent new teacher orientation programme at an international school. A new teacher orientation programme can really play a very important part in your start at your new school, in your new host country.

Must-have #4: Help finding a place to live!

Finding a place to live in any country can be a headache! When you involve different languages, different cultural traditions and norms, etc., finding an apartment can be even more of a headache. In turn, it is much appreciated if the administration/business staff at your new school can help you out.

Some international schools just place you in a school-owned compound, and you must live there for the entire duration of your employment at that school. Other international schools don’t own or have relationships with buildings or complexes in the city, and you are meant to search for and find your own place on your own. But there are more than just two kinds of experiences when it comes to where you will end up living after moving to your new international school. Some state you must live in a certain apartment for the entire first year you work at a school. After your first year, then you are allowed to find and move to a completely different apartment of your choice. Other international schools ask their current staff who are leaving if they can help to set up a new teacher to take over their apartment, or they might even send out an email to the current staff asking around if any current teachers are looking for a roommate. If there are some options, then these schools will usually help to make the right connections so that you can immediately move into your new place with your new roommate.

If there aren’t any options for you and the school just places you in a specific place, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about, as you know you will immediately have a place to live when you arrive without much of a headache. If there are options for you, you need to be prepared for potential headaches, unknowns, and possible disappointments when you arrive. Additionally, you might need to be prepared to move two or three times during your first year. Your first place might be opposite to what you were thinking it would be!

If you can work it out and are lucky enough to visit the location that you will be moving to, then of course you can get some of the apartment searching done in person. How ideal would that be? I have a colleague who made a point to make a visit to their future city during the beginning part of the summer (before they officially moved there later that summer). They got the opportunity to view some apartments that the school had recommended to them in person. Not all of us can be so lucky, though, as to make a pre-move trip to check out possible living situations, but if you can, then for sure that would be beneficial.

A good international school will make sure to answer all your questions that you have about your future living situation. They should send pictures if applicable of your future apartment. They should request answers to a housing survey that they send to you, so that they can better gauge what type of place best suits your needs and wants (that is if the school does indeed help to find you a place). They should have language support available to you if you need some interpreting or translating of the rental documents. Good schools would even help you out to pay the sometimes high cost of a rental deposit (e.g apartments in Western Europe).

There are many international school teachers experiencing a wide range of experiences related to how they found a place to live.

Here are some firsthand accounts of how these international school teachers found a place to live in the city they just moved to (and whether or not their new school helped them out or not):

“The Canadian Academy has a first-year rule: all new teachers must live in school accommodations for the first year. This includes a variety of apartments and houses both on and off campus, and options depending on the number of dependents. All in all, they took care of everything, and it made it the best transition we’ve ever had. Besides getting a futon with pillows, sheets, and blankets, we had a stocked fridge, a basket of cleaning supplies and toiletries, snacks, a phone, a fax machine, furniture, and many more items. While I wouldn’t describe it as moving into a furnished place, it did have all the essentials. Also, after the first year, we’re free to move to our own choice of accommodations or select a new school housing option. Very user-friendly. A teacher from Canadian Academy (Kobe).

“My current school offered to help find an apartment; however, I was more interested in finding share accommodation as I find that’s a nice quick way to make new friends and to always have someone on hand who knows the area you live in. They put me onto a website for share housing and also asked around the school to see if anyone was interested in having a new teacher share with them. Someone did, and now I share a house with two other people in a beautiful, artfully decorated place 3 minutes’ walk from school and town and for half the rent I would pay to live in a place on my own. I also didn’t need to pay any deposit. They’re happy for it to be short-term in case I decide to move into my own place later, but I’m thinking that staying here is a good thing. I would personally recommend seeking share housing to anyone (not in a couple) who is open to the idea. I’ve also experienced living in my own apartment straight out, but became bored with that after a year and moved into a new place with 2 other friends. It can also be a pain setting up a new apartment in terms of buying furniture, crockery and connecting the internet.” A teacher from The Bermuda High School for Girls.

“The school helps you find your first apartment before you arrive. Actually, all new teachers move into a gated community called Shanghai Gardens when I worked there. Basically, all new teachers need to live there their first year. After that first year, then you can use the allotted housing if you decide to move and find your own place. When I moved into the apartment at Shanghai Gardens, it had all the furniture you would need. The school also left a ‘survival’ package of things to get you started (e.g., pots and pans, sheets, etc.). I was appreciative of the school helping to place new teachers in this building complex and the apartment; many of the staff in the business office could also speak English, which was a perk. On the other hand, many teachers had a negative experience living at Shanghai Gardens. There were problems with the apartments sometimes (as some of them were owned by different owners). There were also problems with your bills at times, some of them being way too high from the price they should’ve been. I was quite happy to find a different apartment my second year there.” A teacher from Shanghai Rego International School.

“ACS Hillingdon was great to us in helping us find a place to live. They have a staff member, Maxine, who is there all year, including during the summer, and she worked with a local estate agent to help us find a flat that fit our needs, location, and price range. I know she drove several of even the pickiest people around to multiple places, and she knows the areas where the school’s bus routes go for those of us who don’t have a car.

The school even helped a newly hired couple whose flat was damaged by fire in the London riots of 2011 by giving them extra time off, arranging a place to stay while they looked for a new permanent residence, and even donating money from an emergency fund while insurance agencies worked through their claims.

A+ all the way around.” A teacher from Acs International School – Hillingdon Campus.

In the Benefits Information section of the school profile page on our website, we have a topic related to housing – Details about the staff housing or the housing allowance.

Log on today to check out the hundreds of comments and information submitted in this topic! Become the most informed you can be when it comes to finding a place in your new city.

So, does your school provide help for new teachers to find a place to live? Please share your experiences!

New teacher orientation must-have: Lunches provided by the school during the orientation week at the school campus.

In this blog series, we will talk about the ins and outs of an excellent new teacher orientation programme at an international school. A new teacher orientation programme can really play a very important part of your start at your new school, in your new host country.

Must-have #3: Lunches provided by the school during the orientation week at the school campus.

Having a catered, home (cafeteria)-cooked lunch is NOT a given when you start working at an international school. Some international schools include free lunches in their benefits package all year round (for all teachers, mind you!), but some international schools don’t offer this benefit…not even during PD events or during new teacher orientation.

It is definitely a nice gesture on the school’s part to offer lunches to the new staff during the orientation week. It is setting the right tone amongst the new staff and their budding relationship with their new school. Additionally, it is a great opportunity for new staff and administration to get to know each other better, being that they are kind of forced to dine together because they are eating the same food.

It is important to note that new teachers most likely don’t have everything set up in their new apartments to be ready to cook themselves a packed lunch to bring to work. The new teachers might not know exactly where to go (e.g. where there is a proper grocery store) to buy food they like to eat either. Well, they might know a place to go (one that was recommended to them by a new friend at work), but it might pose a challenge for them to walk there or to navigate a taxi or public transportation to get there. All of these things are stressors for new teachers during their first few weeks in their new host city/country, and one of the main goals of a new teacher orientation week is to make sure the new teachers are as least stressed as possible.

Now I’m not saying that schools are offering free lunches like in this picture (the beautiful hummus wrap), but some international schools have very nice cafeterias and cooks that can make some quite tasty lunches. At a colleague’s international school in the Mediterranean, American School of Barcelona (186 Comments), they did offer free lunches during new teacher orientation week (during the whole year as well). The food wasn’t the highest quality, but it was nice and made in-house. Lots of fish and local cuisine were prepared on a number of the days. At another colleague’s school in Seoul, South Korea [Seoul International School (86 Comments)], there is a buffet available to staff every day…a pretty nice buffet too. There are many choices to choose from. The quality can be quite good at times as well. The colleague noted that sometimes they had to control themselves from not over-eating being that the buffet choices were very good some days! There is a small cost, though, involved for the teachers to pay if they wanted to eat at the school’s buffet, but it is reasonably priced at $3. However, at new teacher orientation, the new staff get it for free (breakfast and lunch). Additionally, the new teachers and the whole staff also get free lunches provided by the school during the first week back before students arrive.

At a for-profit international school in Shanghai, though, it was a different story. For the most part, the school did not provide lunches for the new staff during orientation week. If they did provide lunch one day, it wasn’t a lunch prepared for by the kitchen staff. It was from a take-away place nearby to the school. Most days, though, the new teachers had to figure out their own food to eat during orientation week. The new teachers who didn’t want to make their own lunch (and most new teachers didn’t want to or weren’t really able to), they could also order for themselves (and also pay for themselves) from the take-away place. After trying to navigate a menu all in Chinese characters with a Chinese staff member translating, when the food arrived, it definitely wasn’t the highest quality or not even close to what you thought it would be. It would have been better, really, if the school had started up a better relationship with another take-away place. The problem was, though, that the school was basically in a very rural part of Shanghai, far away from the nicer places. On a positive note, the lunches at the take-away place nearby were priced very, very cheaply!

It is important that the basic needs be met for a new teacher working at an international school. They should have a place to sleep (shelter), they should have some money (via a relocation allowance possibly) to spend on necessities, and they should have food and water (among other things). A wise international school chooses to play a major part and takes an active role in helping to make sure their new teachers have their basic needs met. One way to support this decision, for sure, is to provide lunches to teachers during new teacher orientation. Now how that provided lunch will look can vary a lot, though! It is definitely not a “deal-breaker,” though, and you should most likely not be asking about the possibility of catered lunches (and their quality) at your interview!

How funny though if schools did come prepared to show pictures of the types of free lunches they provide to their new staff. Actually, seeing those pictures at the interview might be nice; anything really to help you make your decision before you sign the contract.

So, does your school provide lunch during new teacher orientation week? Please share your experiences!

New teacher orientation must-have: The orientation programme at The American School Foundation in Mexico City

The American School Foundation entrance with students walking and flags of Mexico and USA — Students walk outside The American School Foundation in Mexico City on a sunny day

One of our LinkedIn contacts just sent us this information about the new teacher orientation programme at The American School Foundation in Mexico City.

“Of course I would be happy to share information on our Welcoming Committee, which I will once again be a part of this year. Already we have put new teachers in touch with mentors to help them with academic and classroom needs for 2012/13. Apart from this, our Human Capital (resources) team has already informed new teachers about available apartments, sending info and photos. Some of the new teachers arrive with apartments waiting for them, and the others will go to a residential hotel for a couple of nights until they have chosen apartments that are available and suitable. Most of these apartments are furnished and ready just to move into.

Members of the committee are allotted new teachers, usually according to divisions (K-12), and we help by showing the new staff how to use the subway, buses, and taxis (safe ones). We help them get any missing furniture, go to the supermarket, Costco, etc. We try to show them the nearest markets, etc. We also show them around the city and the highlight is a trip to our Mexican “Venice”, with a ride and box lunch on our “gondolas” and a trip to a huge nursery to buy plants for the apartments. The drivers from school mark the plants and add the addresses and then deliver to each home.

Each year, Human Capital and the committee work better together and make the transition for new staff smoother. This is always easier when you have a friend to help you.”

Currently, the American School Foundation in Mexico City has had some comments and information submitted on it by one of International School Community’s members.

American School Foundation of Mexico City (72 Comments).

Here are three samples of the 72 comments:

“There is no staff housing. Most people live in Condesa. The commute time can be as much as 45 min. Some buses run before and after school, at 4:30 and 6 pm. The city is huge, and there are many centers.”

“The housing allowance is $1,000 US, so when the dollar goes down, so does your allowance. It is plenty for basic housing, which is worse than most US apartments.”

“Lovely weather, cool all year round however, the pollution is terrible, really terrible, dangerous.”

New Teacher Orientation Must-Haves at International Schools #2: A Pick-up from the Airport from Administration

In this blog series, we talk about the ins and outs of an excellent new teacher orientation programme at an international school. A new teacher orientation programme can really play a very important part in your start at your new school, in your new host country.

Must-have #2: A pick-up from the airport from administration

New international school teachers to a school probably have experienced one of these three different ways of being picked up (or not be picked up):

• The administrator’s driver comes to pick you up, and the driver doesn’t speak English very well. There are moments in the long car ride to your apartment when you start to feel insecure. You also start to second-guess everything that was discussed with you during the interview and during your email communication with the administration. You arrive at your apartment complex (or what you hope is your apartment complex), and the driver doesn’t know where to bring you as they weren’t told which apartment you were staying in and don’t have the keys. Luckily, two other staff members just so happen to be in the lobby when you arrive and were able to help you sort everything out and get you into your apartment. You could’ve been more stressed-out with this situation, but you were so jet-lagged that it fortunately didn’t phase you too much.

• No administrator, no staff member, not even a driver comes to pick you up. Even after discussing your arrival flight details via email, nobody shows up at the airport. You are carting your 3+ bags around the arrivals lounge looking for somebody with your name on a sign or something. After looking around for 30 minutes or so (trying to keep your eyes open based on the fact that you just got off of a long, red-eye flight), you decide to use your credit card (you don’t have local currency yet or a mobile with a local SIM card in it) to make a few calls. Nobody answers their phone, and you decide to go to the airport information desk. They suggest a hotel to stay at, and you take a taxi to get to the hotel (which cost you a lot of money!). Finally, you get in contact with the school via email once you get the wifi working in your hotel room. Luckily, the school ends up paying for the phone calls, the taxis, and the three nights you stayed in the hotel, but it would have been less stressful for sure if somebody had been there to pick you up and bring you to your apartment in the first place.

• The director himself comes to pick you up and is waiting clearly in the arrivals lounge as you walk out from baggage claim. You know who to look for because he is the one who has interviewed you and hired you in person. He even brings along another one of the new teachers so that you can already have a person to contact. Using his own car, he drives you to your apartment (that the school has helped you organize through another teacher at the school). The director has the keys to let you in. In the apartment, he gives you a free mobile to use with a SIM card (a phone from a teacher that just left the previous school year) so that you can immediately start to be in contact with everyone just in case any emergencies arise. After making sure that you are comfortable and ok in your new apartment, he drops off a bag of “starter” groceries for you, which includes some basic necessities. A nice touch to a wonderful, less stressful way to be picked up from the airport when you first arrive.

To start things off right, it might be ideal if the person who hired you picks you up from the airport when you first arrive. Starting off on the right note is very important for an international school teacher, especially when you are bound to experience a bit of culture shock. One way to start off in the right way is how you get picked-up/arrive at the airport. Not having to worry about lugging your 3+ bags around trying to find a taxi can really lessen the stress and nervousness you might already be feeling, being that you have just relocated yourself to a potentially very different part of the world. Not having to worry about where you are going to stay your first night and how you are going to get there can also have a calming effect on your already tense feelings about this big move you have decided to make for yourself.

So, how were you picked up at the airport when you first arrived? Please share your experiences!

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International school orientation must-have for new teachers #4: Help finding a place to live!

New teacher orientation must-have: Lunches provided by the school during the orientation week at the school campus.

New teacher orientation must-have: The orientation programme at The American School Foundation in Mexico City

New Teacher Orientation Must-Haves at International Schools #2: A Pick-up from the Airport from Administration

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