In Dubai, there are public schools, but these are for
locals. All foreigners here have
to send their children to private schools. Typically, companies provide some kind of reimbursement, but it may not
cover 100% of it. And
if you consider moving here, note that the company just covers the base and does not
include any extras on top of that.
Our quest for the right school started sometime last
year. I had heard different things when moms “talk shop” so I kind of had an idea about
what might be good and what might not be based on reputation – or should I say
gossip. On top of the gossip,
there are many systems – American, British, International, and a myriad of
others. Luckily I do not have to
consider another language. For
example, if you were from France, would you put your child in a French speaking
school, or somewhere else? Since
it doesn’t seem in the cards that we will return to the US anytime soon, I need
to consider a few options.
I confirmed the gossip based on government reports here as
well as a few visits to the facilities.
However, it was still difficult to make the preliminary list. So starting sometime in Spring
last year, I began the task of visiting schools and completing applications
and all other paper work to get my child an education.
The first school I visited last year has always had a fantastic reputation. It is rumored to educate children in a
different, unique way that was the bomb - something about using movement and
physical activity to support learning. Before the world economy crashed, you had to wait probably two years to get into this school. I decided to visit and let it
be a benchmark if it was that great.
I scheduled a visit and took a tour of the school. Most of the parents touring were
British, or maybe a few Australians as well. Despite the unique delivery of education, the system seems
to be primarily British, or at least attracts this clientele. They had an amazing common area with
all the kids’ art, which was fantastic, but I was incredibly freaked out when
we walked by the computer lab. All
these children dressed identically, sitting at computers like droids. I guess this is what all primary school
computer labs look like these days, but it still freaked me out a bit.
Probably the highlight of the tour was when we visited the
playground. This is when the
principal/director, who was giving the tour, emphasized the importance of physical
play for brain development.
And I quote, “One of the best things you can do for your child is to
swing them around upside down.” Is
she kidding me? Now I am not a
prude, and kids love to play, climb and swing, but did she just say that to
everyone? Yes, she did. She did not endorse shaking babies, but I was preparing my poker face just in case.
Fortunately, I was wearing my sunglasses, so I was able to
do a quick check-in with the faces in the group - nobody flinched. I am not sure if the crowd just got
bored and were perhaps not listening at the time, or they wanted their child to get
in so badly that they were afraid to question it.
The tour finished and I had a quick visit with the nurse to
see if she had any experience or issues with a diabetic child before. While the education is important, at
this age, health and managing diabetes is a big deal for us. They were very accommodating, but I can
say the reaction from some other schools when I request to visit the nurse’s
offices has been interesting. They usually tell me that I can meet
them the week before school starts.
Most are accommodating after I explain to them the importance of doing
this sooner rather than later. However,
I had one school that was a little reluctant to direct me to the nurse’s
office.
This person seemed surprised, so I tried to politely explain
the need to meet with a nurse sooner rather than later. It still wasn’t quite working, as
that didn’t seem to follow the typical procedure. I had to take it a step further and make the obvious as
gentle as possible: I will select
and pay for the school with my (hard earned) money. I finally got a “we usually don’t do this, but we’ll make an
exception this time”.
While they all have selection criteria, no one has yet
offered to pay for my child to attend their school. As fabulous as he is, I just don’t think that is going to
happen. I feel it is only fair
that if I am going to provide this money to them, I need to ensure that my
child’s health will not be an issue at school.
In May 2011, I dropped off an application form for my son at
the school where he would be swung around upside down to induce learning. They said they would be in touch…In
September of 2011, they sent me an email to schedule an assessment for my son.
One of the most critical requirements to get into a school
here is a good assessment, or interview.
All schools here assess all applicants before they accept them. I can somewhat understand why it is
done, but I also think that some schools may abuse it. The rumor is that this is how they look
for “desirable passports”. That
may be different for each school. At least one American school here openly states that North
American passport holders get priority.
The date they gave me was the same date we were scheduled to
be in the US so my son could see his pediatric endocrinologist. I explained this and they told me they
would be in touch, but I knew better. I called the number they left in the email in case
I had any questions. Of course
there was never any answer and the number never rolled over to voice mail.
I sent an email explaining this, and that I would like to
discuss when we could reschedule.
I received the same response, “We’ll be in touch”.
I was not too disappointed or surprised. After all, another friend tried to get
her son into this school. There
was a massive waiting list, and every time she followed up, there was no space
available. Come school time, she
had never heard anything from them, so obviously, her child was enrolled in
another school. Crazily enough,
they called her on the second day of school informing her a place had
opened. This was around 10 or
11:00 in the morning. She had a
window until 2:00pm to get back to them, otherwise the spot would be gone. With her son settled happily in another
school, needless to say, my friend told them “no thanks”.
Wanting a second opinion to see what all the hoopla was
about, I was waiting for my husband who had not yet had a chance to visit the
school. The morning he left to go
there, a car hit his car in our parking lot. They both had to go to the police station to get a report so
the other driver’s insurance could pay for the damages. Obviously, he missed the tour that day.
When he called to reschedule, they told him they did not
really have any upcoming tours, nor were they sure when the next tour would be,
if at all. I am writing this in
February, this happened a couple of months ago.
Instead of all the secrecy and pretentiousness, a simple we do not like
your passport, or we did not care for your wife’s shoe choice when she took the
tour would suffice. This is a game I do not subscribe to. Needless to
say, we happily did not give them a second thought.
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