Advice needed on AIS or JIS

[fishnchups]

Hi,

If anyone has opinions/advice on either of AIS or JIS for a Grade 7 student I would love to hear!

We are moving to Jakarta (Australians/NZ'ers currently in Singapore) probably by April 2010 and we need to make a decision on which school would be suitable for our daughter. We also have a 5 year old but obviously less of a concern where we put her at this stage.

We are visiting the schools in two weeks time but it is always good to have outside feedback!

[kingwilly]

Depends on where you will be living, if budget is a consideration, and if you intend to be heading back to Australia or not.

Personally, I'd choose JIS, but its more expensive if that's a problem. A reason to choose AIS would be that they teach using the Australian system (I think NSW) - but if that's not a consideration, there's not much else to chose it for. (not that i'm saying its bad, its as good as any other national plus school or small international school) But if you can afford it, or if the company is paying I think JIS is much better option.

[The White Devil]

Do these international schools have expat gym teachers? I aak because I thought for something that takes so little in education to teach, education wise, an expat would be about the same level as a local when you are talking gym class and think of the money saved?

[Puspawarna]

Both schools have plusses and minuses (my son has attended both, so I have some insight into your question).

The blunt fact of the matter is that JIS (or BIS) is the default school for expats in Jakarta that are here with a multinational company or as part of the diplomatic community. Deservedly or not, its academic reputation is better. And there is no question that its physical facilities far outstrip what AIS has to offer.

AIS is, however, a wonderful school in many ways. While many people grumble that JIS "teaches to the mean" and can't accommodate students at the gifted or challenged ends of the spectrum, AIS is very good at offering individualized services. They have been a godsend, I'm sure, for many parents who would have otherwise had to leave Jakarta upon discovering that their child needed extra services of some kind. In addition, I think the presence of a more varied student body works to the benefit of all students. My son is tolerant of a wide range of abilities and learning styles, and becomes incensed at the idea of kids taunting others because they face extra intellectual or physical challenges. I credit AIS with teaching him those excellent values.

Currently our family has no difficulty whatsoever in terms of JIS being able to accommodate exceptional students. On the other hand, a very close friend of my son just transferred from JIS to ACG because his parents felt that JIS was holding him back. But JIS instituted a new math program this year in the Middle School that allows children to work at their own level - I have heard nothing but praise for it from parents whose children are at all points along the spectrum. The school is also permitting our son to do a distance education program in science for gifted kids, and it was actually the teacher who raised it with us. So, experiences in this regard clearly vary.

JIS is enormous, and for some people that is a problem. However, it also means that there is a large community of students within which your child can find his or her niche. My son made good friends at both schools, but it was definitely easier at JIS, where there are so many people.

A few years ago JIS had a rather significant problem at one of its elementary school campuses. I don't want to talk trash on line, but I raise it because there are still a few angry expats around who are very upset with things that happened there. If you hear anything really bad about the elementary situation, my advice is to clarify when the bad experiences occurred and explore whether the same situation holds in 2010. Most likely you'll discover that the complaints date back to conditions that have since been fully rectified.

The main complaint I heard about AIS was that its finances were not as transparent as parents would like. I don't know if those complaints were reasonable or not. But a significant difference between AIS and JIS is that AIS just a "yayasan," (foundation) organized by someone who wanted to start a school. JIS, on the other hand, was founded by several embassies and still has some kind of formal connection to the diplomatic community. At the end of the day, though, it is clear that the teachers and administrators at both institutions have the welfare of kids as their first concern.

So that's my two cents. (Sorry it is a little rambling; I actually wrote a very cogent, well organized response and it was eaten in one of those internet mishaps that sometimes occur. I think it makes all the same points as my original, just not as well written.)

Good luck with your move!

[Puspawarna]

Do these international schools have expat gym teachers? I aak because I thought for something that takes so little in education to teach, education wise, an expat would be about the same level as a local when you are talking gym class and think of the money saved?

It's hard to know who should take greater offense at that post - gym teachers, whom you've just essentially said don't need much of an education; or Indonesians, whom you've just implied can't achieve the same level of education as foreigners. (I suspect you didn't really mean it that way, but that's how it reads to me.)

The gym teachers I know seem quite well educated about the science of health and fitness, and the best methods for helping children to achieve their maximum athletic potential. The Indonesians I know seem just as capable of book learning as do the expats.

The reality of the matter is that the expat teachers (of physical education or anything else) are more likely to speak English at native or near-native levels, and are more likely to have had the opportunity to get an advanced education and the certifications that all teachers are required to have. So yes, I think that physical education instructors at at least some of the expat schools are more likely to be foreigners.

[fishnchups]

Puspawarna, WOW thanks for your low down on the schools! and what a great advantage having experienced both. I am just trying to gather as much info as I can to make the right choice. My daughter is really happy at AISS (singapore) so it is going to be hard moving her, she is a well rounded child and very adaptable so I think she will settle okay. She is very sporty and just going off the website alone JIS seems to have more to offer in that regard. Do you have any experience with music programmes at either school?

There is so much to take in and consider but I feel the school comes first then choose an area in the vicinity of the school to live.

Kingwilly, thanks for your advice, we probably would end up back in Aust (NSW) eventually, however, I maybe mistaken but I think I read that AIS is based on Victoria? So would therefore be a different anyway. I am really looking forward to our visit in first week of March so I can get some of these questions crossed off the list and then may get a decent nights sleep!!

I really appreciate your help.

[gffgold]

My only beef about JIS is that the security seems rather overpowering and I'm not sure such an external environment is ideal for learning. Otherwise it is well resourced with a good academic reputation. AIS is smaller and friendlier but perhaps not so well resourced in the IT department. Both are quality international schools.