Hi folks,

I live in Ontario, Canada.
I am a Math teacher, my wife is an ESL (English as a Secondary Language) teacher.
We have 6 year old son. We want him to learn Mandarin in China.
This is one of the reasons why we want to move to China.
(There are some other reasons, but it is not important now).

I got an offer to teach Math in one Shanghai High School (British curriculum, grade 12, 13).
Salary is about RMB19,000.00 per month.
No medical coverage, an apartment rent is on us.
As a TESL certificate holder, my wife should not have any problem to find a job in Shanhai.
However, we are both not native speakers and can not expect high salaries.

I have some doubts to accept this offer or not. My biggest concern is my son.
It looks like we can not afford to enroll him in the International School system.
Besides, I heard that the level of teaching is not particularly high in such institutions.
Is it possible to find in Shanghais some local private school where some subjects are taught in English, with a tuition fee about RMB 5-6,000?
Would a regular public school be an option?

I would appreciate any advice or information about this matter!

Cheers

not too sure about the chinese school system, but have several expat friends with kids in the early years of school. most international schools in shanghai are fairly expensive - up to 20K USD - same as a private university in the states - which is not a problem if your employer pays for it. reputations for these schools vary, but can't personally give you details.
one school i know quite a few expats pick due to price is called SMIC school - however they are out in Pudong, kind of like the equivalent of San Jose if you are familiar with the San Francisco area. SF being Puxi and San Jose being Pudong. more suburban. they are supposed to be the most affordable international school in shanghai and i hear its a good school.
i don't know too much about local schools.
again, my wife and i don't have kids yet though we are expecting this year, so take what i say with a grain of salt and i hope this message will get some of the parents with first hand experience to respond.
hope u find what u are looking for.

ooops, was kinda skimming ur post at first, reread it and realize you aren't looking for international school options and im pretty sure smic school is not in your intended budget range either. don't know much about the local schools, but again, good luck on your search.