Nurture Students to Aspire and Achieve.

Teaching at AISG

The American International School of Guangzhou (AISG) is an independent International Baccalaureate World School with a reputation as one of the leading international educational institutions in southern China. AISG is committed to academic and extracurricular excellence, and to providing an inspiring and rewarding environment for both its students and faculty. The school currently has 97 faculty members.

Guangzhou, the historic city of Canton, is a dynamic, international city of 12 million people on the banks of the Pearl River. Although Hong Kong is less than two hours away by train, Guangzhou is an exciting center in its own right, with a rich history and culture, and a myriad of things to see and do in the city and surrounding areas. Guangzhou’s Baiyun International Airport has direct flights to Europe as well as to cities throughout Asia.

AISG offers the opportunity for qualified teachers to teach in a supportive, professional, international setting while experiencing the excitement of living in urban Asia, in one of the world’s fastest developing areas.

Contract and Age Requirement

Chinese law requires citizens to retire at age 60; however, this has not been enforced for foreign hires. Recently, though, the government in another region has denied work permits to some individuals. To avoid any problem for an employee or the School, individuals whom we hire must be able to complete the initial two year contract and ideally another year or two before reaching the age of 60.

Salaries and Banking

Salaries are paid monthly 100% in USD. You will set up individual RMB account in Bank of China (joint accounts are not allowed), where AISG will deposit on your behalf from your monthly salary an amount that you determine. This account provides funds for living in China. Many couples deposit a total of US$1000-1500 per month, although start-up costs at the beginning may require more of the salary deposited into the RMB account. You must open an HSBC account in HK (this can be a joint account) where AISG deposits the remainder of your salary which you can then transfer out in US dollars via the bank’s on-line functions.

AISG guarantees a net or take home pay that is inclusive of the 10% retirement contribution. The 10% is based on the gross or pre-tax salary.

Our contracts run July to June and the July pay is actually credited to your account in August after you have opened up a bank account in Hong Kong.

Housing

Faculty live in apartments. Suitable accommodations come with basic furniture and appliances and, in some cases, they can be fully furnished. Most teaching couples live in or around the Tienhe area, which is in town. We recommend securing an apartment prior to your arrival. Our HR department will assist you in this process. You will find more information about housing in our orientation guide which will be on the web in a couple of weeks.

On your behalf, AISG pays the security deposit and first month's rent. Then the school deducts these costs from your July and August salaries.

Taxes

As the employer, the School is responsible for collecting and paying PRC individual income tax (IIT). Monthly from each teacher, the School will deduct this tax from any form of compensation made to the Teacher and pay it to the tax authorities.

Busing, Teachers and their Child/ren

The School provides teachers transportation from Ersha Island, the location of the Elementary school, to Science Park where the Secondary school is located. In the morning, the bus takes approximately 35-40 minutes and departs Ersha around 6:40-6:45 AM. Two buses depart the Science Park campus at 3:30 and 4:30. The trip home can take another 10 to 15 minutes.

One bus departs Tianhe area for Science Park and another to Ersha. The travel time to Science Park is about the same as from Ersha. However, traveling from Tianhe to Ersha takes about 25 minutes in the morning and 35-40 minutes in the afternoon, depending upon the traffic. AISG does not provide door-to-door service; rather, it drops teachers off at one or two central locations. If a teacher lives outside of the Tianhe area, s/he must arrange transportation to the main pickup spots.

For students there are bus services that run from Ersha to Science Park as well as from Tianhe to Ersha and to Science Park. Students are picked up and dropped off at key locations. This is not a door-to-door service. Parents who do not live on the bus routes are responsible for transporting their children to and from school. AISG covers the bus fee for faculty children.