International School Question

[Octaviousbp]

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding decent international schools in Bangkok to teach at for a fully qualified and experienced teacher? Pay is important of course, but a good working environment is more so. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Mig15]

There are three types of Intentional Schools in Thailand. The real ones – ISB, NIST and one or two others. The aspiring ones – those that are going though accreditation or don’t pay to well and are trying to build up a customer base. And the pretend ones – use the word international to make them sound a little better than Thai schools.

The first group you will work hard and get paid well – if you can get the job! They recruit in UK, US and prefer teachers to come direct from there to their schools.

The second group can still be interesting. Not such good pay but also not so much work – maybe. For some this may be a good option – easier to get a job – if your qualified. Get away from the pressure of teaching in a UK, US school.

The last group may be OK if you want to take over – become the Headmaster say. Someone with very little teaching experience or qualifications but a lot of front can do that. I know someone who has. So take your pic – money, lifestyle or empire building!

www.isat.og.th

will give you a good list.

[Octaviousbp]

Thanks for the link Mig. It's www.isat.or.th by they way .

Yes, the school we are interested in seems on the up-and-up. They do hire from the UK, rather inconveniently. I was just curious if there were any horror stories out there regarding international schools.

[sylvafern]

Pleanty of horror stories out there regarding int'l schools - but mostly schools in the 'third' group. Usually along the lines of being promised something and when you arrive here it's completely different than what promised or led to believe. Definitely not true that the good international schools only hire from abroad. I've worked at a school in the 'second' group and currently work in one that is in the 'first' group (not one of the ones mentioned above) and got both jobs while in Thailand. Have also been interviewed by NIST (and others) while living here. Lots of people at my school and know people at others that got their job while living here. Current job got by sending in CV on spec around this time of year (April) which is a dificult time to get a job as most good schools have finished their recruitment period. Luckily must have been a right place, right time situation. Make sure you don't fall into the trap of being given a 'local hire' contract. Any good school should give you a contract equivalent to overseas hire teachers (e.g. salary, accomodation, other benefits, etc should be the same). The only thing you may not get is the initial flight and relocation allowance as you are already here.

[Mig15]

Yes, definitely not impossible. May be easier for women to get hired locally than men.

[skylar]

There's only 4 original international schools for English speakers in Bangkok - ISB, Patana, Ruamrudee (together with the German school) and NIST. ISB and Ruamrudee teach the American curriculum together with the IB; Patana and NIST teach specific versions of the English system together with the IB. English being exclusive of the Scottish and Welsh systems.

The English curriculum schools typically hire teachers who have taught within the British or like systems, including teachers from Australian and New Zealand, but do hire Americans as well. The exception to this was language teachers - there were only native speakers of foreign languages teaching the language at the school I went to. The local hires were both Thai and farang. No gender issues, either.

[Octaviousbp]

Thanks for all the valuable input. There is much to mull over. Hoping to be there for September... lots of planning.

[richard10365]

Thanks for all the valuable input. There is much to mull over. Hoping to be there for September... lots of planning.

If your looking to be here for the beginning of the school year you had better hurry. Regular schools start in May. I'm not sure about international schools.

[Octaviousbp]

I believe international schools follow international scheduling... meaning a September start. I could be mistaken...

[samran]

I believe international schools follow international scheduling... meaning a September start. I could be mistaken...

and most of them would have done the bulk of their recruitment, off shore, back in Jan or Feb.....

Your best bet when you arrive is probably to contact the schools mentioned above and see if you can get put on the temp list while you hunt around for a more permanent job. The ISB's of the world would pay roughly 3500 baht per day for a qualified temp.

[Octaviousbp]

The ISB's of the world would pay roughly 3500 baht per day for a qualified temp.

So would you say 75,000B monthly is an acceptable pay for an accredited teacher with 2 years experience (1 overseas)?

Some of the people we have been talking to have said that a qualified (BEd) teacher with some experience should be looking at over 80,000B with a reasonable housing allowance... does this sound right?

[Ijustwannateach]

If it's one of the top-rung schools, make that more like 100K-120K with good benefits. Oh, be aware that you *may* (depending on the school) have one more hoop to jump through than with most jobs here: you may have to wait for (and be able to pass) a background check with the police in your home country.

"Steven"

[Octaviousbp]

Oh, be aware that you *may* (depending on the school) have one more hoop to jump through than with most jobs here: you may have to wait for (and be able to pass) a background check with the police in your home country.

That's not a problem. Police background checks are mandatory here to be working with children in any profession.

Interesting stuff regarding salary. We have perused the isat website, and there are quite a few schools listed. Which ones are the ones that are considered "top-rung"?

Thanks again for all the help!

[skylar]

The four I mentioned. I don't know about any of the newer schools. English curriculum schools start in September, ISB as far as I know begins in the second week of August this year. You're normally given a house to yourselves if you and your husband/wife/partner are employed at the same school, as well as transportation to and from school using the school buses. If you are single, you are normally given a share residency... this is according to a policy of one of the four schools that I mentioned.

[samran]

The ISB's of the world would pay roughly 3500 baht per day for a qualified temp.

So would you say 75,000B monthly is an acceptable pay for an accredited teacher with 2 years experience (1 overseas)?

Some of the people we have been talking to have said that a qualified (BEd) teacher with some experience should be looking at over 80,000B with a reasonable housing allowance... does this sound right?

100-120K plus benefits is the numbers I have heard bandied about also. I am only familiar with temp salaries at the better schools through close friends who did some work while looking for full time jobs. There are no other benefits with these temp positions, but it will give you a good 'in' when a permanent position does come up.

The top range salaries at the best schools may not be immediately available in the first year given that you may not have had international school experience before, so try for a good second tier school that pays around 80K or so, and use that as a spring board to the top tier the following year.

[Ijustwannateach]

Or, alternatively, don't- one of the minusses of the full-deal schools is that they get their pound of flesh- full course loads plus lots of classroom and schoolground duties, etc., etc. And you're teaching the richest, most spoiled kids of them all- white expat kids plus the richest Asians in Thailand.

Some folks have found that an adequate 2nd tier job is really 1st tier as far as job satisfaction is concerned...

[GoodHeart]

What separates the top-tier Intl. schools- especially in Thailand- from the posers [and many are posers ,since laws governing them were relaxed several years ago] are two key attributes.

1) the top-tier will not recruit locally, but will instead attend Intl. recruiting fairs organized for the express purpose of attracting highly qualified professionals.

Two of the best of these being:

ISS

and

Search Associates

2) posers will have an owner on site- likely Thai or Chinese- who revels in micro-managing every last detail of the school to extract every bit of revenue possible.

If you are not qualified enough to attend a fair held by one of the above two recruiters then your first two questions should be these: Is the school a 'for profit' entity? Where is, and how engaged in the day-to-day affairs of the school, is the owner?

Edited May 10, 2006 by GoodHeart

[skylar]

And you're teaching the richest, most spoiled kids of them all- white expat kids plus the richest Asians in Thailand.

Had a bad experience with us spoilt kids then? Or do you simply feel inadequate that a younger generation of people have the opportunity to receive a better secondary school education than yourself? And where are expat children supposed to go to school if not in the international system - to a Thai school? Would that make them less 'spoilt'?

And as I said, top tier schools do recruit locally as well as overseas. Goodheart is incorrect. the top tier international schools in Thailand are all 'for profit' entities. They are businesses, not charities and not part of a government funded education system and do not receive government funds.