Finding suitable school for international student<\/p>\n
Martina Zainal, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After a house, the next major financial and emotional
\ninvestment most parents must decide on is finding the right
\nschool for their children.<\/p>\n
Parents who are posted to another country for employment have
\nthe extra burden of finding an educational system available in
\ntheir host country that is most suited to their children.<\/p>\n
Like buying a house, looking for the right school requires
\ninvestigation into its foundation (how long it has been
\noperating), infrastructure (what facilities it offers, where it
\ngets its teaching staff), and community (whether it is in a safe
\nenvironment, or teaches about local cultures).<\/p>\n
What concerns most expat parents are the methods of teaching,
\ncurriculum, facilities and where staff come from, said Marilyn
\nArdipradja and Lynnette Johnson of Koll Relocations. Another
\nfactor is: Does the school accept any student? The Japanese and
\nKorean schools, for example, are among those that only take their
\nown nationals, said Marilyn. The French and German schools are
\namong those that will take any student who speaks the language of
\nthe school. Most English-speaking international schools,
\nincluding the British International School (BIS), Jakarta
\nInternational School (JIS) and Australian International School
\n(AIS), also now have a 15 percent to 20 percent local student
\ncontent.<\/p>\n
One British mother, May (not her real name), said that when
\nshe knew she was coming to Jakarta she looked up \"schools,
\nJakarta\", on the Internet while she was still in Scotland. From
\nthis, May was able to make up a list of schools she thought were
\nsuitable.<\/p>\n
She was lucky in that a friend who had lived in Jakarta and
\nhad just returned to Scotland was able to give first-hand
\ninformation about the schools in Jakarta because their sons were
\nin the same school in Scotland. She said she chose JIS over BIS
\nbecause it was a larger school, even though BIS has the British
\nsystem May's children were used to. May said she felt that as her
\nchildren were very sociable and older she wanted them to be able
\nto mix a lot more with a greater variety of children.<\/p>\n
She admitted it would probably be a problem when they
\neventually moved back to Scotland but she still wanted her
\nchildren to experience the American education system because, she
\nsaid, \"it treats the children as individuals and develops their
\nstrong points, making them more independent.\"<\/p>\n
\"I wasn't happy with the British system in Britain anyway, so
\nto be able to experience another system is good,\" she said,
\nadding that it was clearer what the school expected of the
\nchildren and that the school was more prepared to direct them and
\nhelp them than their old school did. This might be a factor in
\nthe school of your choice, too. Will you be returning to your
\ncountry of origin after your Jakarta stint, or will you be moving
\nto another country altogether? What will the student be faced
\nwith after Jakarta?<\/p>\n
Also realize that when you have your list of schools to visit,
\ndon't just go by how they look on their Web page or in their
\nbrochure. Of course, any school is going to try its best to look
\ngood to prospective students. May said she also asked around when
\nshe arrived in Jakarta, to double-check on what her friend had
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
You should be able to speak to parents who have children in
\nthe school of your choice: those who are involved and like-minded
\nabout their children's educational needs. Try to e-mail them
\nbeforehand.<\/p>\n
Also, be sure to ask the school of your choice whether where
\nyou live makes a difference to being accepted. JIS, for example,
\nLynnette said, strictly followed its own zoning regulations with
\nregard to what schools your child could go to, depending on where
\nyou lived. So, check this out with other schools as well. Traffic
\nin Jakarta can be horrendous -- there can be no other word for it
\n-- at times, so if you live too far from the school, your
\nchildren could be spending literally hours in a bus or car going
\nto and coming home from school.<\/p>\n
And remember, no matter how good you think the school is that
\nyou have picked for your child, it is still a time of major
\nemotional adjustment for the new student. Face the fact that
\nleaving home and a school full of friends and moving to a strange
\ncountry with a multicultural student body can be daunting for any
\nchild.<\/p>\n
Realize this and be prepared to have a mass of patience and
\nunderstanding for your child, \"the new kid on the block\". The
\nschools should also have staff that understand this and are
\nprepared to cope with it calmly and gently. May said it was about
\ntwo months before her children really settled in and began to
\nenjoy their new experience.<\/p>",
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