Feedback for International Schools in Phu My Huong

Hey there
My cousins are studying at SSIS, and i think that is a good school
You should go there one day, and check by yourself.
The condition are good. And all staff & teacher are very friendly and nice

Ok, Thanx for sharing, hav planned a visit at SSIS

Most schools here re what I call 'industrial' schools set up solely to extract money fro your wallets particularly those who have arrived since 2000.

SSIS was set up by a development corporation to enhance their house marketing efforts rather than to educate children. SSIS staff have been reduced this year as well as other cost cutting efforts.

The Peoples Committee don't care about foreign school standards as so few VN children attend. However they did make one round of inspections and found that many were lacking in their curricula.

School fees often reach USD$20,000/year PLUS there is an application fee PLUS a capital expenditure fee. They love those extras.

Many schools require transportation (for which they have another FEE) Then there is a school uniform FEE (cheaper at the local tailors)

Check BIS, they have lower fees and high standards in Q1. Also the German school.

Only children born in VN or those of Viet Kieu can attend VN schools, except in remote areas. My teenage daughters fees are around USD%45/month.

How old is your child? There are good schools to choose from but give some idea of the age and I will help you more.  I have worked in administration here for years now and know many people in different schools.

SSIS is actually really exceptional if you consider teaching quality, facility, and accreditation.  Many people I have known from the US send their children there when they are only here short term.

BIS is also very good.  CIS is not worth the money, and is far and away the most overrated school in the city.

The fees are very high at most of these schools, and honestly none of them are worth their price, but you don't have many options if you want to work and live here.

I am still running a kindy, so if you have young children let me know and I will introduce the school for you.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Hi VietRob, thanx for da reply, I do share some of Ur opinions. My son is just 3 now, we visited SSIS today morning to find that we can enroll him in Aug 2012 only, so till then we are looking for a playgroup etc. do let me know for Ur suggestions. We live in Phu My Huong so looking for something around

Thanx

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Depends on the age of the children and what standard of education you want. Have had children at 3 different schools in the Phu My Hung area over the past 5 years.

Singapore International School, RISS and SSIS. There is no doubt in my mind that SSIS is by far the best of the three.

Hope this helps

Willwall

My son goes to ABC (called ABCIS now). It's okay, but as others have said, it's expensive and I don't think any of the international schools are worth the huge amounts of money they charge. But we do what we gotta do.

Thanx Willwall & Kathy for da feedbacks....................will help us

Girish15 wrote:

Hi all,  would appreciate to get some feedback on International Schools in Phu My Huong, like SSIS, Renaissance, CIS & ABC......pl share, will help us to decide, our kid will join from Jan,  Thanx

CIS is Tiny and getting smaller.

Renaissance is a shambles, they have started employing unqualified Australian backpackers instead of the staff advertised on the website.

SSIS was very good, but they now are being asked to make a profit so are suffering.

ABC seems to still be going in the right direction.

ACG is trying to be an IB school, but is not big enough to be able to employ IB teachers yet.

Upfront, I am a teacher at CIS; just want to be honest and disclose that.
CIS has increased its enrolment this year. We are expanding, putting in a new secondary library, and starting a bilingual Vietnamese/English school too. We are out of the way; Q8 is out there. But ALL our teachers are Ontario certified teachers and we are subject to two Canadian inspections a year. And we are staring the IB application process this year.
I just want to share information from one who is inside the walls of CIS and not have you rely on speculation.

lnigalis wrote:

Upfront, I am a teacher at CIS; just want to be honest and disclose that.
CIS has increased its enrolment this year. We are expanding, putting in a new secondary library, and starting a bilingual Vietnamese/English school too. We are out of the way; Q8 is out there. But ALL our teachers are Ontario certified teachers and we are subject to two Canadian inspections a year. And we are staring the IB application process this year.
I just want to share information from one who is inside the walls of CIS and not have you rely on speculation.

You arrive in the country on the 17th of July and 1 week later you are an expert?

Well Big Dave, Seeing as I have been in contact with my school for over eight months now, and have visited the school and been through our orientation, I think maybe I might know a bit more than you do. Do you teach there? I don't think there is anything in my post that implies that I am an expert on Vietnam or Sai Gon, but seeing as I am employed there and I do know for a fact that a couple of things you said were just wrong, I thought it might be important to add what I know. I don't know why you are so defensive about it. No one wants to make a decision on something as important as where their child is going to school based on limited or inaccurate information.
Your public insult will not help the original poster of this message make a decision. Next time feel free to PM me.

BigDave wrote:

You arrive in the country on the 17th of July and 1 week later you are an expert?

I most likely have as a jaundiced view of the commercial school industry as you. I have now been involved in five detailed annual surveys, been threatened with physical assault 'by nasty people' if we didn't withdraw/review - which then resulted in even wider dissemination. There is a vicious battle being waged for those students as  the Foreign body count contracts.

Canadian International School, out in the bush country off Nguyen Van Linh has actually improved with a continual expansion program  - according to parents we spoke with. We understand the student body count is approximately 600 students this academic year. The student population is English Vietnamese and Korean speaking. The presence of Korean children means that their very selective parents are satisfied with what they see in CIS.

Accreditation means little. You either earn it or you buy it. Too many of the latest batch of schools, post 2005, buy theirs getting all sorts of fancy write ups in return for their dollars. The true word for it is marketing.

How else can a school that's only been in business, for that's what it really is, for a couple of years have a substantiated scholastic record?

Look at SaiGon Pearl. Looks good, sounds good but they only have 100 junior students. They are offering discounts even, to boost the body count. The former head has gone and the new marketing director, sorry, head teacher has a goal to at least make this business pay.

You can't run a school building on the revenue generated by 100 junior grade students. Hell, some of the accredited staff aren't even based in VietNam! The school is owned by Cognita of Singapore which is a front company for Cognita UK which is funded by a vulture or venture capitalist.

I never knew vulture or venture capitalists made for scholastic excellence?

Is it CIS that has just opened a new school? CVIS

I know that BIS is cashing in on it's name by opening a bilingual school, I wonder if the CIS brand is strong enough to lend it's name to a language school.

BigDave wrote:

I know that BIS is cashing in on it's name by opening a bilingual school, I wonder if the CIS brand is strong enough to lend it's name to a language school.

BIS doesn;t have to cash in on anything, they have a track record that is substantiated by parent evaluations.

CIS is not a brand, as you call it, trashy outfits like Cognita are a brand, to adopt your terminology. 

Vegemite is a product name used by the brand name Kraft.

CIS is indeed opening a new bilingual school this year. It is called BCIS (Bilingual Canadian International School). I know very little about the new school except that it is over by Panorama. We have been far too busy preparing for our first day of school tomorrow.
But that said, I think the bilingual education model is an excellent idea. If the students can stay strong enough in both languages, especially academically, it will only be to their benefit.
I think it is really too bad that people have used parents' desire to have the best education possible for their children as a way to take advantage of them and swindle them out of lots of money.
That is certainly NOT the agenda at CIS or BCIS.

Jaitch wrote:

Only children born in V or those of Viet Kieu can attend VN schools, except in remote areas. My teenage daughters fees are around USD%45/month.

My soon to be ex-wife was born in VN. We married in HCMC in 2005; she now has US citizenship. If I move to VN with my daughter, will she be allowed to attend VN schools as her mom was born and raised in Vietnam? (daughter born in the USA and I am not Vietnamese)

Saigon Visitor:
You have to restore / gain VN citizenship for people either born here or born to people born here.

This would likely require the co-operation of the child's mother.

Immigration is a complex subject so your first approach might best be through the VN diplomatic channels (embassy - consulates) in your country.

Remember, also, travelling with children can also be fraught with difficulties - the guardian parent (the one with custody) has to approve the travel but it's always best to at least notify the other parent.

The airlines are required to do this, by law, in the US of A and several other countries.

As far as the VN schools are concerned, they are frequently not the most modern but they do install a good learning / work ethic in students and with additional tutoring in their later school years are able to easily achieve IB standards ... if they can speak English, which is required VN school subject.

Jaitch:
Thanks again for the input. I am the primary custodial parent and her mom would help with paperwork (we are still very friendly). I was impressed by the math, science and language teachings to my wife's sister (now at university in HCMC). I thought about finding a local school for my daughter (age 5) and then donating additional books, computers, etc. to the school ... spend to help all the kids at the schools she attends instead of spending on the international school. Might look into getting my daughter dual citizenship prior t the divorce being finalized ... Might be easier. Can I qualify for a dual citizenship while still married? Ok, thanks again.

Dave,

I am offended by your comment. As an Australian who works at Renaissance, I can say that not one word of what you have said about our school is truth or fact. You are somebody harbouring a grudge against the school, have vested interest in another school, or are simply someone of a destructive nature.
Renaissance is a school which rigorously checks the qualification of it's employees. If Australian teachers are the current trend, then this probably reflects the raised standard of teaching experienced within Australian society.
Recently some British staff members were dismissed of duty, unfortunate as this was for the teachers, it reflected the managements level of care for the student body, with a zero tolerance for incompetence.
Our students experience the highest levels of achievement, reflected through our outstanding IGCSE and IB results. We are moving from strength to strength, a shared feeling amongst our parent community, owed fully to our dedicated and hard working teachers.
At the desires of the governing body and senior management, teachers are requested not to become involved in on-line argument about the school; this has often allowed for the school to be easily slandered with little or no response. However there is only so much personal insult one can take.
We are open, transparent and welcoming, we would invite any person to come and see our school for themselves.
First hand experience will always be more valuable than the words of the biased.

John

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Hi Jaich,
For $45/mo is not bad.

Could you please share some info?

I will touch base with you again as soon as I'm arrived.

Thanks again.