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Dear New teacher

I have just returned from JKS do not be fooled by all the positive speak on the website!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything this former teacher has said it so very true.  The work is unrelenting and the management are horrendous they are never off your back for such ridiculous things all the time.  The kids are rude beyond believe and the management blame you for everything. 

Here is the first comment written by a former teacher about jeddah knowledge school. If you want me to post more let me know. It will give you an idea of what teachers would expect once they signed for jks.

Comments: Warning! TOXIC ENVIRONS, GRADE FIXING, LACK OF RESOURCES, WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION, LACK OF PRINTERS, SHIFTING OF TEACHING POSTS, EXTREME UNPROFESSIONALISM AND MASSIVE MISCOMMUNICATION!!!!

I took this post thinking that since it was an IB World school it would be somewhat professional, organized and satisfactory. I was wrong. I arrived to find my classroom bare of promised materials and resources. There was also confusion as to what classes I would be teaching. I was told one thing before arriving, but ended up teaching something completely different to what I am certified for. In my department, the old-timers (any teacher who managed to hang on more than 6 months and who returned that fall) were not helpful in providing important information that was essential to begin. It got to the point where information was being withheld in an effort to undermine me. This was curious since it was well known that these very staff had such a hard time when they began at the school, only a year or less before.

Be warned, it was reported that over 25 staff left at Dec. holidays last year and did not return! The students run the school and are disrespectful to teachers. It is well known that once we submit grades at 1/4 or Semester breaks, that they come back to the students and are "magically changed" as one returning teacher put it. Students are "not allowed to fail" meaning that they are allowed to take tests over and over until there is a passing grade which is also changed. The IB program was new and being assessed the year I taught at JKS. I am shocked, actually, that the school passed the assessment. Many of the teachers are encouraged to teach via power point lectures. The sage on the stage type of teaching is embraced here. Out of the box creative thinking, teaching, and learning is not. The heads of department are always fighting amongst themselves, ordering directives that contradict another's, resulting in mass confusion in an already morbidly chaotic school culture. There is no such thing as communication here. Only miscommunication. There are not enough computers for each teacher. The email system sometimes does not work and we were not allowed to print things for our lessons. Teachers were told this was for a new "paperless" system but that they still had to submit study guides for students. (Thus, it was suggested we buy printers for our villas and do printing and copying at home!)

There is a negative vibe . Smiles are rare. Positive feedback or support from anyone is rare if not impossible to find. The situation is toxic. If you are thinking JKS is a good place to learn IB and get experience, think again. It is a trial and set of traumas to get through. IB training is not provided until the second year of your contract so you have to wing it the first year...that is--if you get through it. Most teachers find this school posting via TES, Joy Jobs, or TIE online. However, why SA and ECIS continues to sponsor JKS is a mystery to us teachers. WIth so many leaving, such corruption, grade fixing, etc....SA, ECIS and ISR should have had warnings to prospective candidates. That they currently do not is very odd to say the least. It just does not make sense at all that it has gone unreported.

That is a point

So Tracey, you say you 'just returned' does this mean that you have broken contract and left early? I ask as one who left for another Jeddah school after 3 months at JKIS...

Dear Tracy . Sorry to hear about your experience.

Jks cannot continue like this. The turnover is crazy. However my main concern is why is the IB giving them accreditation in the first place? Having taught there, they are in no way teaching the ib philosophy. I kinda knew what schools are like in this region in regards to professionalism, staff we'll being and academic honesty. But I thought that since jks were accredited then perhaps they were better. How wrong was I ! I am very tempted to write them a letter asking them why they thought jks was accredited with in status?!

Anybody even thinking of teaching in any Saudi (i.e., Saudi-run with Saudi kids) K-12 school must be insane!

Why would that even cross anybody's mind when there are several decent Western-managed K-12 schools dotted across the country?!

Hi Trapezius,
Don't mistake 'Western-managed' for Western, I have just left another Jeddah school, after nearly 2 very happy years there. However since they lost the previous head master over corruption issues in June of this year the school management sadly has fallen apart and they are now on their 5th headmaster since June over 40 teachers were sacked last month and parents are pulling out their children as soon as they are able to find another school to send them to.

So beware thinking that a western school has these values running deep, as the staff and pupils of Jeddah Prep and Grammar can tell you to their cost that these standards can be easily lost.

Hi all at JKS

@ willnelson: A little introduction will be most welcomed

I´m looking for information about Jeddah and their directors.

Please PM me...

Thank you.

JKS is supposed to be "one of the best schools" at this time in Jeddah...if this is not the case can someone give me some other options..am very confused!

NEVER teach in a school with Saudi administration.

If you have a Western teaching qualification, your best options are:

- American International School of Jeddah
- British International School of Jeddah, aka Continental School
- Jeddah Preparatory and Grammar School

Google for websites.

Listen to Trapezius newtojeddah, it is good and truthful advice. Many have choosen not to listen and ended up fleeing from the school late at night.

The girls section is much better than the boys section!

Considering them~ I know PYP/IB can mean rich kids and inflated grades (because it can also mean some great creative flexibility!), but is it really a toxic environment? or was that a mixture of Tazz1967 bringing his ethics of grading papers (no offense intended!) too far into a culture of posh, with a splash of someone else's individual bad experience with a little flair for spice. I've been teaching internationally for 8 years, it can be hard, but how's the community? The people around, are they fun people (and no, I don't need alcohol to think of someone that way!) I'm looking for people who've been there in the last two years to reply please... I understand about the directoral turnover from a few years ago as a rocky time. My question is about now. Thanks!
~Optimistic,
Merging Traffic

Listen up so my sister teaches at JKS and her daughter graduated from JKS so I'm just here to tell you that it's a great school. It pursues excellence in education and its accredited. JKS is a thousand times better than conti and American school and by the way Jeddah prep is horrible. My niece graduated from JKS with an IB diploma certificate and is now in Harvard. My sister is very happy teaching in JKS(the girls section) but I understand that the boys section is horrible. You also get to live in Al Sharbatly village which is wonderful unlike other schools in Jeddah. Honestly ignore other replies JKS is the BEST.

hello ...hope you are good in health...i just need your help i have 6 year teaching experience.can i get job in jks...is there any vacant place available?

Hi

Can you tell me about your experiences teaching at this school because I have applied to teach Psychology there.

Regards

Trevor

Hi

Did you work there, and tell you tell me what it is like. I have applied to teach Psychology  and would welcome your feedback.

Regards

Trevor

Hi

Can you tell me what it was like working in this school. I have applied to teach Psychology there next year.

Regards

Trevor

Hi,
I taught there a few years back and still have contact with some staff. Unfortunately, it seems it's still as bad as it was back then.
I experienced bad behaviour (I would say the worst school so far)
Poor management - everyone is micromanaged
Long hours, demanding parents. Massive turnover of staff .
Avoid... There are better schools out there.

Can you tell me what your experience at teaching at the school were like.

Trevor

Can you tell me what it's like working at the school.

Trevor

Thanks for the update.

Trevor

Trevor....maybe try asking on a different forum. On Facebook join the Susie of Arabia group and ask there. You may not only hear from teachers, but parents as well.  Especially since this is a pretty old thread, minus the one reply you received.

Many thanks....

Hello, I am  from Jeddah originally ,but I am so sorry to say that Jeddah Knowledge is the worst school my kids studied at . The worst thing is the principal as well as the management only think about money. What is more important, the student become over confident that they thought they are well educated and the education system of the school is very strong .
Overall JKS is A big big bubbles.

I think the Advanced Genrtion AGS school became better than JKS.

Many thanks for your email, I am not going to work there, and sure what my plans are for next academic year.

Take Care

Trevor

All the best !

Abeer

JKS: 20 years of failure & faking education

Don’t know where to start...
They have lost, made run or fired some of the most skilled, strongest, Middle east experienced & most efficient teachers in the world.

First, JKS weak highest management employees will always be on the the kids side for money & business purposes, always blaming teachers rather than supporting them.

Roughly, a jail where you have to check in & out every day with fingerprints and are being watched in every classroom & corridor, not to talk about the kids’ very disrespectful behavior, being accepted by the two current heads of school (boys & girls side) who will never support you.

Accepting a job there would be the biggest mistake in your lifetime.
Management would allow itself firing teachers just because few very agitated students have complained before their parents that teacher is too severe, too strict (as he has not let them play in the classroom). Teachers will then be fired in few days in any unpredictable situation, without even any extra baggage allowance or any mercy.

I wish I had been warned before!
Don’t end up fleeing during holidays like 30 others each year in the girls side as well as around 50 more in the boys side.

Much more details to come, if needed.

PS: Do check and trust Abeer, hamudi & honestteacher comments which are the most accurate but also others'

Hi
Are you still in Saudi

I'm so glad I found this forum. I was uspposed to interview with them last week but they couldn't figure out how to use Skype. Forgiveable, even understandable - but then they insisted that the only time the head of the school could interview me was at 10:00 am Jeddah time (3:00 am USA time). I told them I'd appreciate a more humane time for an interview. I'm supposed to talk with them at 8:00 tomorrow morning. I'm dreading it. I've been offered a contract here in USA and am only looking abroad to have a more interesting experience and make more money. I'm also concerned about where my 15 year old, very American son would go to school - and how much I would have to pay for that. Any honest feedback would be appreicated.

All these negative posts have really got me thinking twice about JKS. I appreciate the honesty.Are you still there? Is it still as bad as you described?

Thanks

I was offered a job at JKS a couple of weeks ago and I have declined their job offer.

The interview was very strange as the woman, Yasmin Suleiman, spoke about my reason for coming to the country with my own visa as opposed to using my husband to sponsor me. When we moved on, she said she needed someone with a deep knowledge of literature and I told her, surely I fit the bill as I've got a degree in English and I am a teacher of English. She shook her head and told me that the British curriculum is different to the IB and to apply again once I join my husband in Jeddah. I thought that was the end.

The next day, I got a job offer from them. I was completely taken by surprise because the interview had been cut dramatically short. Anyway, I proceeded to accept but I had lots of questions that I would've asked had she given me the chance. So, I corresponded with HR with questions and clarifications because so much of their contract and offer was worded strangely and vaguely.

After, I asked about the dress code for female staff members, I began to see the true colours of JKS or the administration. In their policy, they wrote female members aren't encouraged to wear the headscarf during teaching hours. This shocked me and I asked whether they will allow me. Again, the HR was very unclear saying they don't prohibit it but don't encourage it either. I even called up to seek clarification, where she repeated that they don't prohibit it. I then asked, so can I wear it or not, at whcih point she simply sighed and said she'd put it into writing for me.

This was my decision making day as it was the deadline for handing in resignations in UK schools. I naively waited and she didn't respond on that day and therefore, I decided that I would push through with it. After all, they don't prohibit it, right? Wrong!

After handing in my resignation and contract, the following morning, i finally received a clear answer that they 'could not accommodate my request'. I find it duplicitous that they waited an entire day to write 3 sentences knowing full well I was under a time crunch,

Anyway, my UK school was kind enough to retract my resignation and I declined JKS.

Be very careful and make sure you clarify any doubts you have!

why do you need a headscarf if you are working with all female staff?

I've grown up wearing it and wouldn't feel comfortable not wearing it and personally, with all the LQBTQ stuff, modesty isn't gender specific anymore. Also, I think as Muslim women, it's important to lead by example and my headscarf is a huge part of that.

I personally think that the quran is the guidance for every single muslim woman, regardless of times. - we are not obligated to cover in front of women.

Hi