KISQ has good relationships with Universities in Korea and every Korean living in Qingdao knows this. So, KISQ receives a lot of transfer students at the high school level, particularly the 10th and 11th grade. The student head count is around 55 for each of these grades. There is class in elementary that has only 8 students and by the time that this class reaches the 10th grade, there will probably be around 55 students. Most of these transfer students don’t speak English and you are literally teaching Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar textbooks that are designed for American students who basically only speak English. So, you have transfer students who can barely comprehend their English names let alone the text book. Here is an email from the current manager [edited] and a comment made from a former colleague regarding a transfer student:

On Friday, 1 November 2013 7:59 AM, K[edited] [email address edited] wrote:

“We have a new girl student in 10-2. She has no english name (and no english skills) and will be starting from today. I know it is a burden, and I failed her entrance exam and protested her entrance, but the school overrode my opinion in this matter.

She doesn't seem to be here for western classes, and she even seemed to view the entrance exam as something of a bother.

Just wanted to let you know to expect a new face in school.”

Response from former colleague:

“We (10 E.I) decided to name her Tina. She seems happy with the name although she lacks the English skills to reject it.”

In American High Schools if you’re not good at math and you’re a senior, you are probably in a math class with freshmen. Well, some of these students in the 10th and 11th grade have an English level of 2nd or 3rd grade. Yet, somehow they are passing their classes. So, yes all the negative gossip about the grading department is true.

What’s frustrating is that the students will actually complain to their parents about the teachers not teaching them, here’s a segment of an email from [edited] again:

“A common complaint that I have been hearing is that you go through the material without caring if the students understand or not.”

I wonder why? However, KISQ does have some kids that are great and would do well in American high schools, but unfortunately; most the kids don’t respect their foreign teachers in the same manner that they respect their Korean teachers. I’m guessing because the Korean teachers can communicate with the students’ parents, so the students won’t lie to their parents regarding the Korean teachers.

The high school department is flat out miserable in terms of teaching because the overall treatment of the foreign teachers by both the Korean students and the Korean administration is flat out unacceptable and hostile. This is why they have such a high turnover rate.

Beware of K[edited]! He basically complained about the school the entire spring semester of 2013. He would read out loud open teaching positions, probably from this website, to the foreign teachers. He absolutely hated KISQ, there’s no question about it. Then he received a nice pay raise and signed on for I guess 2014-2015. Anyways, K[edited] even told me that the school would put him in a position, where he would have to lie to the face of a foreign teacher and they both knew he was lying. K[edited] admitted that this was awkward. He gave me the old sausage analogy, stating sausage taste great, but you don’t want to see how it is made.

As you have probably figured out already, I am a former foreign employee. I initially gave a 30 day notice to KISQ, which is legal by Chinese law. Here is K[edited]’s response:

“Please be aware that your visa is held by the school. If you leave in the middle of a semester they definitely won't give you a letter of release, and they might even cancel it.”

Unfortunately, my visa was the visa for my old school, which expires seven days after my thirty day notification because when I started in March of 2013, KISQ never updated my visa. Therefore, it is impossible for my new school to get me a new visa. I asked KISQ for an extension, but they refused, K[edited] even told me to get an extension through my new school. Hello, there’s a reason it’s called an EXTENSION.

Oh yeah the visas, check this out!

“KISQ took my apt and the $5,000 I invested in it for the year. Their reason was that it cost them money to deport me-which was their fault. I also didn't get paid for July, despite the fact I was still under contract with them and essentially under house arrest there for most of July.”

That was from a teacher who was deported in July of 2013 because his visa expired. I have been working in China for 6 years and I have never seen this happen. Unfortunately, this teacher is currently banned for at least 3 years, I heard, from China for teaching. He is currently in the Middle East sweating it out.

One would think that KISQ has learned from its’ mistakes, but they currently have teachers working there without proper visas. I threatened to have the visa office do a check and K[edited] said this:

“It doesn’t matter we will survive.”

Meaning, we will get new teachers and it doesn’t matter. Anyways, I heard their contingency plan, if the visa officers were to come and do a visa check , KISQ would hide the illegal foreign teachers on the 5th floor. All the visa officer would have to do is go to the teacher’s class and ask the students where their teacher is. I find it hard to believe that KISQ would have the students lie to a Chinese government official, to help KISQ to conspire in breaking Chinese law, but we are talking about KISQ. Also, tax records would indicate how long they have been working there, if subpoenaed.

Also, there contracts aren’t for a full year. KISQ’s contracts end before both the winter break and the summer break. KISQ is notorious for firing teachers prior to breaks starting. They even fired a teacher on the day of finals (Brian). They have a current teacher who was let go because he had personality conflicts with the elementary foreign manager and then they brought him back as a high school teacher and didn’t even pay him for the winter break, which is two months. Hopefully, they read this and pay the man his money. In addition, they have a current teacher, who has a friend named Dan, who was let go before break.

Just be warned, it’s your decision.