7.4

I feel I must write a review in response to the only other one- they obviously had an ax to grind and in my opinion rated the school unfairly. First, this school is not perfect as most IS are not. I will try to list facts and stay away from personal bias. Right now there is and Elementary, Middle, HS, and Nha Be (new campus) that is currently from Grade 1-9 (next year it will be K-12 and there will no longer be an independent HS campus). Almost all of the students are Vietnamese, but you get your occasional Korean and of course teachers' children. I believe that the cap for Elem classes is 18 but most have fewer than that. The students are kind and eager to learn. The new campus is lacking in resources, but I believe that the other campuses are well supplied. If you need anything, you simply fill out a request form and you will receive your items. A teacher with an MA and 8 years of experience makes about $2,400 a month (school pays all taxes) and single housing is $700. AIS HCMC does not pay as much as SSIS or ISHCMC but the savings potential is still huge! It is easy and inexpensive to fly from HCMC to KL, Singapore, BKK, HK, Laos, Myanmar. There is a professional development allowance, but you do need to apply and get approved. On arrival, the school provided a hotel for the first week in order to find an apt. and a $300 settling in allowance, and I was personally greeted by the principal at the airport. The school requires that teachers book and pay for their own ticket but I received reimbursement within a month of arrival. The school follows the American curriculum and as the American curriculum is always changing, our school's curriculum seems to change with it- this can be frustrating, but teachers are working towards making one. The admin generally allows teachers to teach as they like, so that is a great benefit. If you're looking to get your foot in the door, this could be a good fit. If you have a lot of IS teaching experience or are coming straight from the US WITHOUT any IS teaching experience, this might not be the best fit for you. As with any school, if you are considering a position, ask the person that you interview with for the contact information of a FEW teachers. Remember, everyone has a slightly different experience so I wouldn't trust just one experience. Good luck!

4.6

AIS Vietnam is a young school - maybe 5 years old? But it has been around long enough to have become positively established if it worked towards that, but it hasn't. This school has extreme problems. In a nutshell, the owners have mismanaged the school so extensively that the faculty's salary is paid late more often than not. This has been happening for years and in communicating with those currently teaching there, they have been paid as late as two weeks! Additionally, the owners confessed they are out of money, even though the students have all paid for the year, so the faculty and staff are wondering how they will be paid for the rest of the year. The owners have many businesses and this is just another business. The administration is very poor and not qualified for the job. They are not open to input from the faculty at all and they move current teachers around so they can hire old friends and colleagues. It is difficult to get good administrators because the owners have fired so many of the previous administrators on the spot. There are 3 campuses and a "new" campus that teachers have been told for years would be open while they are there. The building of the campus has been idle for years. Students in some classes are not provided with textbooks and have to share one set in the classroom. The technology of the school includes many very old computers. Anyone considering going to this school, I'd highly recommend trying to find the email of a teacher currently working there to learn more, and ask the tough questions.