International
Schools Assisted by ISS
American international schools overseas are typically private, tuition-based schools which recruit, on average, fifty percent of their staff members from North America.
Private,
Non-Profit Schools
Elementary and secondary schools, some extending only to grade eight
or nine with a multinational enrollment, make up the greatest number of
overseas schools. They serve international business families, the diplomatic
community and the host national community, ranging enormously in size,
number, origin of staff, and composition of the student body. English is the primary language of instruction.
Private, non-profit schools generally offer a curriculum based on either an American or British model. Many also offer the Advanced Placement (A.P.) diploma, or the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) diploma, an internationally-recognized credential. In some regions of the world, notably Central and South America, private non-profit independent schools enroll a high percentage of host country nationals. Such schools also generally offer the local national curriculum in some form, often integrated with its international counterpart. The nationalities of the staff members in these schools tends to reflect the nature of the curriculum, e.g., American schools tend to have more American staff members. The administrative structure is provided by a board of trustees and the superintendent or director of the school, as in private schools in North America.
Company
Schools
A small number of overseas schools are fully built and supported by
a company to provide education to the children of its international
employees in a particular location.
These schools are often administered under contract by an
international educational organization, such as International Schools
Services, and are usually quite small, e.g., a K-8 school with less than
l00 students. These schools
tend to be located in more remote locations, as dictated by the
sponsoring company’s business, e.g. oil, mining.
Proprietary
Schools
A relatively small number of proprietary schools are operated
overseas as American or international schools.
They offer an English-medium curriculum, but are distinctly
different from other international or American schools in that they are
operated for a profit. The owner or owners serve as the board of trustees in such
schools.
National Schools Offering an English language Curriculum
Many
cultures view an English based education as an ideal for their children,
given the global use of the English language as a primary means of
conducting business.
As a result, private national schools offering a dual program in
their native language as well as English have grown in number in recent
years.
Many of these schools are accredited not only by their
country’s ministry of education, but by a U.S. accreditation
organization.
Salaries
and Benefits
Salaries and benefits for staff of overseas schools vary
considerably. The cost of
living in the host country, the size of the school, and the isolation of
the location are among factors affecting salaries.
Sometimes salaries are paid in the host country currency,
possibly with a percentage paid in US dollars; sometimes salaries are
paid entirely in US dollars. Round-trip transportation to and from the
school location is often provided, either annually or at the beginning
and end of contract. Most
schools, except many of those in western Europe, provide housing or a
housing allowance; the majority provide medical insurance.
A little more than half provide retirement benefits plans.
Some schools offer items such as a foreign service premium or a
contract completion bonus. Overall,
many overseas-hire teachers find they are able to save more money than
if they were teaching in North America.
US citizens overseas, who are not working for the US government,
receive a tax exemption ($80,000 annually, effective 2002).
Overseas teachers may be liable to pay taxes in their new
countries of residence.
Administrative vacancies overseas
Qualifications for establishing a
Professional File with ISS;
Application Forms
Reactivating a Professional File