Q. Why does Morrison want teachers who embrace the mission?

A. Watch this video featuring Morrison staff members answering this question.

Q. Do Morrison Academy’s teachers need to be able to speak Chinese?

A. Morrison is an American school and uses American curriculum, so in the classroom Chinese is not needed. Many Morrison teachers spoke no Chinese when they arrived in Taiwan and have thrived here without learning more than a handful of words in Chinese. HOWEVER, the teachers that take a little Chinese on a regular basis throughout their time here have a real advantage both personally and in terms of their ability to witness for Christ.

Watch this video featuring Morrison staff members answering this question.

Q. The base salary looks so low. Can I live on it?

A. Most of Morrison’s staff save more while here than at any other time of their lives. Families with only one income have to be more careful than others of course but it is possible to live and work and eat out and take regular vacations while saving money working at Morrison Academy. Morrison’s expatriate teachers noramlly don’t have to pay taxes to their passport country (unless they have large amounts of income from some other source), and housing is provided. These two factors alone raise the amount of spendable income considerably.

Watch this video featuring Morrison staff members answering this question.

Q. How does Morrison’s retirement plan work?

A. Most US based companies and schools have 401(b) or 403(b) types of pension plans set up to defer taxable income until retirement age.Morrison income is considered foreign earned income and usually qualifies for a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion for tax purposes. Since it is non-taxable income, we cannot put the Morrison retirement benefit into a 401(b) or 403(b) type of pension plan. Rather, expatriate employees who receive a pay-check from Morrison may elect to participate in a matching retirement program. The retirement account will be in an annuity in the employee's name and sponsored by a bank, mutual fund or other reputable financial institution. The annuity account is set up under the staff member’s name. There is no time requirement for 100% vesting but there will be early withdrawal penalties for the first 7 years of the contribution. The school's maximum contribution will be 10% of the employee's base salary and the employee's personal contribution will be 7% of their base salary.

Q. When will I and/or my family covered under the Morrison insurance plan?

A. There are two types of insurance

1. Taiwan National Health insurance (NHI) – required by the Taiwan government.

• Staff – will be covered the day you arrive in Taiwan. It covers almost everything from colds, fever, basic dental, and maternity to major surgery.There is a registration fee of about 150NT (US$5) every time you see a doctor.
• Spouse and children – will be covered 4 months after the issuance of the ARC (Alien Resident Card), which is usually the entry date to Taiwan. From July 1 until their NHI is active, Morrison will cover all but the registration fee for all emergency care.

2. Outside Taiwan insurance – Talent Trust Consultants

• The Outside Taiwan insurance is more like travel insurance. It does not have dental or maternity coverage which is provided by NHI.It has a US$100 deductible per case per person.Treatment like colds, sore throat, fever or other minor sickness will probably not be able to meet the deductible requirement.However, if you get into a major accident or emergency treatment, you will be covered. This insurance covers the whole family and starts on July 1 of your contract year.

Q.When and how do we receive salary?

A. Staff receive salaries from July to June. New staff’s July payroll will be paid in NT$ cash and can be picked up from the campus cashier when they arrive in Taiwan after July 20. In light of summer travel, May and June payrolls are both paid in May.Normally, the salary is deposited into a NT$ Post Office (which functions somewhat like a bank) account, unless staff specify otherwise. Staff can choose to have all or portion of the salary paid in form of a US$ check or direct deposit into a US checking account.

Q.Where do we live?

A. Staff will be assigned to a Morrison Managed Housing unit. On campus housing is very limited and is not always available every new school year. Off campus housing is usually in apartment buildings within a 10 to 15 minute walk from school or an MRT station. In Taichung and Kaohsiung there are some apartment housing units which are a 15 to 20 minute drive from school. Morrison provides major appliances like washers and dryers, refrigerator, stove (if the kitchen is too small for a regular oven a small convection oven is provided), an air conditioner in each occupied bedroom and living room, blinds and light fixtures. Basic used living and bedroom furniture will be provided for two months to give staff time to find and buy their own.

See slideshows of apartments in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.

Q.Is Taiwan a safe place to live?

A. Let Morrison staff answer that question in their own words.

Q.How long do teachers normally stay at Morrison?

A. Let Morrison staff answer that question in their own words.