Pinewood American International School

Thessaloniki, Greece

School Mission: Pinewood aims to offer students a progressive, personalised American international education centered on academic excellence in each student’s journey towards self-actualisation. This is achieved in a stimulating, multicultural learning environment that emphasises service, respect for ethical values and awareness of local culture.

Visit the school website for more information.

Family Reviewed – overall rating for teaching families

Would you recommend this school to other teaching families?

Unlikely to recommend – some serious reservations

Overall compensation package rating

Below expectations, challenges for families

Tuition benefits

Full coverage capped at 2 children

Housing

With two spouses working as teachers, the housing covers a 3 bedroom family apartment

Flights

Flights to Greece covered for family. Each summer provided a stipend which covers about 3/4 of the cost of the flight

Healthcare

Good coverage with some limitations or co-pays

Good – reliable with some limitations

Adjustment for kids

Easily – adjusted well with minimal issues

Support for partners

Excellent – partner is a teacher and found a job at the same school

Overall school community support for families

Adequate – basic support available

Extracurricular opportunities for kids

Good – a decent range of activities with some high-quality options

Most activities have additional fees that are expensive

Retirement/pension benefits

No retirement benefits

School leadership rating & stability

Poor to Fair – minimal engagement or understanding

Mostly stable (occasional changes)

Pinewood American International School – Additional Benefits

  • Transportation allowance (to/from school)
  • No relocation allowance
  • Flights at beginning of contract
  • No maternity leave beyond legal minimum
  • No child sick days (separate from personal leave)
  • No paternity leave

The best aspect of this school is it’s location. You’re in Europe, there’s amazing weather, it’s a fabulous city, work ends at 3pm. But, the salary is extremely low.

Current Teacher with 1 child at the school

It’s a fairly diverse school. That makes a big difference as it makes English the common language. It’s Europe, so culturally it’s more comfortable for most westerners.

Current Teaching Couple

My spouse is a teacher so we only accepted the job because they had roles for both of us. Several other teachers came here with non-teaching spouses who have been looking for work for months and can’t find anything. The school had openings in areas that matched the spouse expertise but hired locals instead of spouses.

Current Teacher
View of Thessaloniki with its iconic church and urban landscape
Street view in Thessaloniki featuring cars and balconies lined with Greek flags - expect to see this if you teach at the Pinewood American International School.
Sunset at Thessaloniki, Greece with people enjoying the view by iconic umbrellas sculpture.

The location is absolutely fabulous. I could live in this city forever. But I will not teach at this school one minute longer than I have to.

Current Teacher

Student behaviors are terrible and the administration supports the students and the crazy parents, instead of the teachers.

Current Teacher

What would I tell other teaching families? Go to Asia.

Current Teacher

Safety, Adaptability & Cost of Living

  • Safety: Good – generally safe with occasional minor concerns
  • Adaptability:  Easy – mostly welcoming with some minor adjustments
  • Cost of Living: Adequate – meet basic needs

General Overview for Teaching Families

Unable to save/going into debt

Good – reasonable balance

Under 40 hours

Generally flexible

Good – adequate support for most needs

Family events and inclusion in school community

It’s not a truly international school. I’ve been teaching abroad for 20 years. This is a Greek school with all classes in English to cater to the diverse student body (lots of students now from Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey). Most teachers are local Greeks. Only 5 of us hired from America, as is required by the State Department of Education because this school is affiliated and gets money from the US State Department. So it does NOT have the camaraderie of most other international schools where all the teachers are international teachers. We are resented for our teaching package and most teachers are Greek locals who have taught here for 20 years.

No support – Little to no assistance; staff and families manage on their own.

It’s probably a great place for an older single teacher. This is our first year and all five of us new teachers have really struggled with the administration of this school.

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