Is The American School Of Bangkok In Thong Lo Good For My Child?

[NewZealand1]

I have just moved my family here from New Zealand and am considering the American School of Bangkok in Thong Lo. In asking around I get conflicting accounts about the school. Some say the school has a family atmosphere while others say the school has poor facilities and the owner is a major financial backer of all the yellow shirt operations in Thailand(I dont want the red shirts showing up at my childs school). Can anyone weigh in their opinions of the school? Thanks.

[tonititan]

As far as I've always heard, ASB has a pretty solid reputation. I think it's considered one of the the "1st tier" or "2nd tier" international schools. A few friends used to work there, and they all have pretty good things to say about it.

[Carataka]

I have 3 daughters that have been students at asb since nursery. My oldest is in 9th grade. To answer your questions yes there is a family atmosphere and no the owners are not yellow shirts nor red shirts. The facilities are probably not the best in Bangkok, but they do keep up as far as technology is concerned.

Actually i just got a text from the school that says "Due to the growing poitical crisis, ASB Sukhumvit will be immediately sending home students who ride the bus. If you pick up your children, please do so as soon as possible. We appreciate your attention to this matter. We also ask that all ASB families act with great caution at this time."

They send texts about school issues regularly which is really helpful especially during this time. Well i have to go get my girls now.

[321niti123]

ASB is good, more of a smaller sized school atmosphere. For young students, should be ok, but in my opinion for high school students, they need to be in a bigger school to prepare for university/college.

[tominbkk]

Have heard ASB as having a solid curriculum, all certified, licensed teachers from the States and Canada mostly, good leadership at the school and overall good rep....plus fully accredited by WASC, which is v important when looking at American based curriculum intl schools in Asia.

[DragonQuest]

I suggest you wait till the crisis is over, theres a civil war going on right now if you havent noticed.

[Scott]

Let's keep the comments about politics out of the thread. Exercising care in traveling is a good idea, but putting your, or your children's education on hold, isn't necessarily a good plan. Some people will be here because their family is here, some because their work is here. It is neither in the interest of the gov't nor the anti-gov't factions to bring education into the mix.

I have worked in a number of danger zones, including areas with civil wars. Schools still go on. Be a prudent parent and use due diligence with your children.

Check with the schools--many have websites and if you want to subscribe to the thaivisa sms service, it has been most helpful in letting people know what roads are open and what routes to avoid.

[DragonQuest]

Agreed.

[Scott]

Let's not start a discussion about the political affiliation of the owners. It may be a point to consider, but let's leave it at that.

[Ruskie]

As the spouse of a former employee in the past I am going to give the good and the bad about the school from someone who heard about it everyday :-)

The Good:

*There is a family atmosphere atleast where the students are concerned(not a family atmosphere in terms of the administration and the teachers though). I think a part of this is because many of the teachers have children that go to the school as well. That is a big plus.

*The school is in the heart of Thong Lo. The location of the school is convenient to get to from many areas though the small two lane road getting to it is very congested

*Costs wise it is less than competing schools like NIST, Bangkok Patana etc. Yet the education students are receiving is the same as much more expensive schools.

*The school hosts the Sukhumvit Fair which is a big event on the social calendar. It is always alot of fun and run very well.

*Younger students seem to really enjoy the school.

The Bad:

*This school has a high turnover rate in terms of employees. This is never a plus when dealing with a school. ISB, NIST Bangkok Patana etc pride themselves in the fact that their schools have teachers that have been there a long time.

*The teachers there have a confrontational relationship with the administration and the owners. There is always a feeling of uneasiness between the teachers and administration and owners (family owned school). When my spouse left and went to work for another international school they could not believe the difference in professionalism and comfort they experienced at the new school compared to working at ASB.

*The school is old and needs alot of upgrades to buildings etc. You cannot compare ASB to NIST or ISB in this regard. Even the uniforms are bad.

*From what I understand now the new principal is Canadian and only is hiring Canadian teachers at both campuses. I guess it will not be called the American School of Bangkok anymore. I guess it also explains the loss of teachers recently.

*Sports suffer at this school. The kids constantly complained about the lack of it. The school does not even have a proper size soccer field.

*This is not a school for kids that are high school age. The majority of students leave the school around 8th and 9th grade. This is because the school and its physical size, program offerings etc cannot compete with competing schools.

I would suggest visiting the school to determine for yourself. That is the best thing to do when deciding on a school. I can tell you however that costs aside ASB cannot compete with ISB, NIST etc. Those schools have a waiting lists and ASB does not. That says alot.

[Ijustwannateach]

2nd tier at best.

[Carataka]

"This school has a high turnover rate in terms of employees. This is never a plus when dealing with a school. ISB, NIST Bangkok Patana etc pride themselves in the fact that their schools have teachers that have been there a long time."

I used to feel this way as well. ASB now gets the majority of its teachers from job fairs in the states. Qualified applicants are usually offered a 2 year contract. If the teacher has performed well and would like to continue after their contract ends then they can. However, many of the them have already planned to travel to other countries to teach.

In the states it is normal for a teacher to spend most of their career teaching at the same school and even at the same level and same classroom. Although there are a few really dedicated teachers who plan to live in Thailand for many years, the majority of the teachers who have lived here for a long time and plan to continue living here for a long time are only doing it because it is the only way the can earn a living here. In other words they do not love their jobs and they do not love to teach. Actually, i would be weary of teachers that have been here for a long time. Especially if they do not have any roots in thailand such as a thai spouse and family. Thats just my opinion.

[tonititan]

"This school has a high turnover rate in terms of employees. This is never a plus when dealing with a school. ISB, NIST Bangkok Patana etc pride themselves in the fact that their schools have teachers that have been there a long time."

I used to feel this way as well. ASB now gets the majority of its teachers from job fairs in the states. Qualified applicants are usually offered a 2 year contract. If the teacher has performed well and would like to continue after their contract ends then they can. However, many of the them have already planned to travel to other countries to teach.

In the states it is normal for a teacher to spend most of their career teaching at the same school and even at the same level and same classroom. Although there are a few really dedicated teachers who plan to live in Thailand for many years, the majority of the teachers who have lived here for a long time and plan to continue living here for a long time are only doing it because it is the only way the can earn a living here. In other words they do not love their jobs and they do not love to teach. Actually, i would be weary of teachers that have been here for a long time. Especially if they do not have any roots in thailand such as a thai spouse and family. Thats just my opinion.

Good point. I don't think that turnover in an international school is a bad thing either. It's quite normal. Some of the most motivated, energetic, up-to-date teachers plan to move around every 2-3 years. I do know some excellent international school teachers who have been at the same school for ages. But I know more long-term teachers who are not current with best practice, and who are burned out like the teachers in the States. I have heard (from international school administrators) that they prefer a fairly high turnover. They pride themselves in bringing in new ideas and new energy, and in making sure that teachers are up-to-date with the current curriculum and teaching programs being used in the West. That is one reason given for recruiting overseas instead of hiring teachers who are already in Thailand.

[Scott]

Turnover is a situation of concern to me. My work is primarily administrative, and a high rate of turnover usually indicates a level of unhappiness. Schools, like a lot of businesses tend to work best when experienced people are plentiful. It's hard to train a new teacher in all the little things--things like photocopying, leaving early/late, personal calls. Lots of little things that don't quite make it in the personnel policies. Older people are the ones who often help the newbies with some of this stuff.

Staff development and training are important in any career. Unfortunately there isn't much of this available in Thailand.

There will always be some turnover and thus some new blood. This isn't bad, but the higher rates of turnover tend to indicate a problem.