Many of us teach abroad to save money!  So, why do some international schools make their teachers pay for simple supplies? Well, not all do, but according to several comments submitted on our website, some indeed leave their teachers in a situation where they need to.  Why do some international schools give nice big budgets to classroom teachers and others do not?

Some might say that only for-profit international schools don’t give appropriate budgets. However, that would not be true. Several non-profit international schools also leave their staff with limited budgets to buy supplies.

Let’s say that your international school does provide some money to buy some supplies. It is nice to get at least something for your classroom! But the question is, when you are working abroad, where can you/the school buy these supplies?

If you order from your host country, then it will be cheaper, but the supplies might not be exactly what you want or have the quality you are used to. If you order from abroad, then the costs will be higher because of shipping and the wait time will most likely be a long time (with the risk of never even getting your order because it gets lost somewhere along the way).

Another question to consider is does a big budget for classroom teachers equal better instruction and more learning for students.  Teachers can get quite creative in a budget-less classroom, and it is fairly certain that good learning still happens.

But when an emergency arises and materials that are necessary for the lesson/curriculum are not there, some teachers will use money out of their pocket to buy them. It is the sacrifice that many teachers choose to do to make sure that their students are getting the best education possible and that the promise the school has made to paying parents can be met.

But does the administration/owner of an international school really want their own teachers to be using their own money to buy basic and necessary supplies for their classrooms?  It would be hard to believe that they would. But when other factors (like a recession in the world or a declining student population) come into play, sometimes schools don’t have a choice to provide a nice budget for their staff.

Luckily, International School Community has a comment topic on our school profile pages related to what kind of budgets international schools offer, so you can stay the most informed as possible. It is called: “What types of budgets do classroom teachers/departments get?“

Our veteran international school teachers have submitted a total of 743 comments in this comment topic (May 2024).  Here are a few that have been submitted:

“I concur with the previous post regarding the budget allocation for classroom teachers and departments and I appreciate the flexibility teachers have in determining how to utilize these funds.
Teachers have the autonomy to decide whether to allocate the budget towards classroom supplies and resources, or even utilize it for paid field trips or class event expenses. The allocated amount provides a reasonable level of support, allowing teachers to enhance the learning experience for their students while also facilitating engaging activities outside the classroom.” – Bandung Independent School (Kota Bandung, Indonesia) – 138 Total Comments

“The school is not-for-profit and very well-resourced. There are no horror stories of teachers paying for their printing after their allocation runs out. In general, heads of department with input from their colleagues can submit purchase requests that will be approved if they are reasonable and beneficial to the students/curriculum delivery.” – Hangzhou International School (Hangzhou, China) – 43 Comments

“We do not have individual or department budgets. I have not put in a budget request, but I have heard from many that the accounting office will order their preferred items rather than what you directly request. These may or may not fit your needs.” – St. Paul American School of Hanoi (Hanoi, Vietnam) – 121 Comments

“Each department has a specific budget for local procurement however, the school will often approve purchases beyond that budget if the material is necessary. The school also has a very large and organized resource “room” which is staffed and regularly re-stocked. It has all of the necessary paper, desk, office, and other teaching/classroom goods as well as some surprises!” – Shen Wai International School (Shenzhen, China) – 60 Comments

“A number of grade level and department budgets can be from DKK 40000-70000 a year. You make a list each year to give a good estimate of what your department will buy, and it is usually approved. Nobody is cross-referencing your list either, so you can basically manage the money how you would like. The team coordinator is in charge of the department’s budget.” – Copenhagen International School (Copenhagen, Denmark) – 437 Comments

“For budgeting this year we were told if it was a “need” we could request it, at the actual budgeting time there was a more realistic approach applied but for most things if you can justify how it will benefit students and the school, they will consider it seriously.” – The British School Manila (Manila, Philippines) – 88 Comments

If you know what the budgets are like at your international school, log in and share what you know about the international schools you’ve worked at!