Saint Dominic’s International School

1.0

Let me start by saying that I am grateful for my experience teaching at SDIS. It was a challenging teaching position, and it forced me to start looking at other careers. I enjoyed my time as an educator, but I am very happy that I have a new career.

Below are the pros and cons of working at SDIS.

PROS:

Lisbon is a beautiful place to live, travel, and eat.

The ex-pat community and teachers were very supportive and amazing.

I was able to teach and receive training in the IB Curriculum.

The students at SDIS were terrific and well behaved.

The arts programs were great.

CONS:

The school did not provide me with a classroom to teach. I taught outdoors at the “Snack Shack.” It was cold during the winter and a less than desirable place to teach. In another one of my classes, I taught in the library with three other classes at desks around us. I was moving with the students between classrooms, which was not ideal for being prepared when they walked in the door.

There was little or no English support for multilingual students.

The school prioritized enrollment above everything else.

The facility was not adequate for the number of students.

The pay was low and taxes in Portugal are 40%.

The housing allowance was not sufficient for the area surrounding the school.

The athletic/sports at the program were the worst I have seen at any school I have worked in.

The focus of the IB program was on getting high scores above everything else. The rules of the IB evaluation were not stringent and my eyes not ethical.

If you asked me would I recommend this school, my answer would be big NO.