WARNING!! American School of Veracruz/ Colegio Americano de VeracruzWARNING!!
This is NOT a good school in which to teach English. Though the pay may be decent for Mexico, and they appear to provide a lot of extras like 2/3 of airfare and housingIT IS A DISRESPECTFUL; DECEITFUL; UNSUCCESSFUL, STRESSFUL and DISSATISFYING place. Education is not the focus of the school. They prefer your uniform to be perfect and for you to stay quiet. The texts used in class do not fit the need of students, after 7 or 8 years of bilingual education the children cannot properly use the simple past tense, and teachers are seen as trouble-makers if they try to make improvements or suggestions to benefit the school. The administration does not communicate properly with the teachers, belittles them, ignores them, and generally treats them as disposable. The administration (Tracey and Eric) will not support you in any discipline control and favors any whim of the wealthy parents over what the teacher knows is good for the class. An administrator often said one thing with a smile on her face and later changed her decisions dramatically. Her tactics include avoiding teachers, misleading teachers, favoring some teachers over others, amongst others.

Specific examples:
1. The teaching training is a complete joke, the administrator was never there to lead, so we drank coffee all day. Later when something went wrong, she told us it was in our training booklet and we should know better.
2. A teacher was promised housing and ended up living in a hotel for 6 months.
3. A teacher who left 3 days early was NOT reimbursed for her plane fare.
4. The administrator informally told a teacher she could take a few days off, then re-arranged the school schedule so she had to be there to lead a school-wide activity during those days.
5. Teachers who were given permission to leave school a few days early were not paid for a months worth of work.
6. A teacher wasnt paid a days wages for being 1 minute late, even though you supposedly can be late 2 days a month and she was within that range.
7. If the administrator has a problem with you, she will most often tell you on a post-it note clipped to your timecard.
8. A first year teacher had to arrange teacher meetingsbefore then there were NONE, EVER. The administrator is frequently absent from the meetings she currently schedules.
9. A class was scheduled to go on a field trip and THE TEACHER WAS NEVER INFORMED. Ever. She was surprised and unprepared for the trip, as tests were on the curriculum for the day.
10. They ask teachers to prepare presentations for the parents with only a few days notice.
11. A teacher bought educational material from the U.S. and had to fight to get reimbursed while they readily paid for another teachers candy and bracelets.
12. YOU WILL GET NO POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM THE ADMINISTRATION.
13. Administrators have clearly stated that their interest is in the happiness of the parents, and has little to do with the teachers or students.

PLEASE, if you care for your sanity, your integrity, and the genuine education of children, teach somewhere else in Mexicothere are plenty of other great schools in this country. Within the city of Veracruz, Ive heard the Madison School is good. Good luck. May you make a well-informed decision.

-A former teacher (who is extremely happy to be out of there!)