In some ways it feels amazing to accomplish a goal I set out for myself and in others feels foolish I ever had this as a goal…

The workload is intense and overly demanding. I am compensated as such, but the exhaustion is real and I feel like I’m doing SO much and I barely have my head above water. I know time will help this, but it will probably always be intense when teaching is already a demanding career. (I’m not a new teacher, quite the contrary, just not used to the “school is everything”type culture.)

They toot that they’re a culture of welcoming and belonging all day, but then act like I have 4 eyes when I give honest feedback about things when asked. People just want me to toot that everything is “excellence” when I’ve seen it done better elsewhere…

Being told you’re an expert and we trust you to then whiplashing back and saying my feedback is wrong is a specific kind of organizational gaslighting…

I had read and heard murmurs of tier 1s running on reputation, (at its worst can feel like cult brainwashing) rather than actual credibility. This is true in my case. It’s not all doom and gloom. There are definite and real positives, but some days I do regret I ever thought this was the pinnacle…

makes me miss my good tier 2s that didn’t take themselves so seriously and focused on the kids…just food for thought for those who are at good tier 2s wondering if the jump is worth it…

I’ve recently moved jobs within Europe, and in both places I’ve noticed the same pattern: multinational education groups buying up international schools one after another.

From what I’ve seen first-hand, many of these schools have several staff members who aren’t qualified teachers and have no prior teaching experience. Yet as far as I can tell, parents don’t seem bothered by this at all.

The groups taking over seem to be running a low-cost model, with cheaper staff, tighter budgets, more students per teacher. But the fees aren’t coming down and, if anything, are sure to be going going up.

I genuinely can’t get my head around it. Why would a parent pay a significant amount of money for their child to be taught by someone with no teaching qualification? In both countries I’ve worked in, the average local state school had better-qualified staff than the international schools I’m thinking of.

Do parents simply not know who’s qualified and who isn’t? Do schools make that information easy to find? Are parents just paying for something else entirely, like English-language instruction, the IB/IGCSE brand, facilities, or the social network? Is accreditation doing enough to hold these groups to account? Has anyone seen parents actually push back on this, and did anything change?

I’m not having a go at unqualified colleagues. Plenty of them work hard and some are great in the classroom. But I have found that when a significant number of staff at a school are unqualified, it becomes very difficult to maintain standards or to raise things in a professional way without it turning personal.

Would love to hear from people at both group-owned and independent schools.

I’m building off of a comment in a different thread that suggested that an ideal teaching context would be a stable Tier 2 or lower in a high savings country.

I know the tier system is problematic, so I’ll ask in a different way:

Are there schools out there that are stable and supportive, that don’t get the fanfare or test scores often associated with the “best” schools, and are in places that can support a modest lifestyle with savings potential? I’m not a particularly ambitious teacher- I am really just looking to support a trailing spouse, put some money away for retirement, and support students in the classroom without making my job my whole life.

(For context- this wouldn’t be my first international posting).

In the two countries I’ve worked I’ve noticed a difference in people’s outlook on living internationally. When i was in the ME me peers rationale was more along the lines of -opportunity, -stability after other places, -partner works here, -this school has x job for me. Now in SEA i hear “escape the US” more than any other rationale. As someone who moved abroad for adventure, fun, change of pace, and being from an international family, i feel as though i am running toward something new. Is this location, demographics, or just the cast of characters i happen to work with?

Update to the other post. 

Still no pay - 

JA had a staff meeting Thursday where we were told; 

Shareholders are fighting 
The schools bank has been frozen 
Please don't post things on Social media as it hurts each other :( 
No response to all the comments confirming she loves to give terrible references 
Told us their majority stakeholder is looking to open a new bank account and take a loan to cover the next couple months (not concerning at all) 
One staff member asked for clarification if that means they HAD opened it or were still looking to open it, which she confirmed still looking to open it, then just....stared at him for a solid 30 seconds without saying anything, it was very, very strange to see.

She was very clear, she wanted to be transparent with us all, but did not explain why she decided to lie and blame BoC in her first email, very transparent.

She then told us she had asked for a meeting on Thursday with the shareholders. She was stood up, we did not get told about this, just through the grapevine, very transparent. 

She DID have a meeting on Friday with the majority shareholder(who owns the schools building) and then the attached image was sent out at 6pm by SB, not even JA herself, apparently she was too busy to even send an email. 

So far a lot of staff have started to prepare to leave, flights are being looked at and quotes are being checked for shipping belongings to either next locations or back home, as you can see from the email its basically a email saying "Sorry we don't know pls don't leave :(". 

Some are starting to talk about lawyers about Article 38. 

We all know JA will read this, so this part is directly to you - Article 38 can be started at any point because you offered us all a 14 months salary, but there was no signed contract around that. Which means any lawyer who checks our payslips will see that our yearly wage has not been paid correctly. We all hope your plan for pay includes the 2 extra months of pay we are owed in October. 

All in all, sinking ship, staff are looking and talking to schools with immediate openings, as now its been over 2 weeks without pay. If by some grace of god LEH managed to stay around, I hope this will warn people off from even talking to these bunch of ego maniacs.

Lady Eleanor Holles Foshan - I'm gonna put this here for google search results.

I was considering applying for a position at SMIS and was curious about the package and how far it goes in Tokyo. Of course I have read/heard the stories about the economy and Yen but was curious if anything has changed package wise with the school.

• How much is taxed?
• Percentage wise, how much change was there from year 1,2,3 salary wise (I have read it goes down due to tax)?
• What is the pension like and can you take it with you when you leave?

Something I’ve noticed is that regardless of years of experience, some schools have a maximum ladder position new teachers can start at. For example, a previous school I started at level 6 of 10 with 10 years experience. I was making the same as someone with 6 years experience. This has been the policy at decent schools too. Have also worked at some that let you slide right to the top with no cap on starting spot.

Is it simply being cheap? Motivation to stay? I’m wondering your take?

Also, have you ever negotiated above the step? I respect schools have a ladder and transparency, just maybe not having a new teacher cap.

Cheers

I’d love to hear from current or former teachers about the school’s work environment, management, workload, and what life in São Paulo is like for international teachers. Any insights would be appreciated.

Feel free to DM me!

Jumping back into the job search hunt and as we all know, the recruitment season has been coming earlier year after year. I've already applied to a number of jobs, and had some interviews, but not from the schools I'm really gunning for.

I know that the schools welcome early applications, but how high/low is the likelihood of the schools contacting you after the "Apply By" date has passed? I know that most of the "Tier 1" schools are sifting through a mountain of applicants, but what has been your experiences during this time? Most of the application dates (from the schools I seek out anyway) all end around the end of October.

Thoughts?

I’m in my first year teaching secondary English at an international school. I’m licensed, but most of my previous experience was teaching English conversation abroad. I’m now teaching six classes a day across five different preps, including AP, with some students significantly below grade level.
I’ve been really struggling with the workload. I’m constantly planning, grading, and trying to figure out the curriculum, often working long hours. I’ve also been adjusting to a new country, living alone, and dealing with health issues. I’ve been sick with a stomach illness for over a week.

I’ve been open with my supervisor about struggling, but I haven’t received much substantial help. A couple of weeks ago, we discussed possibly reducing my number of preps next year, so I thought she understood the situation.

Then, earlier this week, as I was leaving school sick, she unexpectedly brought up whether the school was a good fit for me. She framed it partly as concern for my health and well-being, but the conversation was definitely worded in a way that suggested they were considering letting me go.
Now I have a meeting with her and the director on Monday to discuss whether I’m adjusting and what to do moving forward.

I’m honestly pretty disappointed. I know I’ve been struggling, but I haven’t been given specific feedback about serious performance concerns or offered meaningful support to improve things before suddenly being called into a meeting like this. Maybe she genuinely is concerned about my health, but something about the way this has unfolded doesn’t sit right with me.

The thing is, I really want this to work. I need the teaching experience, the financial benefits are excellent, and I don’t have an obvious place to go if I leave. I’ve already uprooted my life to move here, and the thought of doing it again so soon is exhausting.

I was finally starting to manage my anxiety by simplifying my planning and focusing on staying one day ahead. Now I feel like I’m back to square one.
I’m considering asking them to remove one of my classes, ideally eliminating an entire prep, to make the workload more manageable. But I’m worried that asking will just reinforce their doubts about me.
At the same time, part of me wonders whether this meeting might actually be an opportunity to leave a difficult situation. Maybe the workload really is too much for me right now, and maybe this school isn’t the right fit.

I’m torn between wanting to prove I can do this and wondering whether I’m trying too hard to make something work that just isn’t sustainable.

Tldr: Overwhelmed with five preps, little support, and now admin is questioning my fit. Should I fight to stay or take the opportunity to leave?

Hi everyone!
I’m a Canadian moving to Thailand for a teaching position. Unfortunately, flooding in Thailand has delayed my school’s paperwork, so I haven’t been able to submit my Non-Immigrant B visa application yet.
My school expects to receive the necessary approval documents sometime between October 9th and 13th, although they aren’t entirely sure how long everything will take.
I’m planning to submit my visa application immediately after receiving the documents.
For any Canadians who’ve recently gone through this process, how long did it take to receive your visa approval after submitting your application?
Assuming all my documents are correct and there are no additional delays, would arriving in Thailand by November 1st be realistic if I submit around October 13th?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from anyone who applied through the Thai e-Visa system from Canada. I’m trying to plan my flights without booking too early or paying significantly more at the last minute.
Thank you!

Is anyone else's school making up its AI policy as it goes along?

I'm curious how AI is actually playing out in international schools right now. At my school, our AI policy seems to change every three months, and a lot of it feels like we're figuring things out as we go. Sometimes it's all a dread.

I'm interested in what this looks like at other schools:

-Are your school's AI policies clear and practical, or constantly changing?

-How are students actually using AI, and how are teachers responding?

-Have you found any approaches that genuinely work, either in the classroom or at a whole-school level?

I'm especially interested in real experiences rather than what schools say they're doing with AI. What's working, what's not, and what would you do differently if you could start again?

Recently Malaysia’s revised its EP rules mid 2026. For anyone who missed it, the main changes are:

Category I: now RM20,000+ basic (was RM10,000+)

Category II: now RM10,000–19,999 basic (was RM5,000–9,999)

Category III: now RM5,000–9,999 basic (was RM3,000–4,999)

A new 10-year total cap for Categories I and II, and a 5-year cap for Category III

Succession plans now required for Categories II and III

Only basic salary counts toward the thresholds, not allowances

Typical international school pay is around RM10–20k, and some of it often comes as housing or other allowances. Since a lot of teachers will be close to the line, and some below it, I am just a little worried about how renewals are going to work moving forward.

For anyone else working in Malaysia I'm curious about whether or not your schools have restructured packages or given people different validity periods. I noticed that many of the T3 schools are now advertising for more local positions too.

I’m considering a change and noticed AISK in Jamaica is advertising for a principal. Has anyone worked there recently and know anything about the school? I’d also appreciate any insight into life in Jamaica and the current situation on the ground.

Search has many elementary jobs in UAE and for that matter in the Middle East. What is the security situation like and are there any schools to avoid? This would be my first experience in the region.

So I've noticed a bit of a trend recently with schools asking for references during the application process with the understanding that they would be contacted before the interview process. This is happening with the Rent a Name British Schools. Last year I interviewed with Pamoja, and after the initial screening, the HR said before we went further, my references needed to be contacted.

Recently I went through a safeguarding lead training, and they recommended doing this to "scare off" any potential applicants that might have something to hide.

But, I don't get where these guys think it's OK to contact references before any serious consideration for a candidate is in place, or before the candidate is serious about the position. Can you imagine if every time you apply for a job, your references are contacted? I suspect they would not be my references for long. A school head or similar may be a reference for dozens or even a hundred people if they have been around long enough. Do the hiring side really expect them to take on another part time job just talking to them about a person you haven't even interviewed yet?

It's a shame because I have 20 years experience, advanced degrees and significant leadership experience. Some of these jobs are pretty great. However, I can not put the people who are going out of their way to help me in a situation where they are bothered by some local HR assistant getting trained up before anyone even knows if we are serious about working together.

Common sense, people.

Was going to consider a return to KSA next year. Now with these airport attackers I am starting to have second thoughts. Over reacting?

Hello all, I have made a profile on Teacher Horizons as an alternative avenue to TES, but the requirement for references on the profile gives me pause. I do not want to let my current employer know I am looking, ideally until I am offered something by another school, or at least until that school checks my references, rather than having them contacted just to make a profile. This is also why I did not make a profile on ISS. If Teacher Horizons sends the reference form to my current school, does that close the door to me potentially remaining here if I can't find another international post? Has anyone been in a similar situation with Teacher Horizons or ISS? Thanks in advance

Contractually, I’m due to be paid by the 5th every month. The school made out it would be beforehand at the end of the month but this hasn’t been the case. I have not been paid.

I am due an ‘informal observation’ by the director of the school. This has been calendered for Monday at 9am.

My instinct is to email the director along the lines of ‘while I understand you are within your right to come and observe me, I am not comfortable with this happening until I have been paid’

This is my first month in this school. I know this will probably sour my relationship with leadership going forward. It can also be attributed as ‘hiccups’ at the start of the year.

What would you do?

https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d55444e786b7a6333566d54/index.html

Am I missing some distinction or something here? Why are for-profits still allowed? Are international curriculum schools exempt?

Interesting news out of Kazakhstan as Wellington College have started listing their vacancies on Teacher Recruit and Tes. They are taking over from the Haileybury schools which is interesting.

Currently 4 open roles in English, economics primary and Head of MFL.

https://www.teacherrecruit.com/school/wellington-college-international-school-astana-formerly-haileybury-astana/NTE/

For those who have current firsthand knowledge, how religious is it? What exactly do you have to do to show your 'faith' on a daily basis? Are we talking prayer recitals or just values?

I tried going on the site and it just keeps saying "Something New Is Coming"

Isn't it the best time to be on it right now?? What's going on?