TEACHING OVERSEAS IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
Tod A. Lawlis

In the 1998-99 school year I was teaching in the Klein school district in the north Houston
suburbs.  In the early fall of that year, our music supervisor sent out a memo about the American
International School of Lagos, Nigeria, and that Klein ISD was in a partnership with AISL.  
(Tacoma WA School District No. 10 had been partnered with AISL since 1965; Klein made the
connection in about 1994.)  Because of this partnership, AISL does most – probably about 95% -
of its overseas teacher recruiting and hiring through Tacoma and Klein.

As a result, both districts were informed that AISL wanted, for the first time, to add a band
program to its course offerings and music studies.  In fall of 1998, they were “advertising” for a
band director.  None of our music staff in Klein seriously considered it at the time, including
myself.  However, when we were told that the AISL Superintendent (basically a principal – it’s a
school of 480 students, grades Pre-K through 9) was coming to Klein for interviews (there were
also classroom vacancies), I decided that it couldn’t hurt to listen to what he had to say.  Two
days later, I signed on the dotted line and was preparing for a move to Lagos.

That being said, it doesn’t usually work that way.  For the vast majority of overseas international
schools, teacher hiring takes place at job fairs.  For someone currently teaching in the States, it
would be safe to say that you would need to attend a job fair.  The largest and most prominent of
these is conducted by International School Services (http://www.iss.edu/).  ISS acts as a “clearing
house” – persons interested in teaching in an international school (whether currently doing so or
not) create a personal portfolio/file with ISS.  Administrators are able to browse those files.  Files
should be established fairly early in the school year.  The website should provide you with the
requirements for overseas teaching.  For example, I believe that ISS requires two years of
experience and a Bachelor’s degree in order to establish a file with them.)  In many schools, this
is the type of timeline that is followed:

November
Teachers are asked about their intentions for the following school year – are they leaving, are
they requesting an additional year, etc.  (For many schools your initial contract is for 2 years.  
After that, requests can be made each year for one-year extensions, or you can look elsewhere.)

November/December
Job announcements will begin to appear.  A good source of job listings is “The International
Educator Online” (http://www.tieonline.com/).  They don’t conduct job fairs, but they do provide a
service that allows subscribers to post their resumes, receive notification of openings in their field
of education, and then forward their resume/notice of interest to the posting school.

Mid to late February
The main ISS Job Fair is held (usually in Boston).  They hold other fairs as well, but this is the
primary one with the most schools represented.  You show up with your portfolio and visit with
school administrators, hoping for interviews.

I think it is often the case that administrators will often try to “snag” music people early.  There are
usually more positions than applicants for jobs like ours.  You should also know that this process
will cost you some $$$.  There is a fee for establishing your file, for attending the fair, for the
hotel at the fair.  (Yes, there are cheaper hotels in Boston.  However, it’s like TMEA – lots of
wheeling and dealing in the evening hours, so it’s helpful to stay where the action is!)  I think you
can find most of this information on the ISS website.  They also publish a directory of all of the
international schools they represent.  ISS is a service for international schools – not a governing
body.  Each school is its own unique institution.  While, for example, many schools will the “The
American International School of …”, they are not affiliated with each other.

I should also mention that the types of music positions are varied.  Sizes of international schools
can range from 100 to 2,500 students.  Some schools look for a “jack-of-all-trades” – someone
who can teach all of it (band, choir, general music).  Here are some of the types of positions I’ve
seen in the past few years:

• Band Director, MS/HS
• Band Director, MS or HS
• Band/Orchestra
• Band/Choir (one person teaching both)
• Band/AP Music Theory

… or any combination of the above!  Lagos wanted a Band Director, and that’s all I did there.  
Dhaka wanted a MS/HS Band Director who was also comfortable directing the HS Choir, and I did
that.  (I have experience as a singer.)  Now I’m going to Seoul International School where I will be
the MS/HS Band Director.

In Dhaka, I directed the HS Choir (until the school added a part-time choral position), the HS
Band (48 students), MS Band (30 students), 6th Grade Beginners (30) and HS Beginners (12).  I
also prepared students for International Honor Band auditions (MS and HS) and for our regional
music festival (SAISA – South Asia Inter-School Association – 9 schools from Bangladesh, India,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.)  In Seoul, I will have a HS Band, MS Band, Beginner Band, Jazz
Band, and will co-conduct the Orchestra with the strings teacher.

Teaching overseas has been a fantastic experience!  Dhaka, for example, has students from
approximately 40 countries.  (The largest percentage is from the US, with a 2nd place tie between
Bangladesh, our host country, and South Korea.)  Each school is different.  The location of the
school often determines the background of the students.  In Lagos, for example, a large part of
our overseas population had jobs in the oil industry.  In Bangladesh, there are lots of families
working with international aid organizations, diplomatic missions, garment industry, finance and
business.  It really does vary from school to school.)

It has been a totally different experience for me.  As much as I enjoyed my teaching – 11 year – in
the States – including UIL, etc. – this is very different.  While I enjoyed contest season and all of
that good stuff, it’s truly great to teach without that kind of pressure – teaching the joy of
musicianship without worrying about what those 3 people think.  Yes, my bands in Brownsville and
Klein won their UIL and South Coast Band Festival trophies – I’m not someone who couldn’t cut it
in Texas and went out in search of something easier.

Teaching overseas does require a strong degree of independence and confidence.  When you’re
at an international school, depending upon the location, you’re often “it”.  There are no private
lesson teachers, woodwind/brass/percussion specialists, and no assistant director.  Your
beginners are all in one class, and you have to know all of the answers.  That was the most
unusual thing for me to adjust to in my teaching.  I’m a brass player, and had never taught
beginning woodwinds.  The knowledge base was there, but not the experience.  You learn quickly!

Schools offer a variety of salaries and benefits packages.  In Dhaka, having just completed my
17th year of teaching, no degree or hours beyond my BME, I was making a base salary of about
$34,000.00.  While that doesn’t sound like much, keep these things in mind.  There were no taxes
withheld.  (US citizens working overseas are exempt from US income taxes for the first $65,000.00
of their income, and we did not have to pay taxes in Bangladesh.)  My housing was provided,
along with a utility allowance.  I had medical insurance.  My summer travel to the States was paid
for.  I received a Relocation Allowance each year.  I was provided a shipment for personal effects
going into and then leaving Dhaka.  As I said, this varies from school-to-school.  Smaller schools
will have less to be able to offer.  Bigger doesn’t always mean better though.  Dhaka had to offer
a good package because – well, it’s Bangladesh.  Schools in major European metropolitan areas
don’t have to offer as much – there’s never a shortage of people wanting to work in London or
Paris.  A friend who taught in Brussels told me that a single teacher paid 58% of his salary in
Belgian taxes!  

When the jobs are announced, check them out.  Not only are you trying to sell them on the idea
of “you”, but they have to sell you on them.  There will most likely be some correspondence
between yourself and the school prior to the hiring fair.

It could also be possible that you attend a fair and do not get a job.  If you’ve got good
qualifications, I don’t think that’s likely.  It also wouldn’t be a problem with your current position.  If
you are offered a job, it would all be done in February or March, if not sooner.  It has to be early,
as there is a lot to do in preparing to relocate overseas, and it will take a few months to do it.  So,
you could attend a fair without having to resign your current position in Texas.

My kids have been wonderful, and I’ve been fortunate to be at two schools for which the arts are
of major importance.  I’ve had good, supportive parents.  It’s definitely been a breath of fresh air
in teaching!

There are a few of us Texans out here in the international schools band world.  (In addition to
myself, there are Texas BD’s in Berlin, Heidelberg, and Osaka that I know of.)  We can always
use more!  I hope that this has answered some of your questions.  If you have more, please feel
free to contact me and I’ll do my best to answer them for you.  I’m sure there are more things that
come to mind for you after reading all of this.  Please let me know if I can be of any further help to
you.

Tod Lawlis is currently band director at Seoul International School, in Seoul, South Korea