Pros
- great resources for teachers, all supplies etc. are provided - good opportunity for first-year teaching without experience/certification - the kids are amazing, wonderful and dedicated parents/families too
Cons
- developmentally inappropriate expectations, very young children expected to complete academic work for hours on end with very little break and no time for play - classroom management amounts to policing the students’ bodies constantly - staff are incredibly overworked, there is a culture of shame around taking PTO even for illness, this is treated as evidence of dedication to teaching - management is not concerned with the experiences of teachers, paying lip service to hearing staff but without taking concerns seriously - extremely high turnover which means “veteran” teachers (3+ years) are protected regardless of their actions...hyper-focus on data also creates blinds spots in this sense - instructional coaching feedback is often redundant and an overreliance on surveillance/observation creates a suffocating environment for many teachers - extremely young staff so middle management is often inexperienced and has not received management training, but given a ton of power and can make or break teachers’ experience