Comments on CNIS-Chinese International School

[Forks]

I did some checking (my source - a mother who has a child in the middle school and a mother with 2 kids in the primary) and CNIS does not have a new principal, its the same old school principal and the problems there continue unabated (for example there have been many staff leaving in the last 6 months, both teachers and administrative).

Where did you get your info from?

[adahmen]

I visited the school at the beginning of the year to look at primary 1, and then again in 'spring' to look at kindergarten.

I met up with a parent who was deeply impressed - and at the same time, very aware of the short comings. The PTA got going and is pushing for some improvements (sanitary, etc.).

My son is turning 4 this year, and we're looking for a good primary school. His Chinese is quite good already, as he goes to a bi-lingual, excellent local day care.
We're not interested in any particular curriculum - we're European, but intend to stay here for long. (mom and son are both PR... yeah, I know the NS question will pop up if we're still here in 12 years).

We like the idea of sending him to a local school. Next to the reasonable fees, I don't want him to grow up in expat-wonderland or have his circle of friends changing every summer.

We even considered home-schooling (mind you, we're not educated as teachers so are a bit concerned about the quality of our teaching ).

So, does anybody have a good idea for us?

[Forks]

Ahh you must be talking about the primary at CNIS, yes they are doing better than the rest of the school, its seems the problems resides mostly in the secondary and high and the management and I have herd many good things about the head of the primary, a lady from Bangladesh I think.

Your problems with the "expat bubble" are the same that I am my wife have faced with our kids, the change of friends, the instability of the situation and the costs of education all do leave us wondering about alternatives such as home schooling. At this point thats not possible but getting the kids into a stable environment is important and often schools just dont seem to be able to provide that so we make do ourselves. At some point we intend to return home and want our kids not to go back and be shocked by what they go back to.

CNIS is a good place for primary and kindergarten to be sure but the other parts of the school seem to have a plague of problems from what it appears, the sad thing is that it has been like this since it started 3 years ago, the two parents I know with kids there are resigned to being there till the end of the year, their problem was not the problems per se but the fact that they never got fixed or changed, they kept paying the high fees but always got the same line when there was a problem which in the end has lead them to look for alternate education.

[carolynW]

I have a friend that sends her kids to home schooling in Malaysia and she said its the best thing she has done after both public and private schools, the workbooks are from abroad and they have a center where there are tutors to take them thru the curriculum. So not the parents teaching the kids.

[Forks]

If one parent is at home then it is quicker and much more effective to home school. Of course there is the whole social aspect of school that is missed out but there are groups for such things and not all of the social interaction at school is good, home schooling has a lot of positives and not so many negatives as far as I can see.

[patterson]

CNIS does have a new high school and middle school principal, but the head principal of CNIS is the same. Neither of these principals have had much experience in leadership roles, nor were they trained in school management, or education for that matter. The new high school and middle school principal teaches bird-watching in personal development class (that is to grade 10 students), and seems to have no clue about the learning process of students. That is a major problem. I have heard that the head principal was chosen by the school owner based on a friendship, and not based on ability. I can believe that.

I do agree that every school has its problems, but I know that I would not continue to send my student to this school. I think that this school might be cheaper than other International Schools in Singapore, but my child's education is much more important than saving a few dollars. I decided to withdraw my child from the school, for the sake of her education.

I dont know if this school will close down eventually, but I do know that it will not be an effective institution unless the management is changed.

[carolynW]

The headmaster was chosen because of his experience in running schools in China.

[MCNB]

Delia2: Just to clarify, do you have children enrolled in the school right now? If so, any detailed information you can provide about your experience (good or bad) would be appreciated. Thanks!

CNIS has a new principal with a lot of proven
ability/experience, and a new administrator
for K-6 curriculum who also has strong credentials.
I see a lot of improvement at the administrative
level and in the curriculum. If you're wondering
about CNIS, you should investigate for yourself,
not just because a few parents aren't representative
of a large group, but also because the 2007-2008
year is pretty different from the current situation
heading into the 2009-2010 year.

Maybe a distrust of recruiting officers would
be the only constant over time.

[patterson]

The headmaster was chosen because of his experience in running schools in China.

I am just saying that a person could be hired as a "teacher", and work for a few months having no real idea of what they are doing. They could just follow what they have experienced growing up. If they grew up in China, then they might just replicate the Chinese system of education, which does not promote creativity or deep understanding.

The same is true for being an administrator; the thing that is most important for me is that he has not studied school leadership at any university, nor has he studied education. It is a recipe for ineffectiveness. Even if he has been in the position of headmaster before, it doesnt mean much.

if I worked as a dental assistant for a few months, does that make me qualified to work as an actual dentist in another clinic? Would you let me work on your teeth?

[Warwick]

The bilingual offering is still what attracts many parents to CNIS - however the school still sufferes from high teacher turnover, a lack of process and structure around the curriculum, an administrative team that is woefully poor at their job and who tell parents blatent lies about class sizes etc.
Unfortunately this school is at that stage where it will offer any child a place even when the child speaks no English or Chinese. It is very much run 'for profit' at the expense of resources for the classroom.
Parents are asked each year to supply materials for their classes - yes! pencils, scissors etc.
There are no sports facilities, apart from a tired and old cage that the kids run around in and only now are they waking up to the idea that it makes sense to have a PE and music teacher on site - until now, these were carried out by the poor overworked homeroom teacher.
The school is in a muddle and until they employ someone with vision to lead the administrative teams, the teachers and to provide clear direction and clarity around curriculum, they will continue to garner criticism and attrition.

[weareone]

I heard that lab facilities are very poor for mid/high school students at CNIS. Most of middle/high school students are not even able to speak/understand simple English while teachers are teaching in English. How do they set admission criterion to CNIS?

[aprilla]

This is a place where any ambitious teacher would never stay longer than one semester. The place is run by a bunch of incompetent people and every six months a teacher disappears from the school because she/he has simply enough. Looking for a job at CNIS is looking for troubles. Your children would not learn much either. Standards which would never be accepted in Europe. Be warned.