Tbilisi, Georgia Report of what it's like to live there - 11/12/11
Personal Experiences from Tbilisi, Georgia
School Name:
School Name: QSI Tbilisi
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
parent
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
elementary
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2010-11
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
Tbilisi
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
a
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
e
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
integrated classroomswith kids oftoo many levelsin a small room -local aidesemployed to assistin the classroom -ararefewarevery good,othersspeakingvery loudly ,offensivelyso, in a postsoviet -repeat it louder then they will understandsort of way.....distractingfrom teaching thatexpatteachertries todo with mainstreamkids, some classesare like3ringcircuses, literallywith3 competinglessonstrying to happen.schooladmin hails this as"great learning opportunitiesfor everyone"when theesl, special needsandmainstream kids areall suffering,noise level aloneis unhealthy.....
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
e
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
cdepends on your teacher
4. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
f
5. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
d
6. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
e
7. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
c
8. Administration-parent communication:
f
9. Teacher-student communication:
depends
10. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
yes
11. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
no
12. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
no,lack of comprehensive profram, andlack of trainedSENstaff is an issue
13. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
no,inadequate and ad hoc pull out andlack of comprehensive programor more importantly trainedteacherandG&Tcurriculum
14. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
not really, small size K-12 school so scheduling is difficultwithelem and highschool in samebldg.Quality of activities is good topoor,depends on teacher.oftenit isa"timefiller" moreso thangood instruction.Specifically, outside instructorsbrought inforfee basisclasses andquality isdisappointing.
15. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
physed teacher is an obeseloacl manwho works part time andtells kids what to dovs.teaches themhowby modelling... alot foopenplayvs.instruction in PE
16. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
don't know
17. What activities do you feel are missing?
18. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
19. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
20. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
d
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
b
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
c
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
d
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
a
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
not sure
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
yes
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
c
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
yes, butquality of teachers isvaried
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
yes,sort of.childhas some additional challenge in subject ares in whichchildexcels, small grouppull out.
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
yes,but this is based on small size of school.especially badfor older kids,little ones are happywith lego orcrafts tme,but older oneslackingreal variety ofoptions
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
yes
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
therecan be aggressionfrom local boys, it si verycultural.wealthy localsas classmaTESCANBE AN ISSUE AT ANY SCHOOL OVERSEAS
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
physical locationnearthe residences of many expats,a nice purpose builtstructure
2. Greatest challenge?
where to begin?local admin staff areproblematic,school admin isnotgoodwith communication andbecome defensivewhen parents discuss concerns andseem to dismiss them orput a "spin"onthings. Not sure teachers arew happyand this may be reason whygetting good onescan sometimes be an issue.larger problemsprobably have to dowiththe QSI system, which can berigis and unflexible.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
no,knowing what i knownow,i would notgo to a QSI school ifat all avoidable.
