School name: International School of Phnom Penh
Director's name: Barry Sutherland 2009 - 2012
Evaluation 11) 2010 - 2011
Academic int
Code: Select all
Effectiveness of administration 2
Academic and disciplinary support provided 5
Director's involvement in academics 2
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 2
School has adequate educational materials on hand 6
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 9
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 7
Yearly salary range for teachers in US dollars $30K - $50K
Satisfaction with housing 4
Community offers a variety of activities 7
Availability and quality of local health care 6
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 3
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 8
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 4
Extra curricular load is reasonable 7
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 3
Comments: I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to international schools review as it is easy for disgruntled teachers to make unfair comments about schools. However, the teaching profession is something that I highly value. In the interest of integrity, I must submit a brief review of ISPP.
The last couple of reviews have offered a very realistic picture of where ISPP stands at the moment. Whilst every school has its ups and downs, ISPP is suffering at the moment. The comments about benefits being cut, about unfair flight allowances, and not being granted personal days despite it being part of the contract are absolutely accurate and true.
There were a number of departing teachers that were given very poor flight allowances. The school even refused to provide a proper flight to one family's home of record. Both director and business manager will simply ignore emails when being questioned about benefits. Sure, the director interviews all teachers during the year to discuss how things are going which is a great thing. However, the results of such interviews are twisted, contorted, and published back to the faculty always painting a brilliant picture of staff morale and happiness. This just ends up leading to major mistrust between staff and admin which is the current state of the school.
The elementary head and assistant head do not have the professionalism or social skills to deal with conflict in a healthy way which has also contributed to the massive decline in morale as well. 2 new teachers from this year are leaving the school at Christmas. 35 teachers left last year. What does this tell you about ISPP?
When will some international schools realize what an incredibly small world the international teaching community is and begin to treat its teacher with the respect and professionalism they deserve?
Evaluation 10) 2010
Academic integrity of school 4
Effectiveness of administration 3
Academic and disciplinary support provided 3
Director's involvement in academics 3
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 2
School has adequate educational materials on hand 2
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 7
Yearly salary range for teachers in US dollars $30K - $45K
Satisfaction with housing 5
Community offers a variety of activities 4
Availability and quality of local health care 4
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 4
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 4
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 5
Extra curricular load is reasonable 2
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 4
Comments: I wish I would have known. I would imagine several new hires are thinking the same thing at about this point in the year. ISPP is a VERY mixed bag. Phnom Penh is a brilliant place to be, the people are warm and friendly the climate is hot and muggy there is no real air pollution. You can shop for many things quite cheaply however many things of a Western variety are hard to find or exorbitantly expensive. There are great travel opportunities here with Thailand and Vietnam just around the bend. The community is small and very connected. It is impossible to avoid seeing people you work with or parents around town and at the few restaurants often visited and this is not necessarily a bad thing. This is where the pleasantries end and the, “I wish I would have known part begins.“
Let’s start with an impossible teacher workload. You will teach both the MYP and the Diploma Programme and likely various and different sections of each. You will supervise extended essays, personal projects, complete duties, go to heaps of redundant meetings and while all that is happening you will have minimal planning times randomly scattered over the most convoluted 10 day multi-duration schedule you could ever fathom. If that is not enough you will get pulled in every direction to do even more since everyone has their pet project and the phrase, “will it fit into our already busy schedule” is simply never spoken.
So if you’re coming from a school where you were honing your craft, be ready for a shocking experience as you simply will be forced to lower your personal standards of instruction in order just to survive. By this time next year you will feel like you have been trampled upon by Sambo the Phnom Penh’s only Elephant and for what? Well that’s the other side of the equation. Old timers can recite the list of cuts in benefits. Don’t bother requesting personal days as they will be denied. It does not matter that they are afforded to you by contract. Also don’t expect a fair flight allowance, even that policy has been twisted and not in favor of faculty. At ISPP the director and the business manager work hand in hand it seems to ensure that every benefit is twisted, trimmed, pared down and decimated as much as possible. Pay attention to the fine print as it WILL be used against you if possible.
While the powers that be continue to take from faculty they continue to pump out directive after directive and document after document which all must be designed for the sole purpose of engaging in a witch hunt since none of them are even remotely attainable – such as the job description of a teacher.
If you are interested in challenging students by pushing them to achieve their highest potential this is NOT the place for you. You will be singled out and taken to task by the current principal who may as well have the title assistant director since that is where his sole allegiance lies. So you better get those tip top IB scores but don’t bother asking for more time or resources to help accomplish it. You take too much from the school already.
There is a growing concern about the future of the school since it will have to move out of the town center. Many are questioning how the school will survive since the move will cause a huge drop in enrollment. Everyone at ISPP simply does their best to survive professionally and maintain their sanity and it seems the longer people are here the worse they become as educators. I must go back to writing paragraph after paragraph in an incredibly obnoxious reactive as opposed to proactive reporting system so I hope this review is useful. If you can stomach teaching just as a job in order to live in Phnom Penh then by all means apply. If having a professionally rewarding teaching experience is important to you, go elsewhere.
Evaluation 9) 2009 - 2011
Academic integrity of school 5
Effectiveness of administration 3
Academic and disciplinary support provided 2
Director's involvement in academics 3
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 6
School has adequate educational materials on hand 3
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 6
Yearly salary range for teachers in US dollars $35K - $45K
Satisfaction with housing 4
Community offers a variety of activities 2
Availability and quality of local health care 1
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 3
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 4
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 4
Extra curricular load is reasonable 6
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 7
Comments: I write this review with great sadness. If you are currently teaching at the International School of Phnom Penh you are probably, at this point in the year, very seriously considering the future of the school, especially under the guidance of the current leadership. If you are considering potentially teaching at ISPP you better make sure you truly understand situation regarding building a new school. The details of this move are and have been cloaked by smoke and mirrors for a number of years. Really, the only facts we have are that the school spent a whack of money on land. That land was no good for some reason so they spent more money on other land, that land was no good so they changed the location yet again. Whilst all this is happening the rumor is that the current landlords are trying to force ISPP to evacuate their villas (classrooms) so they can build hi-rise apartments. All told, not looking very promising for those looking to start a new post. Additionally, there is no information whatsoever regarding where the funding might come from to pay for building a new school.
I can’t imagine ISPP is flush with cash especially given the almost monthly covert cuts the director makes in the package. Death by a thousand cuts is what it feels like and yes we do notice it which might be why almost 1/2 of the teaching staff left for greener pastures last year. For example haphazardly increasing the number of contract days is a salary cut no matter how you slice it. Also, if you have a tendency of experiencing any medical problems expect a huge personal expense as you will have to medically evacuate yourself since there are no reputable hospitals or even doctors in the city. Your only choice will be to go the traveler's’s clinic where a barely mediocre general practitioner might have the time to see you and even then their assistance would be in the form of suggesting you get yourself to Bangkok or Singapore for proper care.
Phnom Penh is a lovely and charming place with wonderful people and it is a shame the school has such a potentially disastrous future as it could be a fantastic post.
The dual campus school straddles a major roadway which hosts Lexus SUVs and Land Cruisers recklessly and sometimes aimlessly speeding, which is always a substantial danger, especially when forced to go to the secondary campus for meetings. In fact many people choose which side of the road to live on based on which campus they work just to minimize this risk. The two campuses may as well be two separate schools since they are only connected by a common upper administration, there simply is no professional communication between the two campuses. Also on this road is a convenience store where secondary students hang around during lunch breaks. The students are kind but out of control and a lassie faire attitude by most of the parents have been a disastrous combination and it shows in student performance.
ISPP has a new Secondary Administration but unfortunately not a new Elementary one as well. The Elementary Principal is completely self serving on every level imaginable. At ISPP you don’t turn your back for a second otherwise she might find some way to use even a minor or irrelevant complaint against you and the most frightening part is she is not doing it out of spite but out of pure cut throat behaviour. Her assistant is kind but seriously out of her league and is always two or three steps behind the curve. This team has functioned to create an atmosphere where any parent can open a case against any teacher and much like a kangaroo court you will be considered guilty until proven innocent which coincidentally also means you will need to take on the Principal. At ISPP teachers are considered to be a dime a dozen and no one really cares to know who is doing a good job and who is not, they only are looking for who is causing a disturbance (that person needs to go!).
If you want to live on the edge not knowing if there will be a school to honour your contract or what benefit will be cut next, go for it – and remember to wear a helmet!
Evaluation 8) 2008 - 2011
Academic integrity of school 8
Effectiveness of administration 3
Academic and disciplinary support provided 6
Director's involvement in academics 3
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 3
School has adequate educational materials on hand 6
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 5
Yearly salary range for teachers in US dollars $30K - $48K
Satisfaction with housing 5
Community offers a variety of activities 6
Availability and quality of local health care 3
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 3
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 6
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 4
Extra curricular load is reasonable 8
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 5
Comments: An IB World school, ISPP boasts a faculty that is motivated and truly gets involved in the school and community. This was a highlight during my time spent. The level of collaboration is wonderful and professionalism among teachers very high.
Whilst working at ISPP, it was unfortunate to see the decline in morale each year. The former elementary head was a good communicator and able to take on the day-to-day issues with relative ease, based on her years of experience in the system. She was replaced last year with an inexperienced head, who at this point, lacks the people skills necessary to effectively pull in the support of teaching staff and parents. However, in fairness to her, she is well organized and seems to want to listen and communicate, but simply lacks the skills to do so. It is common knowledge that many parents find her unapproachable. Hopefully, she will learn and should be given the chance to improve upon mistakes made.
The VP/PYP Coordinator equally struggles with communicating, especially in regards to the students. She can be overly pedantic and dogmatic when it comes to the PYP which creates a stale environment that is motivationally draining to the teachers.
With the decline of the US$ and the vast increase in price of rent, it is much harder to find housing, near the school, of high quality. Although the director has pushed through a pay increase for next year, his main priority, especially going into his 3rd year, is to find land and build a new school. Penny pinching is in full mode with director and business manager resorting to unprofessional means of saving every cent that they can. Sadly, departing teachers were given poor end of contract flight allowances (low end budget airlines used in many cases). What admin fails to realize is that word of mouth plays a strong role in the international community. There were health insurance issues that were being addressed at year's end, but it is highly unlikely that the school will dig into their pockets to upgrade the health insurance package.
ISPP should be a great school. With 35 teachers leaving this year, admin can say that this is just a cyclical phenomenon but those with any experience internationally will know that this is simply not the case.
I hope that admin can look seriously at the issues that exist within the school in an effort to stabilize morale and move forward in a positive direction. I am sure that they will try their best to do so.
Phnom Penh is a great little city with loads of options in terms of restaurants, pubs, and bars. It can and should be an enjoyable experience.
Evaluation 7) 2008 - 2011
Academic integrity of school 6
Effectiveness of administration 4
Academic and disciplinary support provided 6
Director's involvement in academics 2
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 3
School has adequate educational materials on hand 6
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 9
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 8
Yearly salary range for teachers in US dollars $28K - $48K
Satisfaction with housing 8
Community offers a variety of activities 8
Availability and quality of local health care 2
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 3
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 6
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 8
Extra curricular load is reasonable 8
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 8
Comments: ISPP Elementary school used to be a great place to work, however in the last year and a half it has become a place where staff feel unsupported, constantly questioned and are frustrated on a daily basis. The moral on both the elementary and secondary campus is very low and admin are aware of this but don't seem to care.
Both the elementary principal and PYP coordinator are new to their positions at the school. There are certainly some issues to work out. The school really struggles with technology and hopefully the new technology coordinator can assist with this.
The campuses are made up of a number of rented villas. Space is tight however there is a good feel about the place. Resources are plentiful (not including technology) and a large overseas order is done each year.
The school package allows staff to live in comfort, have regular overseas holidays and housekeeping. The issue with the package is the medical insurance. Accidents and serious illness in Cambodia are of deep concern as there is not the necessary medical care available here. On top of this ISPP's medical insurance is not of high quality and has caused frustrations to a number of teachers.
Having said all of this I have loved my time living in Phnom Penh. There are great escapes for the holidays, fabulous restaurants and bars and I have been lucky to work with wonderful people. I really hope the school can improve as we have great students and a supportive community. With 33 out of 55 staff leaving this year it will be a new place and hopefully more positive.
Evaluation 6) 2007 - 2011
Academic integrity of school 8
Effectiveness of administration 2
Academic and disciplinary support provided 4
Director's involvement in academics 1
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 3
School has adequate educational materials on hand 3
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 5
Satisfaction with housing 5
Community offers a variety of activities 4
Availability and quality of local health care 4
Satisfaction with school health insurance policy 4
Family friendly / child friendly school and community 6
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 5
Extra curricular load is reasonable 6
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 4
Comments: ISPP is certainly the flagship school in Cambodia but it does have its share of issues. Phnom Penh is a small and quaint little city and many find it to be rather comfortable. There is an issue with petty crime and theft however it is the rare case that anyone is accosted or attacked. That being said there has been a number of incidents of bags being snatched from cyclists which then can lead to further injuries.
There are many great little restaurants which are relatively inexpensive however on a whole there is not much to do. Medical care in the city is very limited however there is an SOS clinic available which can help to get you to Bangkok if the need should arise.
The administration on the whole is fair but seriously overwhelmed and there are serious concerns in the parent community regarding the future of the school in terms of building a new campus which has been a seemingly botched process year after year.
The school is split into two campuses by a major roadway and whilst there is a singular administration for the school as a whole, it is often felt that the Elementary school is an island onto itself. The director rarely makes an appearance. There is little communication or collaboration between campuses which is a shame. There is good support in the Elementary school within each team however the Elementary administration is seriously lacking in experience. The Elementary principal is of the type that will always choose the path that paints her in the best light rather than do what’s right to support her faculty. This is unfortunate since there is a strong spirit of community throughout the campus. The salary is ok however it can be easy to let your expenses to get out of hand especially since the housing allowance is lacking. Paychecks are mostly on time.
Evaluation 5) 2009 - 2010
Academic integrity of school 2
Effectiveness of administration 1
Academic and disciplinary support provided 2
Director's involvement in academics 1
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 2
School has adequate educational materials on hand 3
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 4
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 8
Satisfaction with housing 8
Community offers a variety of activities 5
Availability and quality of local health care 6
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 7
Extra curricular load is reasonable 2
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 6
Comments: Great students and fantastic teachers but sadly the administration are inept. the much loved elementary principal is retiring and has been replaced with a self serving leader with few people skills who both international and local hires are not impressed with. Some local staff said they would resign if she got the position.
The previous director was dismissed and the new one shows little interest in school issues..
Working in Afghanistan or Iraq selling " I Love USA" tee shirts would be a better choice than working in this school.
Evaluation 4) 2005 - 2008
Academic integrity of school 5
Effectiveness of administration 5
Academic and disciplinary support provided 6
Director's involvement in academics 2
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 3
School has adequate educational materials on hand 5
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 7
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 5
Satisfaction with housing 9
Community offers a variety of activities 5
Availability and quality of local health care 2
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 8
Extra curricular load is reasonable 9
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 7
Comments:This is a school that has problems on many levels.
The director has a history of being too much of a micro-manager at all levels. He tends to judge the quality of teachers based on whether or not "his" children like them, not based on their effectiveness in the classroom. He regularly assigns family favorites to positions and constantly allows these favorites to make their own deals outside of the chain of command.
The MYP coordinator is totally incompetent as both a teacher and as a coordinator. The PYP coordinator (who is leaving) has, along with a hand full of cronies, terrorized the staff of the primary school (Primary school Principal does nothing) and these four dominant personalities bully and call the shots completely unchecked by the administration. The educational program at both the MYP and PYP level are unbalanced and full of bias.
As was stated in the review above, there has been a real bias and prejudice against teachers that are not from the British Commonwealth by well entrenched staff.
The board of directors is comprised of people that want to micro-manage the school much like the director. The personalities involved here are petty, and far to firmly connected to individual staff members with agendas.
There are a couple of bright spots however. One is the current Principal, Jim Canavan, he is fair and displays a no nonsense attitude. The other is that over the past couple of years the director has managed to hire some extremely good teachers that do not buy into the attitude that you must be British based to be an effective educator. Additionally, several of the more toxic personalities have been convinced to leave the school over the past couple of years.
The reviewer that reported an abusive attitude towards single women on the part of the principals was completely mistaken (or a single woman with an agenda).
Overall, I would not recommend this school as a place to work.
Evaluation 3) 2005 - 2008
Academic integrity of school 7
Effectiveness of administration 6
Academic and disciplinary support provided 8
Director's involvement in academics 10
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 6
School has adequate educational materials on hand 6
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 7
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 7
Satisfaction with housing 10
Community offers a variety of activities 6
Availability and quality of local health care 2
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 7
Extra curricular load is reasonable 9
Security / personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school) 7
Comments: This is a school that historically has deluded itself into thinking that it is "GREAT". There has been and continues to be to a certain extent an extremely divisive and abusive attitude of old entrenched staff members towards any new staff that are not members of the British Commonwealth. A number of the entrenched teachers are either simply incompetent or so biased and lacking in balance in their delivery of information/curriculum as to be the same.
The director has allowed far too many back-door deals to take place and tends to micro-manage. The board members are in many cases simply there with an axe to grind and put forth the agenda of favorites among the teaching staff. Overall this is a toxic environment within which to be an educator. The earlier comments concerning the director as to being abusive towards single women and divisive based on nationality are just so much crap. Has he been effective overall? Moderately ..... Is this a good fit for him in terms of a school environment? probably not.
Evaluation 2) 2005 - 2008
Academic integrity of school 7
Effectiveness of administration 6
Academic and disciplinary support provided 8
Director's involvement in academics 9
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 9
School has adequate educational materials on hand 5
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 8
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 7
Satisfaction with housing 9
Community offers a variety of activities 7
Availability and quality of local health care 7
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 8
Extra curricular load is reasonable 9
Comments: The above reviewer is correct; the International School of Phnom Penh is a school in transition. The international community in Phnom Penh is expanding rapidly. Due to this, it has been imperative that ISPP change with the diverse and expanding student population. ISPP could no longer solely cater to IB Diploma seeking students wishing to pursue university in the UK or Australia leaving those less able (due to ESOL or for whatever reason) behind.
Meeting the needs of all students is exactly why Rob Mockrish was hired and exactly what he has gradually and meticulously been accomplishing. The above reviewer is correct. There has been a segment of the faculty that has resisted this necessary change. In fact they have fought it with every ounce of their being. Some of the less flexible, stagnant and entrenched “IB workshop leaders, moderators and examiners” mentioned above have been rightfully encouraged to move on and were replaced by dynamic whole student inclusive educators.
Student learning has improved, Diploma level scores are higher than ever, college acceptance rates are rapidly increasing and students at ISPP have more academic and extracurricular options than ever before. ISPP has had clear vision and direction under Rob Mockrish. He has not been afraid to implement tough and sometimes unpopular decisions to better the school. He has also been able to eloquently articulate his vision and to recruit the best experienced overseas educators from top notch international schools worldwide. It is truly a shame that Dr. Mockrish will leave ISPP for greener pastures, but his legacy will still continue to improve student learning at ISPP.
Cambodia is a pleasant place to live. The city still has a town-like feel but high rises are beginning to pop up. The new school facility is scheduled to open in 2010 but will probably take longer to complete. Significant investment in improving and expanding the current facilities and teaching materials have not ceased. Cost-of-living is increasing in Cambodia but this is relative and compared to other places in Asia, negligible. An increase in salaries and housing allowance would help to offset the inflation.
Evaluation 1) 2007 - 2008
Academic integrity of school 7
Effectiveness of administration 2
Academic and disciplinary support provided 2
Director's involvement in academics 7
Fair and equitable treatment by board and director 5
School has adequate educational materials on hand 2
Attitude of local community towards foreigners 10
Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable) 8
Satisfaction with housing 8
Community offers a variety of activities 10
Availability and quality of local health care 8
Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel 6
Extra curricular load is reasonable 5
Comments: The International School of Phnom Penh is a school in transition. It has grown to 500 students during the last few years and is rapidly losing its small family atmosphere. There is a new school planned for 2010 to replace the primary and secondary campuses. The old facilities made up of converted family villas are limited in space and resources. Needed repairs have been ignored due to the upcoming move. The school has a good reputation as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School with a number of IB workshop leaders, moderators and examiners on staff.
Unfortunately, there is an atmosphere of conflict at the present time between the faculty and the administration that makes ISPP a very stressful place to work. Since the new Director’s arrival in 2004, Rob Mockrish has promoted division between the staff based on nationality and whether or not they are in the Director’s camp. He hires weak and ineffective principals that mimic his attempts to bully certain teachers into resigning. They are especially abusive to single women. Friends and family are slotted into key positions even if they do not have the necessary experience. There is also a lack of support for the IB program and the administration attempts to override different areas with their own agenda. Fortunately, this situation has been recognized by the Board of Directors and Rob Mockrish’s contract was not renewed. He will leave in June 2009.
Cambodia is an interesting place to live. There is opportunity to interact and get to know Cambodians. The expat community is active. There are a variety of excellent restaurants. Travel around the countryside is easy – Angkor Wat is close enough for a long weekend as are some unspoiled beach areas. However, the cost of living has increased during the past year so that Phnom Penh is not as inexpensive as it has been in the past. Finding affordable living accommodation is becoming an issue and teachers are having to move to the less attractive outskirts of the city.
With the proper leadership, ISPP will move in a more positive direction and make it a better place for both faculty and students.
Review Regarding Anthony Coles the HS Principal
1. Management style
Anthony does not interact with teachers as a peer or a colleague but more along the lines of a full time critic. As such he is not very approachable. Anthony does not articulate a clear vision but instead a haphazard series of directives which seem to come from an external source. Anthony will question every minute a teacher is off campus or out of their classroom. The feeling at ISPP under Anthony's leadership has changed from collegial to adversarial and many teachers feel like factory workers punching a time card. Decisions are regularly made without any input from faculty.
2. Academic & disciplinary support
Under Anthony's leader ship, teachers are on guard since they will never be supported in any situation which has the potential to make Anthony look bad. Parent's complaints are taken as fact and teachers are summarily accused, convicted and sentenced without trial. ISPP is an IB school and teachers are blamed by Anthony if students are not earning the marks he would like to see. In some departments, the entire department has been blamed for students doing poorly in a single class. There is not much information about what Anthony does in terms of discipline however the overall feeling is that is has been moving downhill since his arrival.
3. Hiring Process
I did not interview with Anthony but I would not recommend to friends or acquaintances to work for Anthony. A principal needs to be first and foremost a trustworthy and honourable person. I continue to wonder why administration attracts people like Anthony and further how they can subsequently rise to these positions of power. That is people who only care about power and money. The most important thing for a principal to achieve is leadership and that is sorely lacking in Anthony's case.
Review Regarding Barry Sutherland Director
Interviewing style and information that will help candidates land a position
The interview with Barry went well. To be fair he was visibly exhausted after a long day of interviews and seemed to be disinterested in what I had to say. I was quite surprised to get the call back based on the lack of feedback during the interview. There was plenty of talk of how difficult the job is and how I should be asking what I can do for the school. Little did I know how one sided the director is in this regard. The feel of the interview, of wasting Barry's time, was carried on throughout the time I taught at ISPP. Here one day gone the next. We are just another body and you will hear that loud and clear in words and attitude when you meet the man. I should have listened to my instincts.
After the Interview
The processing of contracts and visas and the like was smooth however the facilities are tattered, inadequate and not as described. I believe the word charming was used in the interviews but there is nothing charming about trying to teach in a crammed, poorly lit, mosquito infested room lacking all sorts of materials and technology considered standard at most schools. The picture which was painted for me during the interview was nothing like the mess I found once I arrived. I was also promised help in finding a flat which was nothing more that being handed a phone number to a real estate agent who proceed to rip me off. Not a great way to start and Barry was no where to be found for help.
Additional Comments, most outstanding characteristic of this director, etc.
One nice thing about Barry is that he does not loose his cool. He generally takes his time when addressing issues however the result is always against the faculty member. People know not to turn to him for help. Much like a fraternity, all female and most male teachers were on the outside of the inner circle. If you are in the boys club you can get away with just about anything and if you are on the outside you are to keep quite and smile politely. Be sure to not draw any attention to yourself and you might be ok.