Private School Documents

When I first started looking at the different kinds of teaching positions with PlanetESL, I found that there were 2 types of positions: Public School and Private School.

Public school jobs sounded like my idea of a public school where you teach up to 30 kids at a time - all by yourself. No thank you! For my friends that are teachers: You are my heroes!! The thought of teaching that many kids by myself freaks me out.

Private schools in Korea are called Hagwons, (that's your first Korean word). I think the best way to describe Hagwons is that they are kind of like after school tutoring centers. There is 1 teacher and about 10-12 kids. They come for a certain time period to study and then they go home, while the next group of kids comes in for their turn. As a teacher, you might get 6-7 different classes per day.

Knowing that I wanted to teach in a private school instead of a public school, I started to look at the documents required to get the process started with the ultimate goal being that I got a Work Visa and was on a plane to Korea.

These are the documents you need to teach at a Private School:

1. Apostilled and Notarized photocopy of Bachelor's Degree
2. One set of Sealed and Stamped University Transcripts
3. Apostilled and Notarized Criminal Background Check
4. Two copies of the original Signed Contract
5. Filled out and signed E-2 Applicant Medical Statement
6. Full Resume with correct mailing address and phone number
7. Color scan of Information Page from Passport
8. 2 recent passport-sized color photos

Some of these documents take a few days to get back. Some take WEEKS!!!!! Let me explain in further detail.

(Oh, and I figure that if you're still reading my blog, you know that I am a detail person. I want you to understand every part of this experience; how long it has taken for me to decide to even do this, and how long the process has been. Ok, I'm done. Continue reading.)

1. Apostilled and Notarized photocopy of Bachelor's Degree
I already had my degree, so I went to the UPS Store and they copied it, notarized it, and we sent it off to Austin to get it Apostilled. It took about 1 week to get this completely done.
**Apostille: It is basically a piece of paper that is attached to the notarized copy. See the link below if you are curious for what it really is. I didn't want to try and explain it here.

2. One set of Sealed and Stamped University Transcripts
This one was easy. I found the way to do this from my school website. I faxed over my request and they sent it to me in about a week and a half.

3. Apostilled and Notarized Criminal Background Check
This one is a long process. You fill out a request and get your fingerprints done at a police station. Then you mail it all in to the FBI and they send it back to you: IN 6 WEEKS.............
*This one deserves it's own post, so look for that next.

4. Two copies of the original Signed Contract
This one was also easy. I had a contract, so I just made copies and set them aside. Done.

5. Filled out and signed E-2 Applicant Medical Statement
This was easy as well. This is a piece of paper where you answer a few questions. You don't have to go to a doctor for this, you just fill it out yourself. Simple health questions. Done.

6. Full Resume with correct mailing address and phone number
Since I always have a resume ready, I just printed this one out and signed it. Done.

7. Color scan of Information Page from Passport
My passport is always handy, so I just made a copy. Done.

8. 2 recent passport-sized color photos
This one would require me going to the post office to get the pictures taken. I had some time so I waited a bit to do this, but it basically took me an hour and $15 for this one.

Once you gather all of these things, you send some of them off to get your Visa. Some of them go to Korea for a Visa Issuance Number. The rest go to the Korean Consulate here in Houston where you actually get your Visa and they stamp your Passport. This takes about 2 weeks, just for the visa part.

As you can tell, some of these take more time to do than others. They tell you when you apply to get started on the documents as soon as possible. You could have a position and then lose it if your paperwork is not done on time. Then you would have to wait to find another position. So far, I haven't lost my position, but I'm running out of time.

**Apostille information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille_convention