| Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \n6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> First I must say that I loved Bangladesh and my experience there has changed me in vast and marvelous ways. Yes it is a challenge living in Dhaka, a huge urban myth with real consequences. Yet the reason I took the teaching post was for exactly this reason: I wanted a challenge. The students are terrific. The parents and the PTA are terrific. The Bangladeshis who work at the school are terrific. I left after only two years with over twenty others including the principals of the elementary school and the high school. I was saddened by this as it threw my life back into moving again which I had not wanted to do. I did it for protection both of myself and my career.<\/p>\n
The head of the school, Michael Popinchalk and The Head of the High School James Workman rule from the top. They could not possibly get away with some of what they do in the States. I noticed that ISS protected them at every turn. It is not as simple to say that this is a money making game and those at the top of ISS and the schools earn huge sums and want to protect them. After my experience in at AIS\/Dhaka, I asked myself why Mr. Popinchalk chose this job. He is not certified. In my opinion he possesses a simplistic and detrimental attitude to those students who are not perfect. He is a micro-manager and I saw no originality or imagination. After working in international schools for some years I have come to the conclusion that men and women like Mr. Popinchalk who are not really school material in any way can, with the protection of ISS and its imperious Ms. Larson, make very good money and have their kids educated for free. This opportunity would not exist for them in the States as they would have to be accountable. My experience tells me that limited people can make a go of it in the international schools world of administration with no accountability. This is pathetic but true.<\/p>\n Mr.Popinchalk and Mr.Workman blackball teachers at the hiring fairs. If you get in the way they hurt you and ISS supports this behavior. Very limited people have found each other. It took me a few months to recover from this experience yet now I am doing quite well. I am glad for the chance to have met the above mentioned people as they have taught me that I need to make my choices with more trust in myself. I had seen somethings I did not like but took the job anyway as I could not believe that anyone could be as limited and be so cruel to so many people and go as far as to attempt to ruin a career.<\/p>\n This web site is a nice thing. ISS and places like AIS\/Dhaka manage their world through isolating the teacher. This web site gives us some room to keep breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nReview 5) 20XX \u2013 20XX<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n| Academic integrity of school\u00a0(10 is top score)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Effectiveness of administration<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Academic and disciplinary support provided<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Fair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | School has adequate educational materials on hand<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Attitude of local community towards foreigners<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with housing<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Community offers a variety of activities<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Availability and quality of local health care<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with school health insurance policy<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Family friendly \/ child friendly school and community<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Extra curricular load is reasonable<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \n5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> Dear ISR, first of all, thank you for providing your services on this site.I would like to thank the longest serving Director of the AIS\/D, Michael Popinchalk for all his professional contributions.The message which I would like to share through your service is to represent all the positive results which are pretty obvious now, when Michael Popinchalk has completed his work at AIS\/D:<\/p>\n
1) Choice of highly professional and experienced administrative group members.<\/p>\n 2) Quality recruitment of teachers and other faculty staff members.<\/p>\n 3) Establishment of ongoing process of training for support staff.<\/p>\n 4) Inspiration of a proud feeling of being an integral part of the school organization.<\/p>\n 5) Introducing programs such as English speaking classes for support staff. This initiative is highly appreciated by the support staff as to learn English language in Dhaka is very expensive and almost impossible for them.<\/p>\n 6) More structured teaching. Teachers are required to constantly monitor their instruction in class to improve student\u2019s learning, to make the learning process interesting, challenging and promoting student\u2019s curiosity for knowledge.<\/p>\n 7) The process en route IB program has been started. The hardest stage of the beginning has been completed. It was tough but under patient leadership of the administrative team, it was successful.<\/p>\n 8) The school has expanded significantly in the last five years. New facilities have been added and AIS\/D has become a safe place for the school community. This is particularly important in a place like Dhaka.<\/p>\n 9) Formation of Dhaka International Schools Association(DISA) comprised of several international schools in Dhaka has become an excellent venue for exchange of teachers professional ideas and experiences such as Teachers\u2019s workshop, mini-Nesa conferences.<\/p>\n 10) The school security has improved tremendously during this period. These are just a few things of Mr. Popinchalk and his administrative team\u2019s efforts to make this school one of the leading schools in South Asia. Managing a school is not an easy job, one cannot satisfy each and everybody. We all work, \u2018grow\u2019 and change in the process of our work experience.Regarding my opinion about the Dhaka city \u2013 It is over populated, expensive and becoming more and more unsafe. There are no safe places for children\u2019s activities except the schools and the clubs. But it has it own rich cultural background. Bangladeshis are very artistic and musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nReview 4) 20XX \u2013 20XX<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n| Academic integrity of school\u00a0(10 is top score)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Effectiveness of administration<\/td>\n | \n 2<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Academic and disciplinary support provided<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/td>\n | \n 3<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Fair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/td>\n | \n 1<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | School has adequate educational materials on hand<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Attitude of local community towards foreigners<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with housing<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Community offers a variety of activities<\/td>\n | \n 4<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Availability and quality of local health care<\/td>\n | \n 3<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with school health insurance policy<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Family friendly \/ child friendly school and community<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Extra curricular load is reasonable<\/td>\n | \n 4<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \n6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> Bangladesh is a tough place to live. The children are very nice and are excellent students. The administration overall is not recommended. The teachers recruited are, for the most part, very competent and a plus for the school. The package is adequate keeping in mind the high cost of living in Dhaka for a western lifestyle. Teachers are asked to do too much, in general. I enjoyed my time there but was very happy when I moved on. It was a very stressful working environment.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\nReview 3) 20XX \u2013 20XX<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n| Academic integrity of school\u00a0(10 is top score)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n | \n 3<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Effectiveness of administration<\/td>\n | \n 2<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Academic and disciplinary support provided<\/td>\n | \n 3<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/td>\n | \n 3<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Fair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/td>\n | \n 2<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | School has adequate educational materials on hand<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Attitude of local community towards foreigners<\/td>\n | \n 6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with housing<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Community offers a variety of activities<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Availability and quality of local health care<\/td>\n | \n 2<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with school health insurance policy<\/td>\n | \n 6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Family friendly \/ child friendly school and community<\/td>\n | \n 5<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Extra curricular load is reasonable<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \n6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> Dhaka is a huge, very crowded, dirty city. The people are very curious, but not threatening or malicious. You need to expect to be stared at every time you go out. There is a high level of corruption, but it doesn\u2019t affect you on a day-to-day basis. There is a U.S. Embassy doctor, a British doctor and a good Bangladeshi doctor trained in Germany, but medical facilities are very limited. For anything serious, you need to go to Bangkok or Singapore for medical treatment.<\/p>\n
The school has great potential with fantastic students and wonderful parents. 48 nationalities are represented in the student body. The administration, however, is challenging. Mr. Popinchalk is a micro-manager and everything is controlled from the top. Both the High school and Elementary principals have left this year. There will be many new teachers in August throughout the school, including a new high school counselor and secretary. There have been a number of changes in the school board, which I think will be an improvement. A social committee has just been formed, which will help to raise staff morale. Having said that, the PTA has been extremely supportive and has organized some wonderful events.<\/p>\n There are some great holiday locations within easy reach, including islands of Malaysia, Bali, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar etc., as well as some places to visit within Bangladesh. Taking a boat trip to the Sunder bands is magical or trekking in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (check on security before attempting this). Guide Tours offer fantastic day or overnight boat trips to various locations including weaving villages, Hindu temples. These trips are well-organized, wonderful food and very relaxing.<\/p>\n Housing is mostly in apartments, but on the whole, they are very spacious and most have balconies and useable roof space for parties. There is a system of clubs in Dhaka, where each nationality has it\u2019s own club. These are the only places where alcohol is served. Once you join one club, you are welcome to visit other clubs as guests. All clubs have swimming pools, tennis courts, squash courts, TV rooms, DVD & video libraries, restaurants and bars. They are mainly where the expats hang out.<\/p>\n There is also a wonderful selection of good restaurants in Dhaka including Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Indian, French, seafood, steak houses, Pizza Hut, etc. If you like to party, there is plenty of opportunity. There are also a number of balls throughout the year organized by various groups. There are active women\u2019s groups including the Dhaka American Women\u2019s Club (DAWC), the British Women\u2019s Association (BWA), and the United Nation\u2019s Women\u2019s Association (UNWA). They all have monthly meetings and organize fund raising events throughout the year.<\/p>\n Although Bangladesh is a difficult place to live and the school has it\u2019s challenges, if you are adventurous and have the mind set to make a go of it, you could have a positive experience here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nReview 2) 20XX \u2013 20XX<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n| Academic integrity of school\u00a0(10 is top score)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Effectiveness of administration<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Academic and disciplinary support provided<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Fair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | School has adequate educational materials on hand<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Attitude of local community towards foreigners<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with housing<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Community offers a variety of activities<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Availability and quality of local health care<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with school health insurance policy<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Family friendly \/ child friendly school and community<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Extra curricular load is reasonable<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \n6<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> Just wanted to post an update so that those looking for a new post will not be put off by Popinchalk\u2019s history and his fiefdom. Mr. Plotkin is the best administrator I have ever met\u2026and this comment is made during his second month in the position. He has very effectively handled a traumatic situation that affected students, parents, and faculty.<\/p>\n
Members of Popinchalk\u2019s old \u201cgang\u201d are finding themselves in a shaky position under an effective admin. I doubt many will be here for long. In spite of the glowing report written below by one of Mr. Popinchalk\u2019s female buddies, there were so many problems created by him that it will even take Walter Plotkin years to straighten them out.<\/p>\n \n Dhaka is still not a pretty place but the school and the admin will now again make it an attractive package and place to work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n \nReview 1) 20XX \u2013 20XX<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n| Academic integrity of school\u00a0(10 is top score)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Effectiveness of administration<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Academic and disciplinary support provided<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Fair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/td>\n | \n 10<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | School has adequate educational materials on hand<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Attitude of local community towards foreigners<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Cost of living in relation to salary (10= most favorable)<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with housing<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Community offers a variety of activities<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Availability and quality of local health care<\/td>\n | \n 7<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Satisfaction with school health insurance policy<\/td>\n | \n x<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Family friendly \/ child friendly school and community<\/td>\n | \n x<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Assistance with visas, shipping and air travel<\/td>\n | \n 9<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Extra curricular load is reasonable<\/td>\n | \n 8<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | | Security \/ personal safety (10 = very safe in and out of school)<\/td>\n | \nx<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nComments:<\/span> What a great place. This school is among the best that I have ever experienced. Bangladesh can be a depressing but the school and the school community are top notch. As a teacher I am well supported and the only observation that I would make is that, in an effort to listen to everyone, sometimes decisions are watered down. The school seems to be welcoming a broader range of students (read slower learners) but it seems that efforts are being made to support their inclusion. I want to comment on some of your survey items:<\/p>\n
Effectiveness of administration<\/strong> \u2013 great team, wonderful to work with (notice I didn\u2019t say for), their hearts seem to be in the right place, no body perfect but all trying hard.<\/p>\n Director\u2019s involvement in academics<\/strong> \u2013 limited, as it should be, just right.
\n
\nFair and equitable treatment by board and director<\/strong> \u2013 hasn\u2019t been an issue, you should have a n\/a category.
\n
\nSchool has adequate educational materials on hand<\/strong>\u2013 The boat literally has not come in \u2013 don\u2019t know if that is the school\u2019s fault or a result of government turmoil.<\/p>\n Community offers a variety of activities <\/strong>\u2013 if you are bored it\u2019s your own fault but you have to improvise a lot.<\/p>\n Availability and quality of local health care <\/strong>\u2013 we have a great doctor on staff, outside of school we are better off than most third world locations.I am glad to be here!<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div> Back<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Full List of Schools on ISR<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":2102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1711","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1711\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |
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<\/a>The reviews of this school come directly from our Member Area but may not reflect the current status of this school.\u00a0 New Reviews are posted daily.\u00a0 <\/span>![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.internationalschoolsreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/girl_writing_border.jpg\" "\\"girl_writing_border\\"")
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