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Teaching in the Dominican Republic

Last activity 24 August 2019 by planner

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sarah_25

Hello all,

I currently work as a high school teacher in the UK teaching French, Spanish and Latin and I am hoping to move to the Dominican Republic in the future, hopefully teaching in an international school. I have been looking at the Punta Cana area but an open to other places as well. I was hoping you may be able to help me out with a few questions.

Does anyone have any experience of teaching in the DR and how does it compare to teaching in the UK?

What are the best ways to look for jobs in international schools - is it better to contact schools directly or are there teaching agencies maybe that collate job vacancies?

Is there a 'job window' when jobs are advertised?

How do the salaries compare with those in the UK?

Many thanks in advance

planner

Welcome to the forums.  The experience will be absolutely different than anything to date. 

In comparison, the pay will suck.  You won't be doing it for the money.

No there is no agency here honey.

You will need to contact each school and the window is from about March to June as our school just started up again in mid August.   Note you will need to go through the work visa process so be prepared!

sarah_25

Thank you so much for your reply! I wonder if you could give any more detail - in what ways would you say the experience will be completely different?
In terms of pay, from what I've been able to research from different websites, it can vary from anything from ¢200-3000 per month - is this at all accurate? Which end of the scale would pay in internationals schools be at?

planner

International schools will be at the higher end, but getting into the best schools will not be easy without experience here. They will look for you to have worked in another international school here first as the adjustment can be significant.

Contracts often include living accommodations.

Living here and working here is totally different then you are likely used to. It takes some adjustments!

Start reading the various threads about living here honey, that will get you started.

A common complaint that I hear from teachers - remember I am not a teacher, this is not first hand - Dominican students whose families can afford to pay for private schools are spoiled brats. I am told they are horrible to work with. And the parents are no better.   

Others will chime in I am sure.

legs208

Planner,
My wife just retired from teaching high school in the US and taught AP and college level courses, she said the parents are the worst. Very demanding and unrealistic.

sarah_25

Thank you all for your replies- It's really kind of you and very helpful!

planner

We are glad to help!

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