Moving

Which island are you considering?

anyone that is best and safe. Nice schools and crime rate is low

If you have the time, do some searching on the subjects you inquired about. There are hundreds of postings on what you're looking for.

What kind of lawyer - defense or government?

Teachers are always in demand here.

As for other Caribbean people, the majority of people born in the VI have parents or grandparents from other Caribbean islands such as the other Lesser Antilles, PR, DR, etc. Older immigrants come from the other Lesser Antilles and Puerto RIco while the new waves of immigration are mainly from DR, Haiti and Jamaica.

thanks for the comments. Defense lawyer i wanted to move there or the cayman islands so i am doing my research, but the cayman islands are strict with how long u can be there

You want somewhere in the USVI where there are "Nice schools and crime rate is low"

You have a lot of research to do ........ USVI is not as "first-world" as the Caymans. There are a lot of social and economic problems here. Although it's possible to get a good education, the schools are rated in the worst in the US. The education system spends the most money per student but gets the worst test scores per student. We're also ranked #1 or #2 or somthing like that for murder rate as well as HIV rate in the US. However, because the USVI population is so small it doesn't take too much murders or HIV cases to be ranked #1 in the USA. I'm not trying to scare you. As a native born VIer, I can say that the positives outweigh the negatives but this place is defintiely not paradise for the majority.

wow, what are the positives then cause the negatives are pretty big to me

Positives: plenty of bad guys to defend! LOL

If you are a US citizen, the USVI has it all over any other Caribbean destination. There are plenty of good schools here- private schools for the most part. Look at Antilles, V.I. Montessori, All Saints, St Peter and Paul...(these are all St Thomas.) I am not sure of the Cayman attraction, John Grisham books? 😉

If you're coming from the caribbean I must say that crime here does NOT supersede the other Caribbean islands as its being made to be. If you are considering the VI with a decent job it can be a wonderful place , mind your business as is the case on the mainland and you will be ok.......the positives, excellent weather, beaches, same us currency and better paying than most other caribbean island

oh ok, i am getting a masters in education, i dont if teachers salary there is something one can manage on

I don't think you can expect to make a stateside salary in education anywhere in the Carribean.

My husband and I both teach in the public schools. The salary is lower than in the states, and you will spend far more on personal supplies than you ever dreamed of. In the states, we averaged around $2500 a year (between the two of us) on supplies for students and necessities for the classroom. We will definitely surpass that amount without even blinking an eye.

Resources are dated, so you will end up supplementing with your own books.
Resources are limited, so you will end up purchasing items because you want ALL of your students to learn.
Supplies (rubber bands, paper clips, pencils) are pretty much non-existent, so you will purchase items for your students to use.

I could continue, but I think you get the idea. We CHOSE to come here to teach, as we knew the demand was high for certified teachers, and we wanted to find a place where we could make a difference. I absolutely LOVE my studentsand LOVE what I do, but do not expect anything simlar to stateside teaching practices...at least not in the public schools.

Having said all of this, if your heart is truly into teaching, none of this matters - because you are there for the children. If that is where your desire is, then please come here and teach. While we have some very wonderful teachers, the demand is still very high for dedicated teachers that truly love what they do and don't mind the challenges.

Oh - you also commented about wanting an area with a low crime rate...I have been robbed twice at school so far this year. So, some of the money that I spent on my students had to be spent twice - to replace items that were taken.

But, I still love it and wouldn't trade anything for what I'm doing. At the end of a tough day, I could shovel snow (in the states) or go to the beach. I choose to go to the beach (and grade papers, of course)!

meowruff,
From your insider's point of view, why do you think the VI doesn't support its schools? I know people will start with the Senators and their SUV's, corruption, etc., and all good points, I'm sure.

Just seems to me it wouldn't be all that much money, in the grand scheme of things, to supply basic needs, at least to elementary schools. I don't understand how the Governor and the Senators can sleep at night, knowing the children (our future) are being so deprived!

We have had school teacher tenants come and go (quickly). Good young people, wanting to make a difference, but they just couldn't stick it out. Thank you for hanging in there.

and our senators refused to confirm Spampanato (sp?) who had a great plan to fix many of these problems
and the woman who was confirmed has yet to answer any questions about her plans, does not return phone calls from concerned parents and has been scheduled twice to appear on Free Speach to take calls from concerned citizens but was a no show both times ...hmmmm
IMHO - we saw more change from Spampanato in a few weeks than under L. Terry in the past 8 or so months she has been in charge
and we wonder why things stay the same

I really don't know how to respond, other than to share my personal opinion. I am happy to share my thoughts, but I don't want to sound like I'm putting the system down.

I do know that more money is spent per student here than most states.
I do know that we have some very wonderful teachers, but many are not certified or are not working in their area of certification.
I do know that teachers are frustrated with the lack of supplies - and this leads to a high burnout rate. (Because I want my students to "wipe", I even provide toilet paper for my students, as there isn't any TP in the children's bathrooms.)

I feel that there is a lack of family/parental support for students to finish school and graduate. Most students don't have a goal of going on to college, so they don't feel as if they need to worry about their grades as much. Many students have goals to be "just like their parents" - and, unfortunately, in so many cases, that is to have babies, live in government housing and be taken care of by the government.

I feel that the government provides too much for the people of the islands. There is a lack of motivation to change the lifestyle that they have adapted to. Who wouldn't want to live in government housing with a view of the ocean?

I feel that there are too many wasted days in school that are not for educational purposes. We spend hours on preparing for beauty pageants, parades and parties, but not enough time on multiplication tables and spelling.

While I believe field trips are a fantastic outlet for teaching certain lessons, I believe that too much time is spent away from the rigors of teaching in a classroom. At the last school I was teaching at in the states, they ended up cutting out ALL field trips, in order to focus on the curriculum and focus on the educational disciplines necessary to graduate and become a useful citizen. In very rare instances, field trips were allowed, but there had to be documentation as to the educational purpose of the trip, with pre and post lessons that coordinated with the field trip.

I feel that our parents and students are always on "island time". Students show up late (very late!) for school with no repercussions. Students miss days and days of school.

I'm sure that I've opened up a huge can of worms here. For everyone reading, please remember that this is my perspective. While I am frustrated with many things, these things are not isolated to the islands, as there are problems with many educational systems on the mainland too.

I really do love teaching!

Meowruff... I really admire you. I'm very glad to know that there are people like you teaching in our public schools. I really enjoyed reading and learning about some of the challenges you face. I'm sure your attitude and dedication to teaching will positively affect the lives of many of the children in your classroom. Although you can not fix all the problems you see around you, at least you are making a difference for the few children you can. Despite some pretty awful experiences, you still appear to love what you are doing and encourage others to join your 'team'. Good for you. I certainly hope you do not burn out.

What school do you teach at.? What grade do you teach? (you can pm me if you prefer to not say).

Best of luck to you!

Maybe would should flood the governor and senators with emails demanding adequate school supplies for the students. Maybe we should demand an accounting of how the money appropriated to each student is spent. Where does the money go?

Meowruff, PM me a wish list of things needed for your class. My sister who teaches 2nd grade in the states told me that their school purchased all new school books. I will see if they have the old ones left. She asked me at the beginning of the school year if any schools here on STX could use them. I am sorry to say I did not follow up.

Meowruff -
It is so nice of you to share your perspective of the education system here. I am teaching in a private school, and even though it is quite rigorous, I cannot believe the number of days off we have. (The island-wide holiday for Obama's inauguration was one example.) So hearing about your school preparing for beauty pageants, etc. seems like another example of actual school "work" taking second place again. There are a lot of cultural differences here (from the mainland) and it is a huge challenge to reconcile the need for academic accountability and even punctuality with our students' "island" lifestyle.

I am so sorry to hear about your burglaries. Good luck with everything. You sound like an amazing teacher. I love teaching too. I hope we get to meet one day. If you want to PM me, I am really interested in which public elementary schools are considered good.

Taking Tammy's lead...

I teach 3rd through 5th graders in New York. In the past I've tried to set up a pen pal arrangement with a teacher on any of the islands who might be interested in having his or her students communicate with my students. I contacted the local AFT office, but never received a reply. I would still love to do something like this. This could, in fact, possibly lead to my students doing a fund-raising or supply gathering project. Meowruff, if you know anyone who might be interested, or if you would be interested yourself, I would love to hear from you.

I know a lot of the money goes to "administrative staff" (not teachers) i.e. a government paycheck instead of supplies & physical maintenance of the schools. It's pitiful & a real shame.

Thank you for not "slamming" me for stating the negatives of the educational system here. Truly, there are many wonderful things that are happening in the classrooms too.

Each year, my husband's family has a traditional Christmas gift exchange. You know the ones - you bring something you don't want, give it to another person, and bring home something else you really don't want. Instead, of exchanging the meaningless gifts again, they decided to take up our schools as their gift exchange this past Christmas. So, we made a wish list, and they provided an enormous amount of supplies for our schools and our students. We feel very blessed to have been able to contribute to our schools this way.

Quite honestly, one of the most wonderful things anyone could do is to DONATE THEIR TIME! Seriously, one on one mentoring is probably the best way to see progress in these students. Many of these students go home to take care of their baby brothers or sisters, and don't have the time to finish their homework, or to read a book, or to ask questions about their math assignment. And, teachers have 25+ students to try to assist during the short time each day. While I know that there are many needs on the island, if you have a passion for children and their education, (and you have time to spare), give a few hours a week. It will make a huge difference!

The second most important missing thing is BOOKS FOR CHILDREN. We have a wonderful library and a fantastic librarian, but checking out books is not the answer. Many students are not able to check out books (because of a lack of a parent signature or the fact that they didn't return books in the past), and are not able to take advantage of reading for fun. These students need to have access to books that they can keep, enjoy and share. I have a "student of the day" program, where I pick a name each day to pick a prize from my bucket. Inside, I have a few plastic toys, and books. It's amazing how my books disappear very quickly, but the plastic toys remain. The students are excited about the idea of "keeping" a book for their very own. And, even my lower readers will grasp a book, and return to look up words in the dictionary.

Enough of my babbling. Thanks for listening! (I will PM a few of you with specific personal answers.)

Suggest you conduct your due diligence on HURRICANES in the Caymans.....they have had more than usual. Not a place I would consider because of this occurence in the last 3 years.

something needs to be done with the schools, as teachers there is only so much u can do and u need to survive u do have families of ur own

Sigh.. Having been a teacher in a long Island suburb I am here to say that buying stuff for your class is an occupational hazard. No matter what the school has teachers's me included buy "stuff" to enrich the learning.