Welcome to our vibrant community, your daily dose of school life inspiration, teacher information, and entertainment. Join us as we navigate the everyday journey of life.
Here is a bit of history about how many comments that we have had on our website since it started back in January 2011:
0 Comments – January 2011 71 Comments – May 2011 939 Comments – September 2011
2147 Comments – January 2012 4578 Comments – May 2012 5965 Comments – September 2012
6767 Comments – January 2013 8004 Comments – May 2013 9109 Comments – September 2013
10018 Comments – January 2014 10689 Comments – May 2014 11455 Comments – Sept 2014
12981 Comments – Feb 2015 15023 Comments – Nov 2015 16017 Comments – Feb 2016
18000 Comments – Sept 2016 19000 Comments – Dec 2016 20200 Comments – March 2017
22010 Comments – August 2017 23000 Comments – November 2017 24000 Comments – January 2018
27000 Comments – May 2018 30000 Comments – January 2019 33000 Comments – Sept 2019
36000 Comments – March 2020 40000 Comments – March 2021
We would like to formally thank our community of members (now at over 21000!) for submitting all of the comments on our website.
Are you an International School Community member that wants to submit some comments but currently doesn’t have premium membership?
48 hours of Premium Membership Promotion: Right now EVERY member on our website has premium membership access for 48 hours. Just log on and enjoy free, full access to our website. * This 48 hours free promotion will expire on 4 April, 2021 (11:59pm PST)
Don’t forget to submit comments during this time (which are done so anonymously, by the way) because during the next 48 hours you can get EXTRA premium membership added your account.
We want members who participate and share what they know to have free premium access to our website. For it is them that keep our website up to date and full of useful comments!
After you submit some comments, check out the other things you can do with premium membership access: 1. Check out our the latest posted job vacancies. 2. Take a look at our compare school salaries page. (783 schools with 1438 comments about salaries are listed on this page) 3. Make a search on our Comments Search page. Find the specific comments you’d like to read about, faster! 4. Do unlimited school profile page searches and check out our easier-to-use/updated school results page. 5. Contact one of our 21200+ members and use our Member Search feature to find someone to network or ask a question to. 6. Go to our School Comparison page and compare 109 schools using eight different comment topics. Who will win?
‘Where Our Members Have Worked’ update: Check out the latest stats!
Our 21026 current members (up 3215 members from January 2020) work at or have worked at 1250+ international schools.
How amazing is that?! In just over 10 years now, our “international school community” has grown into an excellent network of international school teachers. With so much experience and knowledge about life working at over 1250 international schools on our website, ISC members are able to stay updated and informed about the schools at which they are interested in working. Additionally, now it is even easier to find the right members to contact for networking purposes and for gathering more information about the specific questions you may have about working at a certain international school.
Which international schools on our website have the most members you ask? Here are our top 10 schools:
Want to see the rest of the top 40 list of schools with the most members? Check out this page which displays the names and avatar pictures of each member that either currently works at that school now or has worked there in the past.
And don’t forget to take a moment to browse our School list page as ISC members have worked at over 1250 international schools from all over the world. Maybe you will find that we have some members who know about the international school about which you are looking to gain more information!
Comparing the Schools and Comments: Working in Abu Dhabi
Around the world, there are cities (like Abu Dhabi) that have more than one international school. 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 blog series looks at comparing some of these comments, all coming from international schools in the same country.
Abu Dhabi
Currently, we have 21 schools listed in Abu Dhabi on International School Community.
11 of these schools have had comments submitted on them. Here are some that have the most submitted comments:
Some teachers are putting aside at least 10000 AED a month. Saving potential is big here, but if you travel a lot and go out drinking a lot, then you won’t save as much…” – GEMS American Academy (Abu Dhabi)
“A family of 4 will not be pleasantly sustainable with one income. You will receive a deposit very close to $3400/month. Utilities are covered at 50%, so you may pay up to $300 for water and electric (have heard of some teachers having $700 bill). Internet is expensive, $100 will get you medium speed internet, but the best package is obviously higher. Basic but adequate groceries (avoiding western products and cheapest produce) is $400/month. This does not include “junk food” or carryout or dine-in eating…” – American International School (Abu Dhabi)
“There are four campuses for the school. One in Abu Dhabi and three in the western region. I work at a school in the western region however, all of the campuses are very nice and well-manicured…” – Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi
“The campus is new, modern and mostly fully equipped. Good sport installations. The kindergarten wing is very inviting, with lots of color and open space and childrens’ work on the walls everywhere…” – GEMS American Academy (Abu Dhabi)
Housing Information
“If the First Party does not provide accommodation, a monthly accommodation allowance shall be paid to the Second Party, amounting to AED 2,500. In case a married couple employed by the First Party, a family furnished accommodation or a monthly accommodation allowance shall be granted only to one of the married couple…” – Emirates National School (Abu Dhabi)
“Housing allowance is grossly inadequate for any single person to get even a studio on their own without tossing in around aed10-20K…” – American International School (Abu Dhabi)
“Housing allowance is 2000 aed a month so you MUST take the school accommodation with is not great but is in the city center. Emsons building and Tourist club are the two main locations but if you are a couple or a family you will get a 2 bed apt near Wahada Mall. Must pay for own utilities 150 aed month. Not great housing but not horrible either. Housing is furnished and has lots and pans, etc. low-end furniture but acceptable…” – Abu Dhabi International Private School
Benefits for Teachers with Children
“35%tuition discount for 1st child, 30% second child. Double tuition discount for teaching couples. Insurance provided for kids but NOT visas or flights…” – Abu Dhabi International Private School
“If you are a teaching couple you can get up to two children to attend for free. You also get a flight for your child, one flight per teacher…” – GEMS American Academy (Abu Dhabi)
“There are ECA for elementary. High workload. Many teachers are teaching between 24 to 30 periods per week. They also have assigned duties…” – Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi
“Teachers have to do an hour a week of after-school activities for 2/3 of the school year. Some staff are giving leadership positions with a paid stipend…” – GEMS American Academy (Abu Dhabi)
(These are just 5 of the 66 different comments topics that are on each school profile page on our website.)
If you work at an international school in Abu Dhabi, share what you know. Consider becoming a Mayor for unlimited free premium membership!
Giving birth while teaching abroad: what are the maternity benefits like?
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
We Just Passed 40000 Total Comments: Free Premium Membership for All!
It’s true, ISC now has over 40000 comments!
Here is a bit of history about how many comments that we have had on our website since it started back in January 2011:
0 Comments – January 2011
71 Comments – May 2011
939 Comments – September 2011
2147 Comments – January 2012
4578 Comments – May 2012
5965 Comments – September 2012
6767 Comments – January 2013
8004 Comments – May 2013
9109 Comments – September 2013
10018 Comments – January 2014
10689 Comments – May 2014
11455 Comments – Sept 2014
12981 Comments – Feb 2015
15023 Comments – Nov 2015
16017 Comments – Feb 2016
18000 Comments – Sept 2016
19000 Comments – Dec 2016
20200 Comments – March 2017
22010 Comments – August 2017
23000 Comments – November 2017
24000 Comments – January 2018
27000 Comments – May 2018
30000 Comments – January 2019
33000 Comments – Sept 2019
36000 Comments – March 2020
40000 Comments – March 2021
We would like to formally thank our community of members (now at over 21000!) for submitting all of the comments on our website.
Are you an International School Community member that wants to submit some comments but currently doesn’t have premium membership?
48 hours of Premium Membership Promotion: Right now EVERY member on our website has premium membership access for 48 hours. Just log on and enjoy free, full access to our website.
*Â This 48 hours free promotion will expire on 4 April, 2021 (11:59pm PST)
Don’t forget to submit comments during this time (which are done so anonymously, by the way) because during the next 48 hours you can get EXTRA premium membership added your account.
We want members who participate and share what they know to have free premium access to our website. For it is them that keep our website up to date and full of useful comments!
After you submit some comments, check out the other things you can do with premium membership access:
1. Check out our the latest posted job vacancies.
2. Take a look at our compare school salaries page. (783 schools with 1438 comments about salaries are listed on this page)
3. Make a search on our Comments Search page. Find the specific comments you’d like to read about, faster!
4. Do unlimited school profile page searches and check out our easier-to-use/updated school results page.
5. Contact one of our 21200+ members and use our Member Search feature to find someone to network or ask a question to.
6. Go to our School Comparison page and compare 109 schools using eight different comment topics. Who will win?