Pyp Primary Support Teacher — Kumamoto Residents Only Immediate Start

**Please read before applying** **We need this teacher to start on 25 August, and the contract runs to 31 March 2027.** Because of that, we can only consider people who already live in Kumamoto, or close enough to commute, and who already have permission to work in Japan — permanent residence, a spouse or dependent visa with work permission, or a current work visa we can transfer. If your visa is coming up for renewal, we can handle that. **Requirements** * Bachelor’s degree or higher * 3+ years teaching upper primary (Grades 4–6) * Native or native-level fluency in English * Demonstrated ability to teach reading, writing and mathematics effectively * Comfortable and experienced with inclusive, effective classroom management * Already living in Kumamoto or within commuting distance, with valid work authorization in Japan **Job overview** **Do you want to be part of building a world class IB school in one of the nicest cities in Japan?** Kumamoto International School is an IB World School for the DP and PYP, and a candidate school for the MYP. In our junior and senior high school (G7–G10) we teach on a Cambridge Lower Secondary and IGCSE spine. We are looking to hire a support teacher in our IB PYP primary school, working across Grades 4–6. You’ll work alongside our homeroom teachers, take small groups and individual students in reading, writing and maths, and help make sure every child in the room is getting instruction pitched at the right level. The teachers who do well in this role are the ones who can analyze a child’s reading and writing, or a page of their maths, and know what to do next. If you can do that, we want to talk to you. If you are currently teaching in an eikaiwa or working as an ALT in Kumamoto and you want to move into international school teaching, this is a real route in. We will coach you. You should: * Have real experience teaching reading and writing to children in this age group * Enjoy working in a collaborative, team-oriented environment * Be experienced and comfortable with implementing effective and inclusive classroom management Our goal is simple: to be a world-class school and to have a great time while doing it. Working hard and having fun together, we want all members of the school community to love being part of what we are creating. **About Kumamoto International School** Kumamoto International School (KIS) is located in Kumamoto, on the island of Kyushu, in western Japan. KIS is an accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. Our preschool division, Picasso, opened in 2003, and our primary school division opened in 2018. Our junior high school opened in April 2023 and our high school in April 2025. In 2023, we built a much larger campus and new school building for the primary, junior high and high school divisions. As a growing school, there is significant potential for advancement as we continue to grow. **Are we a good fit?** You: * Do you want to work for a smaller school that you can grow with? * Are you relentless in your commitment to providing exceptional educational outcomes for students? * Do you want to work at a school that shares your passion for excellence? * Do you want to live and work in a smaller Japanese city (~750,000 people) that offers exceedingly high quality of life and a much lower cost of living than the major metropolitan areas of Japan? * Do you like the idea of walking or biking to work rather than commuting on a cramped train? * Do you want to work at a growing school that offers numerous growth opportunities in a variety of roles? * Do you want to be a “change agent” who literally changes the lives of the children you teach? * Do you like the idea of being coached on your journey to becoming the best teacher you can be? * Do you love the idea of being part of a collaborative like-minded team focused on delivering amazing educational outcomes for your students? * Do you respect Japanese culture, values, traditions, and ways of thinking? * Do you never want to feel like a cog in a big organization? Us: * We are relentless about continuous improvement on our journey to becoming the best international school in Japan * We believe that one great teacher is worth three average teachers * We work to create a tight-knit team of professionals 100% focused on delivering the best educational outcomes for our students * We believe that one great teacher can impact the life of their students forever * We support our teachers 100% to allow them to do their best work * We coach our teachers to become true master educators who change the lives of the students in their care **Living in Kumamoto** Built around one of the three most famous castles in all of Japan, Kumamoto boasts one of the highest qualities of life anywhere in the country: the air and water are clean, the weather beautiful (300+ days of sunshine a year), and there is easy access to abundant and pristine nature. If you love nature and the outdoors, you’ll love Kumamoto. The active volcano Mt. Aso is only an hour away, and Osaka is three hours away on a direct bullet train, so weekend getaways are easily arranged. Thanks to the farmers of Kumamoto prefecture, fresh fruit, vegetables and meat are easy to come by and cheap — half the price of Tokyo. We opened in 2003 with our preschool division, Picasso Preschool, and we now have more than 50 staff across all of our divisions. Our goal is to find great staff and build a great team. Our philosophy: we don’t teach people to be nice and work hard; we hire hard-working, nice people. Our longest-serving Japanese staff have been with us for more than 20 years, and several other teachers have been with us for more than 10 years. Staff often socialise outside of work, and the school serves as a good base from which to find your bearings in Japan and make friends. We place a high priority on staff cohesion and cooperation, and there is always someone there to help as necessary. You will never be treated as, or feel like, a cog in a large organization. There is also real potential for teachers to advance their career by acquiring new skills and taking on new roles as the school grows. To support our teachers as they adjust to life in Japan, we offer free Japanese language lessons on campus. Our school is a very positive, bright, high-energy environment. Only teachers who want to be part of, and will actively contribute to, such an environment should apply. If that’s you, you’ll love it here. School website: [https://kumamotointer.jp/](https://kumamotointer.jp/) Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/kiskumamoto/](https://www.instagram.com/kiskumamoto/) **To apply** Apply here with your CV, including a recent good quality color photo, answer the questions in the application, and record your video introduction on Jobs in Japan.  We watch every video. We review applications daily and will be in touch with strong candidates within 24 hours. The post [PYP Primary Support Teacher (Grades 4–6) — Kumamoto residents only, immediate start](https://jobsinjapan.com/jobs/1711538/pyp-primary-support-teacher-grades-4-6-kumamoto-residents-only-immediate-start/) appeared first on [JOBS IN JAPAN](https://jobsinjapan.com).