Anyone have any info on this new school ( 4 years )? Have read some reviews from a few about how bad it is, but also saw a few post about how good it is? Would love to hear about for a teachers and also for student.
Thanks!
I’ve heard only bad things. They lose a lot of teachers every year. I know that for a fact. They posted at least 8 teaching jobs for this upcoming year and it’s not a big staff. Hsinchu has a lot of competition for international schools and it’s considered the worst by many.
I’m pretty sure it’s under new management this year though, so maybe it’ll improve
1 Like
Thanks for the reply, I have heard about the firing of 8 teachers in one day, not sure what that was about, read something about how its not good for teachers but the school is very good for students, wish there are more info out on this.
1 Like
I just found the comments in this old link (7 months ago) and I wanted to give some input.
HCAS has always been a dodgy school. It is a private school without any kind of accreditation. It is part of an organization under Ton Yen private hospital, along with Korrnell Academy (both of them with a terrible reputation in hsinchu). Teachers leave in mass at the end of each semester. When the former principal arrived, he said the school had problems but he could make everything work. By the end of the week, 8 teachers were fired in the same day. By the end of the semester several ones were fired, and others resigned. By he end of the year, another 6 or 7 left for similar reasons. In 2 years, the school has had 6 Academic Directors. I think this explains a lot…
As per students, they are happy because the school offers many extra-curricular activities and clubs compared to other schools. However, in terms of academic standards HCAS is very low. Safety is a issue there. Even though many teachers reported potentially dangerous situations, the administrators ignored them. As consequence, many students were injured and even one of them died.
HCAS has a new principal, but many of the previous administrators are still there.
1 Like
They quit, or get fired? It’s unclear in your writing
They almost have the WASC certification, no?
What situations are these?
He’s been there for a full semester now, correct? How have things changed?
I have no affiliation with the school. I’m just asking for clarification
- They were mostly fired under poor excuses. There were some who left voluntarily because they could not stand the toxicity around.
According to some teachers, the playground was not suitable for Lower Elementary students. Also, common areas were not supervised and that´s how one student got injured in one of those and died.
HCAS is supposed to have another WASC inspection. If it results positive, they may get the accreditation in 2022. However, some said this is unclear because the school is not financially independent. It is part of a wider organization under Ton Yen private hospital, which controls the finances of the school. According to WASC, one of the important criteria is the school must be financially independent. We will see what happens in the future…
Said this, one of the teachers reported that they have been advertising they have WASC accreditation from early 2018, even before submiting any kind of paperwork to WASC.
Mixed results. Some teachers have a sense of improvement, while others think they are overworked. However, he maintains some of the old toxic administrators in their positions.
2 Likes
Interesting. HCAS has had a horrible reputation, but this new guy is really respected. I’ve met him and would consider working for him.
Well, hopefully things change and it gets better.
That´s what I heard too. Then I found what I said before. Anyway, best of luck!
There are a lot of “American” schools popping up. I’d be highly skeptical of any that isn’t TAS or KAS.
1 Like
How did the student die?
The rumor is they fell down the stairs. I’ve heard that from a few teachers who worked there but they won’t provide details.
One “glassdoor” entry talks about it, but I don’t pay for it. Maybe someone here can provide more details.
Students have died at TAS too. One guy shot himself playing with the guards gun.
What? When?
Some years ago now. No idea how you missed it.
The fuck? Why does the guard at a school have a gun?
Americans…
Maybe there’s a high kidnap threat.
He can’t have been very skilled if he let a kid use his gun and kill himself. Wonder how well he would have dealt with a kidnapper. Hope he is in prison or something.
I never heard of it!
1 Like
Anybody? I’m not imagining this. Although I can find zero reference on the Interwebs.