Any teachers out there??

[TravelHippo]

Since discovering Dr1, It seems I have become addicted!! It is lucky I had this week off of work, or I may have been in a bit trouble!! Now, after hours upon hours of reading, and feeling fairly confident I can't get this answer from the SEARCH option....

Are there any users that are either currently teaching or have past teaching experience in the DR.....that are currently using DR1...and would be willing to offer a bit of advice??

I PM-ed several that have posted in the past that they are available for info and advice but it seems, from the number of posts and lack of replies, a lot of these people are no longer checking their messages, at least not frequently, so I felt it safe for me to ask!

[Hillbilly]

Depends. I have been teaching for 42+ years...here inthe DR...

HB

[La Profe_1]

I am not teaching now, but I did some "special circumstances" teaching here in the past.

[Chirimoya]

Scandall, eralc777, Jennyfurry and holita are all current DR1 posters who work as teachers in the DR. That's just off the top of my head - there must be several others.

[TravelHippo]

Great to hear from all of you!

For those of you who are teaching or taught in the not so distant past, would you mind sharing your salaries? A few of the schools my boyfriend is currently applying for list their salaries between 11 000 - 16000 to start. Is that about the same as you are seeing? Also, others ask to name a salary. As, it is hard to distinguish which are the more posh and which are the poorer schools by only researching them online at this point...do you think it would be okay to ask for something on the higher end of the salary scale that was named by the other schools? Or do you think asking too high might turn them off?

Another question, and I am sure the answers will vary, did you have the position before arriving in the DR, find it while there, apply before hand and interview there, etc, etc? My boyfriend is applying at the moment but we will not actually be in the country until late July. School's begin in August. Do you think this would be a problem?

And lastly, any tips of what schools are looking for? Being male, I am told will give him a little boost, as it would in most countries as they are in short supply. Would being British possibly be a plus for some schools? Anything else?

Oh sorry, one last time as my boyfriend is beside me asking me to ask... I read over some past posts and also researched elsewhere about children with special needs in the schools. Most seem to be in the capital or other big cities. Do any of you have any children with special needs in your schools? Or know of any schools with a special needs population in smaller towns?

That is all I have for now but any other tips you think of are useful! Thank you all so much for your help!!

[Hillbilly]

Have you tried the Abraham Lincoln School in La Romana? they only use teachers from the UK...at least that is what I have heard.

Be sure to get hired before you come here. Local hires get less pay, generally speaking.

HB

[TravelHippo]

Thanks Hillbilly Yes, that one was on our list. He hasn't sent the applications in yet but that is his weekend project. I wasn't able to find a website or an email for Abraham Lincoln though.... and it seems from past posts on here, no one has. Is that still the case? I do have the fax and phone though, which should do.

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by TravelHippo

Thanks Hillbilly Yes, that one was on our list. He hasn't sent the applications in yet but that is his weekend project. I wasn't able to find a website or an email for Abraham Lincoln though.... and it seems from past posts on here, no one has. Is that still the case? I do have the fax and phone though, which should do.

I did a bit of surfing for you and both here
Worldwide Classroom: Abraham Lincoln School

and here
Abraham Lincoln School

it gives the address as Central Romana Corporation (sugar and the rest) so
it could be one of the schools referred to here
Central Romana

Worth a try
Central Romana

[TravelHippo]

Thanks very much Lambada...

We'll try both faxing his CV to the number listed with the school directly, as well as contacting the Human Resources department from the Central Romana site, as I'm not sure which would actually be in charge of hiring the teachers (if either). It says on the site "while the government provides the necessary teachers and curriculums needed to meet the national standards." so it may well be someone, other than the actual school, that does the hiring. Anyway, I'm sure we'll figure it out! Thanks for doing that bit of searching for us!!

[Lambada]

I don't know if the Head still is Henry Magee as it says on those sites, but you could ask Central Romana (in English & Spanish - to impress ) for the Head's email address. Or try finding him by searching the web. Good luck!