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    Elian's Iale Valencia - Another Personal Review

    posted by  Ana Lerma in Valencia forum 

    Lots of reviews about this school on here! Some from teachers who have been working here, some who still do…I’ve worked at this school for the past two years and well as some of the other posts and I think it is important to give an honest review on the school.
    Let’s start by saying that Iale is a PRIVATE school. Now to me, private schools may be more aesthetically pleasing or have better resources and materials than public schools but with those upgrades, there are some downgrades as well. At Iale, their downgrade is, unfortunately, the family who owns the school. As previous posts have said, the directors, owners and all of administration is internal, meaning, they’re all from the same family. This is a huge setback in the school because all administration wants to please one another and in order to appease one another, administration bend over backwards but do not communicate with one another. As a staff member in the school, this is extremely frustrating. Information changes daily, maybe even hourly because administration can’t seem to communicate until the last minute. Aside from not communicating with one another, personally, I have always seen the fault that there is no one objective in higher administration to help out teachers – especially new teachers! Which is where it gets interesting…
    I did stay because I had an amazing English coordinator working on my side. But this year, she found a great opportunity at another school and has left Iale. Without her as a director, I never would have made it through my first year. She really put herself out there when I, as a new teacher, had no support from elsewhere. I know that not all situations are ideal in terms of staff support but in Iale it’s imperative! Like I mentioned, with inconsistency in deadlines, communication, simple day planned events and information, you REALLY need someone who will be on your side at the end of the day, saying – and warning administration! –if they don’t get their acts together that they will lose teachers the upcoming year.
    Regrettably, this is what happened this upcoming year. Five teachers have left, some who have more experience in the school than others, but that’s not the point. The point is that Iale has a lot of problems that they need to sort out before they begin to have a positive name. Educationally, they’re number 2 in the Comunidad Valenciana, but that doesn’t really mean anything in terms of internal workers because if you see how they score the schools, a lot has to do with things that don’t deal with teachers, nor education. It’s all about facilities, enrollments, ect.
    I’ll wrap it up here by saying this: if you’re even slightly considering moving to Valencia and working Iale, you really have to be prepared for a shock. I’m a qualified teacher. I have done the University preparations, done student teaching, even taught in other schools before Iale, so I know not all schools, administration, ect. are well put together but I do know that Iale has a lot of problems that will frustrate you and cut you down as a new teacher – and quickly. As I mentioned, without the trust and guidance of my English coordinator who just left, I wouldn’t have made it through the first year.
    But honestly, do your research, not only online but within the school – talk to the other teacher who are there and get a feel for how they are within the school. There’s some really great people who do work there, but because of said reasons – they’re all so stressed and don’t have time to support one another. Remember it’s a private school – in Spain, which will change a lot of perceptions of how a private school is run. And finally…really think about who is going to be your coordinators and go-to people for the year. Do they seem like they would go out on the line for you? Help you out when you really need it because in the end, that’s all that really matters.

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