Staffing

All staff – teachers and management support – are literally ‘volunteers’. Other than a substantial lunch each school day, and the provision of a bicycle (probably the most common mode of transport in Mae Sot) Minmahaw School is unable to offer any other recompense to volunteers. Our volunteer teachers are “found” by the school network and word of mouth, and so they, like the school, are independent of any aid/support agency or group.

Since January 2012, a small grant and many individual donors have been able to offer a small stipend to Minmahaw’s Principal and nowadays, also for the vice principal. This position was created with the goal of providing continuity throughout the year to both students and the flow of volunteer teachers, often here for periods of 1 – 4 months.

The management team are all Myanmar former students working full time as volunteers and are appointed by the School board. There is an effort being made by the donors to provide some small stipend for them, together with accommodation and daily needs to be covered as well.

They are the ones in charge of the whole functioning of the school in regards to budgeting, students’ daily life and welfare, administrative decisions and processes such as students’ admission process. Additionally, they also act as liaisons between the school and the families of the students.

The educational staff are in charge of the volunteer-teachers’ recruitment, the curriculum creation, the search for opportunities and scholarships for students. Together with the management team, they facilitate the daily functioning of the school and the search for funding. Furthermore, they help connect graduates with programs and jobs as well as tracking the students’ professional growth.
Seven foreign and/or local volunteer-teachers is optimum to teach a full program and five considered a minimum. Every volunteer-teacher decides the amount of teaching load depending on their availability and expertise. Minmahaw always tries to be as flexible as possible in order to satisfy both students’ academic achievement and teachers’ teaching performance.