cheapest international school

[boffenl]

Exodus is happening for lots of reasons, not just quality of the curriculm and staff!

[Forks]

Exodus is happening for lots of reasons, not just quality of the curriculm and staff!

A mother who has a child in the middle school told me that CNIS has "nothing right" about it, from the food the school serves, to the blocked toilets, to the staff who refuse to return calls, from students caught drinking alcohol and smoking on campus, to several other things I cant mention here, shes going to pull her child out at the end of the academic year.

I have my kids in an International School and while there is always some sort of problems, by in large the school does a great job of educating my kids. CNIS is almost universally reviled by anyone who knows anything about it and even my kids friends who go to a different school than my kids know about it as a bad place.

What kind of school is this?

[daytripper65]

Hi,

We had our kids in this school for one semester and I posted after a horrible first day, which turned out to be the tip of the iceberg. Incidentally, I was approached by "administration" about that post, in spite of presumed anonymity on this board. In fact my name is nowhere, but I guess my profile, age of kids, and complaints were obvious in such a small setting. Regardless, I was taken aback by the boldness.

Everything you mentioned is a definite factor, and more. My child was harrassed daily by a boy who was staying with a guardian family. He had significant issues that this school does not have the support for. At first they told me that they had spoken to him, and things would be fine now. When I said they weren't, they said "of course they are." When I said they weren't again, they said my kid had to "toughen up." I knew three other parents who had significant problems with bullying, and the response from "administration" to all concerns range from outright denial to minimization. On several occasions I arrived to find my kids waiting unattended in the parking lot for me, in spite of complaints, which time and again were met with utter denial (oh no, that cannot be, you must be mistaken). Plays and events were always chaotic and poorly planned, and frequently missed by many parents who simply were not informed. When we did happen to arrive on the right day at the right time, we were shocked time and again by uncontrolled noise level (audience was louder than the poor kids on stage), rude outbursts, kids heckling each other, nill acoustics in spite of sloppy running around during every performance for a working microphone (that was never to be found), etc.
NILL communication, across the board- Teachers came and went with no mention (even in spite of intermittent lulls), poorly planned/communicated events, conferences, apparent lack of a basic phone system to reach teachers and adminstration (in spite of being a very small campus) ETC. One day I called needing to speak with my child urgently, and they told me they had no way to reach the teacher, could I please e-mail her.

The kids reported unruly behavior in classes, i.e. Being laughed at while trying to give an oral report (the whole time), kids telling the teacher "You suck," refusing to do what they are supposed to; not easily intimidated by "authority." I saw kids outright ignoring meager efforts by teachers to get them to stop shouting/punching/being rude, etc. and I saw two physical fights erupt while I was picking the kids up--one that I intervened in myself due to nobody else being around.

There is plenty more, including a haphazard "curriculum" consisting of stacks of worksheets coming home with your kid not learning a single concept at school. So you end up doing the teaching yourself anyway. And that was the atmosphere there. Very negative.

[Forks]

Hi Daytripper

Those sounds like some serious problems you mentioned.

I wonder why the Ministry of Education or someone else has never gotten involved in this school, it seems to warrant some sort of investigation.

[jon0lim]

Hi Daytripper

Those sounds like some serious problems you mentioned.

I wonder why the Ministry of Education or someone else has never gotten involved in this school, it seems to warrant some sort of investigation.

"Registration by MOE does not in any way represent an endorsement or accreditation of the quality of the courses offered. Prospective students of private schools are advised to find out more about the private school, the quality of the courses and the background of the local organisation that facilitates the delivery of the courses before making a decision to enrol in the course of study."

They don't really seem to care about what International Schools do...

[Forks]

Hi Daytripper

Those sounds like some serious problems you mentioned.

I wonder why the Ministry of Education or someone else has never gotten involved in this school, it seems to warrant some sort of investigation.

"Registration by MOE does not in any way represent an endorsement or accreditation of the quality of the courses offered. Prospective students of private schools are advised to find out more about the private school, the quality of the courses and the background of the local organisation that facilitates the delivery of the courses before making a decision to enrol in the course of study."

They don't really seem to care about what International Schools do...

Oh dear, thats that then.

Caveat Emptor!

[obuvki]

I'm surprised you even mention Pat Schoolhouse as International School. It's 100% Singaporean. My kid went to local kindergarten that got bought by Pat's. They quadripled the fees and fired the more expensive (full college educated) teachers, adding all kinds of additional fees on top without improving the quality at all.

[GaiaGirl]

Is there any International Schools which have lower fees? We have to pay the fees from our own wallet...

It’s the ongoing fees, which you’re expected to pay every year, like administration & infrastructure that are the killers. Big school with big overheads seem to demand HUGE fees. Plus these schools seem to think expats are swimming in money.

Rosemount Kindergarten is a relatively small private expat school and we found their fees are much smaller too. We've been going there for a year and a half and we’re very happy with the quality.

Well worth looking into. It might just fit the bill - Good luck :)

Yes, I like Rosemount, too, but they are no longer cheaper than the big International Schools, and if we are to pay such high tuition fees, we expect a lot more for our money than what Rosemount can provide.

[Forks]

more news about the "saga" at CNIS. Just herd that some of the key staff have quit and moved on, after less than a year as well, and some teachers too. The student problems remain as bad as ever Im told. Worse of worse all this is happening as exam time approaches, not the best time to be leaving.

Given the economic crisis it will be interesting to see how they do in the next school year.