
There’s no shortage of outstanding schools that are neither IB, nor tier-1. The question, however, for those of us aspiring to a tier-1 IB school is: What does it take to land a position in such a school?
Here’s how ISR Members see it:
“Generally, the rule is you can move up a tier or over from one region to a more desirable region with each successful 2-year Contract. So, if you start with a third-tier (Contract 1), you’re looking at a floater third-tier in a better region. Your second time (Contract 2) would be a second-tier IS. Next, Contract 3 is a floater, and a first-tier IS in Contract 4. So that’s about 6 years in IE.“
“I think the fundamental premise is to have deeper pedagogical content knowledge which means you can guide all students successfully, both in terms of every day learning as well as steering them through complex assessments, projects and extended essays. 3-5 years is a good time span to experiment and refine teaching/learning strategies.
“Three to five years seems about right. The rest of your CV needs to tick other boxes as well, and of course there are always exceptions where someone got into a top-tier school with less IB experience. So, don’t hesitate to apply already. And of course there are top-tier school that don’t do IB.”
“It depends on how you define top-tier. I got a teaching position at a top-tier IB school with 2 years of IBDP experience. However, I would not describe that school as a top-tier school even though I have seen it appear regularly on numerous ISR top-tier school lists [in the ISR Member Forum.] I did go on to teach in what I would classify a solid top-tier school after 5 years of teaching IBDP.”
“What can also help is having international experience in the same region or a similar type of country in terms of level of development. A tier-1 school in Senegal might prefer experience in a similar(‘ish) African country rather than in Western Europe, since some countries are not for everyone.“
Good News for Less Experienced Educators
Under certain circumstances, COVID-related Visa restrictions are working in favor of lesser experienced educators. Take China, for example: If you’re currently in China at a tier-2 or tier-3 school, now could be the right time to make a move to a tier-1 IB school. The mere fact you are in-country with a Visa in hand can put you ahead of a more qualified candidate not yet in-country and for whom Visa acquisition restrictions may be a detriment to their candidacy.
YOU may be more IB tier-1 School Ready than previously thought.
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