ITP - 127: What Great Schools Do Before You Even Start

Greg:
This is Greg reporting from another episode of the International Teacher Podcast. How you doing, Kent?

Cat Guy:
Yeah, awesome to be here. Thanks, Greg.

Greg:
It looks like you're up in the sky and JP Mint is with us tonight. How you doing, JP?

JP Mint:
Yes. Hello, hello from Mexico.

Greg:
Good morning, Mexico. I'm excited because our next guest is coming to us from a tent—a gazebo outside of a restaurant during an orientation break, right? And it's Liam Hammer. Welcome to the show, Liam.

JP Mint:
In Africa.

Liam:
Yeah! Hi!

JP Mint:
Yay!

Cat Guy:
Woo! Thanks for joining us.

JP Mint:
Dr. Liam Hammer in the house!

Liam:
I really am. Thank you for having me. Delight to be here.

Greg:
You're our first guest from a restaurant.

JP Mint:
Well, we have to address this because I said, “Are you in a tent?” when he first showed up. And he said, “I'm in the gazebo outside of a restaurant during an orientation dinner, and I have a little bit of time to squeeze this in.” So this is our first head of school calling us in during onboarding, and I'm so excited to talk about what that entails in Zambia.

JP Mint:
Liam, can you walk us through what onboarding looks like?

Liam:
Right. Well, as you would know, onboarding is really important. You've got to make a great impression and really help new teachers and their families get settled.

We have a busy program this week—about four or five days. We cover vision and mission, tours of the school, and different logistical pieces. We also take them to restaurants they might enjoy later, because finding things in Lusaka can be a bit of an Easter egg hunt.

Everything runs through WhatsApp, so we give teachers tools to feel comfortable. We also cover HR, finances, visas—we’ve done all that thankfully.

And we finish with a highlight: a game park trip where they see wildlife, enjoy traditional dancing, and try local food like warthog or kudu. We give them the African experience right away.

JP Mint:
I love it.

Cat Guy:
How many teachers came in this year?

Liam:
We’ve got 18 new staff. Last year no one left, but this year more did. We’ve also expanded—new classrooms, a new primary school, and more demand than we expected.

Cat Guy:
What are the most common questions?

Liam:
Everything—banking, safety, daily life. I tell them onboarding isn’t about remembering everything—it’s about knowing who to ask. We assign both a social buddy and a work buddy. That support system is key.

A lot of it is just that brain rush in the first couple of days. Everyone forgets things, but then they pick it up later on or they find someone to ask. It’s really about making them feel welcome and helping them get used to life in Africa and life in Lusaka, Zambia.

JP Mint:
And how many onboards have you done here at ISL?

Liam:
Well, this is my first one. I’ve been at ISL for two years. This is my third year. So they onboarded me when I first arrived. Last year we didn’t have any new teachers because no one wanted to leave.

JP Mint:
Okay, so we’re going to go back now. Let’s talk about your international journey. How did you even hear of Zambia? I think you’re from Australia. Can you walk us back to university in Australia?

Liam:
Sure. I can actually go back and tell you that I knew what I wanted to do when I was 16 years old. I remember the day I decided.

Growing up as a teenager, I thought maybe I’ll be an author, maybe a geologist, maybe a farmer. I was at a Catholic boys school, and we had one of those assemblies where people talk and you listen. It was a brother talking about becoming a brother. But I don’t think I really heard that part. I heard him talking about teaching English in Papua New Guinea, in a village that was a day’s walk from the nearest airstrip.

And I was like, wow. So 16-year-old me just thought, that’s what I want to do.

This was before the internet, so I had to figure it out. I thought, okay, I need a teaching degree. I was a science student, so I ended up doing a science degree and then a Bachelor of Education at Melbourne University. Somehow I found a recruitment agency, and they said, you need five years’ experience. So I did that, and then I moved overseas and never looked back.

JP Mint:
I love it. That level of focus.

Liam:
Yeah, and I even did an internship in Indonesia while I was at university. I found a small international school and asked if I could teach there for three weeks. They said yes, and I got that on my resume.

After that, I worked in Thailand at New International School Thailand. It’s a big, well-known school. I didn’t realize how good I had it at the time. I got a lot of experience very quickly.

Then I moved to Indonesia and stayed there for 12 years. I got married, had children, and they’ve been following me on this journey.

At some point I said, okay, let’s keep moving. You go thinking you’ll stay two or three years, and suddenly it’s 12. It just creeps up on you.

JP Mint:
That happens a lot.

Liam:
Yeah, a lot of teachers can relate to that. Some people stay a long time in particular countries.

After Indonesia, I moved to Albania. That was really interesting—lovely people, fascinating country. Then Malaysia, and from Malaysia I moved to Zambia.

And how did I move to Zambia? Like most international teachers and leaders, you don’t pick the country—you pick the school and the job. Then you decide if the country is going to work for you. It’s about fit. The school is also deciding if you’re a good fit for them.

Cat Guy:
How many years as a teacher and how many in leadership?

Liam:
I started teaching in 1997, so I’m getting close to 30 years. I moved overseas around 2000, so about 25 years internationally. This is my 11th year as a head of school.

I’ve been a director at one school, a campus principal at another, and head of school at two schools. Different titles, but really the same job.

JP Mint:
Let’s talk about the terminology—CEO, superintendent, head of school.

Liam:
Yeah, my contract says CEO, but I don’t really like using that. It sounds too business-like. A head of school needs business sense, but if you tell parents you’re a CEO, they might question it.

JP Mint:
Teachers notice that too.

Liam:
Exactly. And international schools are becoming more business-like. There are large groups buying up schools. It’s big business now.

In the last five years, these big groups now own a large percentage of for-profit schools worldwide. One group I worked for went from 38 schools to over 100.

Greg:
That’s huge.

Liam:
It is. But smaller schools can be incredibly rewarding because they have that family atmosphere. The downside is you have to manage finances carefully because there’s no backup.

Cat Guy:
And enrollment can fluctuate.

Liam:
Exactly. You might have a big drop in student numbers, which affects your budget. But teachers still want two-year contracts, so it’s a balancing act.

Cat Guy:
Flexibility is key.

Liam:
Absolutely. In smaller schools, everyone wears multiple hats. It’s often more work, but you get to know everyone—students, staff, families.

JP Mint:
And specialists often cover K–12.

Liam:
Yes, exactly.

JP Mint:
So when you think about onboarding beyond that first week, what does that look like in practice at your school?

Liam:
Yeah, it continues. We don’t just stop after week one. We build in check-ins—formal and informal—over the first term. It’s about making sure people are settling in, both professionally and personally.

JP Mint:
That aligns with what a lot of people call the 6-6-6 approach—six days, six weeks, six months.

Liam:
Exactly. You need those touchpoints. And even before they arrive, communication matters—housing, expectations, what to bring, what not to bring. All of that reduces anxiety.

Cat Guy:
What do you see as the biggest factor in retaining teachers long term?

Liam:
Support and clarity. If teachers feel supported and understand expectations, they’re more likely to stay. Community matters as well—feeling connected.

Greg:
That onboarding piece really sets the tone.

Liam:
It does. First impressions count. If people feel lost in week one, it’s hard to recover from that.

JP Mint:
Let’s talk a bit more about your research and writing. You mentioned collections and publications.

Liam:
Yes, we’ve been working on a series of books focused on international education—leadership, equity, special education. They’re research-based, often drawing from doctoral work, and aimed at practitioners in international schools.

JP Mint:
So it’s very applied, not just theoretical.

Liam:
Exactly. We want teachers and leaders to actually use the material.

Cat Guy:
How do you balance all of that with running a school?

Liam:
You make time. During COVID, I had a bit more space to focus on the doctorate. But generally, it’s about having a strong team and delegating well.

Greg:
And being visible as a leader.

Liam:
Yes, that’s critical. You need to be present, approachable, and also empower others to lead.

JP Mint:
When you think about recruitment, what draws teachers into international education today?

Liam:
A mix of things—travel, experience, professional growth, lifestyle. But expectations need to be realistic. It’s not always about saving huge amounts of money. It’s about the overall experience.

Greg:
And the level of respect teachers receive in some places.

Liam:
Absolutely. That can be a big motivator.

Greg:
Alright, let’s do a quick one. Three things you always bring when moving overseas.

Liam:
Photos, important documents, and honestly, a phone and wallet. Everything else you can sort out.

JP Mint:
And we always ask—do you have a police story?

Liam:
Two quick ones. In Indonesia, I once used a police escort to fast-track getting a driver’s license—lights and sirens. And another time, a LinkedIn comment caused an issue with immigration, and we had to resolve it at the school level.

Greg:
Wow.

Cat Guy:
Final thoughts?

Liam:
International teaching is transformative. You grow personally and professionally, and once you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to go back.

JP Mint:
Thank you so much for joining us.

Greg:
It’s been a pleasure.

Cat Guy:
Thank you, Dr. Liam.

Greg:
Alright, that’s a wrap. Thanks everyone for listening.

[End of transcript]