ISTEK-The Background
ISTEK is the acronym for “Istanbul Education and Culture foundation”. It was established by Bedrettin Dalan a former mayor of Istanbul in order to provide academic and cultural education of higher quality than that previously available to Turkish children. Since that time ISTEK has expanded into eight thriving campuses which offer education to children from age 3 to age 18. There are four campuses on either side of the Bosphorus Strait offering education to some 7500 students. Two of these schools, Semiha Sakir School on the Asian side and Kemal Ataturk School on the European side have recently become IB candidate schools for the PYP and MYP programmes.
About the Schools:
All the students are native Turkish students in the age range 3 to 18. The school is divided into three sections – Nursery, Primary and High Schools. The curriculum is set by the Turkish Ministry of Education and the curriculum is still exam-oriented. As a private school it has the time and resources to enrich this curriculum. Fluency in English at the end of a school career is a prized objective. The teaching of English in the school is also being used to help change teaching practice and the way that students learn. One of the schools in the candidacy phase of becoming an IB World School for the PYP, is also entering talks with CIE with a view to using CIE programmes as an enrichment of its existing curriculum. Semiha Şakir School has a foreign, native English-speaking Director, with bilingual Turkish Principals of the three schools. All eight schools are seeking to recruit suitably qualified and experienced teachers of English.
Living in Istanbul:
Over the centuries as Byzantium, Constantinople, or Istanbul, the Turkish metropolis has long called to the hearts of expatriates. Turkey, and particularly Istanbul, is quickly becoming one of the international destinations sought after by those thinking of moving abroad to find a more affordable and better quality of life.
For a start, the lifestyle in Turkey is attractive. For most of the year the weather lends itself to outside living. Barbecues, visiting the beach, sailing, walking and socialising with friends in restaurants or roadside cafes are all possible for much of the year.
Locally grown fresh produce is abundant. The cost of living goes hand in hand with this – locally grown produce is very affordable as is eating out, and so it is possible to live in Turkey on a fraction of the income that you need in the United Kingdom.
The Package:
ISTEK will offer you a generous package that includes your accommodation, so you will enjoy a relatively inexpensive cost of living.
The head teacher will be in the UK to hold interviews on Thursday 26 March, Friday 27th March, Saturday 28th March and Sunday 29th March.
To find out more about the opportunity for teaching English as a second language in one of ISTEK schools click here:
Nursery teacher opportunity
Primary teacher opportunity
High School teacher opportunity
