When I got hired to teach for RAIS, it was at a big international school teachers fair. At that fair, there were hundreds of schools that had job openings and thousands of teaching candidates. It was very competitive, but I had my "must haves" in mind. As you may or may not know, I am one part of a teaching couple. I am here with my 3 kiddos (2 of which were born here in Saudi), and I had some specifics in mind. When I went to the job fair, this school was not even on my radar. I just happened to walk by the booth and thought, "Hey, we could always apply there too." I had a list of criteria that I wanted from my school, and I had initially ruled out RAIS on paper, but then after getting interviews at 26 schools and job offers from most of them-- we narrowed our choice down to RAIS. The school is not perfect, but they do have a lot of benefits. One perk is the paid summers off, which many schools are cutting out.
Well, when I interviewed they school gave me a rundown of some of the basics, and now I want to share that info with you. I am going to retype up the paper, because my copy is a bit water damaged, but hopefully this will give you some new information that I may not have shared with you yet . . .
In our secondary grades (grades 6-12_ the school day also begins at 7:00 am for teachers. Secondary students attend a short morning assembly at 7:15 am, and then classes begin at 7:30 am. There are seven 50 minute periods, a 20 minute morning break, and a 30 minute lunch and prayer break each day, additionally, students have a 5 minute passing period between each class. Most secondary teachers average 5 periods per day throughout the week, and are assigned one break per day to monitor students with other staff members. We do not have in-house substitute teachers, so everyone takes turns covering classes when it becomes necessary. Students are dismissed at 2:30 pm, and staff are free to leave after 3:00 pm.
Our classes have a maximum of 22 students. We emphasize our teachers' ability to manage their classroom and teach their students to a high level of understanding. We don't place a significant emphasis on paperwork or lesson planning (although it still is required), and we encourage our staff to work together to compete their assigned tasks, such as communal lesson planning, review, and adaptation. We follow a typical American-styled teaching model, and use Common Core standards for English and Math. We use Pearson textbooks, shipped directly from the USA, for all subjects, except those required by the Saudi Ministry of Education.
Each grade level (K-5) and subject area (6-12) has a Lead or Head Teacher who meets weekly with their teams to discuss any issues and help with planning. Our Lead and Head teachers are team oriented, like-minded, and stress a cooperative atmosphere. We understand the difficulties and nuances that come with teaching in a new position, and our teams work hard to ensure that every new teacher is looked after to ensure a smooth transition into our school.
Our school leaders at every level, from lead teachers to school directors, have a wide range of experience and expertise with our students and systems, and we strive to make use of those experiences to help all of our school stakeholders succeed withing the community that we have worked hard to develop.
Our school also emphasizes a culture of community involvement and the opportunity to contribute to our wider community outside of the classroom. We believe that teachers aren't just cogs in the machine, but are integral stakeholders in a school community. We encourage our staff members to take initiative, and welcome teachers who would value an opportunity to develop skills outside of the classroom. We are always willing to provide teachers with the chance to establish themselves as a community leader and make positive contributions in developing our school.
Our current teacher retention rate is over 90%, and we have received considerable positive feedback from our staff members about their experiences at our school. We place significant value on our school's staff stability and continuity, because we have seen that the greatest successes for our students have come from invested, satisfied teachers.
Well, when I interviewed they school gave me a rundown of some of the basics, and now I want to share that info with you. I am going to retype up the paper, because my copy is a bit water damaged, but hopefully this will give you some new information that I may not have shared with you yet . . .
Greetings from Rowad Al Khaleej International School!
Teaching at RAIS
In our elementary classrooms (Grades K-5) the school day begins at 7:00 am for teachers. Students attend a short morning assembly at 7:15 am, and then classes begin at 7:30 am. There are eight 45 minute periods, a 15 minute morning break, and a 45 minute lunch and prayer break each day. Most elementary teachers average 5 periods per day throughout the week, and are assigned one break to monitor students with other staff members.In our secondary grades (grades 6-12_ the school day also begins at 7:00 am for teachers. Secondary students attend a short morning assembly at 7:15 am, and then classes begin at 7:30 am. There are seven 50 minute periods, a 20 minute morning break, and a 30 minute lunch and prayer break each day, additionally, students have a 5 minute passing period between each class. Most secondary teachers average 5 periods per day throughout the week, and are assigned one break per day to monitor students with other staff members. We do not have in-house substitute teachers, so everyone takes turns covering classes when it becomes necessary. Students are dismissed at 2:30 pm, and staff are free to leave after 3:00 pm.
Our classes have a maximum of 22 students. We emphasize our teachers' ability to manage their classroom and teach their students to a high level of understanding. We don't place a significant emphasis on paperwork or lesson planning (although it still is required), and we encourage our staff to work together to compete their assigned tasks, such as communal lesson planning, review, and adaptation. We follow a typical American-styled teaching model, and use Common Core standards for English and Math. We use Pearson textbooks, shipped directly from the USA, for all subjects, except those required by the Saudi Ministry of Education.
Each grade level (K-5) and subject area (6-12) has a Lead or Head Teacher who meets weekly with their teams to discuss any issues and help with planning. Our Lead and Head teachers are team oriented, like-minded, and stress a cooperative atmosphere. We understand the difficulties and nuances that come with teaching in a new position, and our teams work hard to ensure that every new teacher is looked after to ensure a smooth transition into our school.
Our school leaders at every level, from lead teachers to school directors, have a wide range of experience and expertise with our students and systems, and we strive to make use of those experiences to help all of our school stakeholders succeed withing the community that we have worked hard to develop.
Our school also emphasizes a culture of community involvement and the opportunity to contribute to our wider community outside of the classroom. We believe that teachers aren't just cogs in the machine, but are integral stakeholders in a school community. We encourage our staff members to take initiative, and welcome teachers who would value an opportunity to develop skills outside of the classroom. We are always willing to provide teachers with the chance to establish themselves as a community leader and make positive contributions in developing our school.
Our current teacher retention rate is over 90%, and we have received considerable positive feedback from our staff members about their experiences at our school. We place significant value on our school's staff stability and continuity, because we have seen that the greatest successes for our students have come from invested, satisfied teachers.
Our Contracts
Our contracts are competitive, and will reflect your experience and qualifications. The salary you receive is your complete take home pay, as there are no taxes or fees of any kind in Saudi. Our contract benefits include:- Furnished housing at a private compound located either immediately adjacent to the school or a short drive away (by school bus). You also have the option of taking a housing allowance, which is about 1,500 SAR a month (can vary).
- Round-trip airfare once per year (given in cash)
- Full medical and dental insurance
- An end of service bonus that consists of 1/2 month's salary for each contract year up to 5 years, followed by 1 full month's salary for each contract year over 5 years.
- We also offer a contract resigning bonus of 1 month's salary given at the start of each new contract period (normally issued by January) + an increase in salary
Some other things to take into consideration about the positions here in Saudi-- there are no local taxes, nor will you be subject to US income tax, and the cost of living is considerably cheaper than most other places because of generous government subsidies and the very cheap cost of gasoline (roughly $0.45 per gallon). Most of our staff members are easily able to acquire their basic living needs using around 1/4 of their monthly salary.
On average, our staff are able to save 25%-30% of their salary while still be able to utilize our location in the Middle East to travel extensively around the world.
Living in Saudi-- Dammam
Our housing compound is located immediately adjacent to our school complex. It has 24 hour security (as do all the housing compounds), as well as a regular maintenance and support. Our apartments come furnished, and include free basic internet. Each apartment comes with a combination washer/dryer, and there are full size washers and dryers available on several floors for communal use. There are two gyms, one with standard treadmills, ellipticals, and bike machines; and the otehr with a full assortment of free weights. The swimming pool is temperature controlled, and ther rec room has a pool table, table tennis, and a buffet bar area with a dining table and several couches for community use. We typically hold several holiday celebrations (put on by teachers) throughout the year, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There are many other smaller functions that make use of this space on nights and weekends.
Our branch of the school is situated about a 15 minute walk to the Dammam Corniche (seafront) whick is lined with a parks, playgrounds, and walkways. It is great for a stroll in pleasant winter weather with daily highs in the mid-70s. There are an enormous number of restaurants within a one mile radius of our school, which include everything from almost every kind of fast food to local neighborhood eateries and sit down restaurants.
Ex: McDonalds, Outback Steakhouse, Indian, Baskin Robbins, etc.
There's a major American-styled grocery chain (Tamimi) about a mile from our compound, as well as many other smaller shops and corner stores across the street. There are also at least 4 shopping malls within a 10 minute drive. We're near the growing center of Dammam which has numerous souqs (local markets and shops of just about every kind. The Dammam/Khobar/Dhahran area is a metropolitan tri-city of about 25 square miles and has a population of over 4 million. The Eastern Province is the center of the oil industry so there are many more Western expats living in this metro area than anywhere else in Saudi.
Our staff have found that its quite easy to acquire the vast majority of the comforts of home, and when things are not available they've been fairly resourceful in finding something suitable to fit their needs.
Access to quality medical facilities is easy, and many of our current staff members are able to make recommendations to a number of facilities based on the care you need. Because of the generous nature of our insurance and government initiatives, many prescription medicines are significantly cheaper than you pay anywhere else, with some staff members able to pay less than one tenth of the typical cost in their home country. Most pharmacies carry a wide array of modern over the counter medicines, and our teachers are easily able to track down basic everyday care items.
All of our staff members are given assistance in setting up a local bank account, which comes with a full array of modern banking services including online banking, very reasonably priced and secure international money transfers, and currency conversion. Non-Saudi residents have a number of other financial capabilities, including the ability to open internationally recognized credit cards (MasterCard, Visa) through the bank in which they hold and account, as well as receive loans for personal use through banks registered with our company. Banking institutions in Saudi typically abide by Islamic banking rules, which are consumer friendly, maintain very low interest rates, and do not typically have certain established Western banking practices such as ATM withdrawal fees.
Our school is easily served through our local international airport, as well as connected to the much more liberal island of Bahrain via a short drive along a causeway. Once you arrive you will get your iqama (resident card) within 90 days. They you can easily (and quickly) apply fro your multi-entry visa which will allow you to travel freely in and out of Saudi, and arranging a ride to Bahrain for a nightly or weekend getaway is quite simple and very enjoyable. Over the years our staff members have put together a list of reputable drivers and private taxis, all of whom can be hired by an individual or a group of teachers to get around the metro area and many are willing to drive over to Bahrain as well for a reasonable fare.
Our staff members also come together several times each year as a travel group to visit some popular tourist destinations in Saudi including Madina Saleh, the city and oasis of Al Hasa, Ithra Science & Cultural Center, and the Janadriyah Cultural Festival.
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