Skip to contentSkip to footer
      employer cover photo
      employer logo
      employer logo

      Classical Charter Schools

      Engaged Employer

      Classical Charter Schools reviews

      2.7

      24% would recommend to a friend

      (190 total reviews)
      avatar

      Lester Long

      43% approve of CEO

      38% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Classical Charter Schools has an employee rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 190 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Classical Charter Schools employee rating is 26% below average for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      190 reviews
      3.0
      May 1, 2017

      Rigor Shouldn't Have To Be Joyless

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Intensity of purpose, highly structured environment so learning time is maximized for scholars. Students know what is expected of them at all times. Expectations are high.

      Cons

      Teachers are generally young and inexperienced and stressed out, and there is no time for professional development other than coaching from within the system. Best practices are not followed. This is the ultimate teach to the test environment with 5 and 6 year olds mastering the term "process of elimination" as they focus tremendously on taking standardized tests. Focus is entirely on test scores and data, not the cognitive development and well being of the child. Curriculum planners are focused on test scores and not on developmental needs of children. Very little if any hands on learning. Very few smiles on faces in this building. Intensity and rigor and urgency, but very little joy, which is really sad to see, especially with children in K, 1, 2, etc. Charter elevates them out of potentially failing situation in other area schools only to then deprive these kids in other ways.

      2.0
      May 29, 2016

      Strong Teacher Development, Negative School Culture

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      There is a dedicated staff, strong community, and a focus on improvement. Staff responsible for professional development are consistently trying to help teachers improve within the model of the school. Great environment for beginning teachers with little to no experience as you will get more support, feedback, and constructive criticism than most other places. If you fit in the environment, you can quickly take on more responsibilities and there is opportunity for career improvement. The teachers are not competitive with each other, and tend more towards focused and collegial.

      Cons

      Long, long hours. Most administration lack experience in education outside of SBCCS or other charters, and teachers are primarily new to the field. There are some more experienced staff, but they aren't part of the administration making decisions. Frequently decisions are made that are not in the best interest of students due to ignorance of best practices or incorrect use of assessments/data. The no excuses model is very persistent at the school, with many teachers struggling with management often resulting in disrespectful or harsh treatment of students. There is a very narrow and negative approach to discipline school-wide, and a poorly implemented character education curriculum. Many students are retained and/or leave and there is a high staff turnover each year.

      avatar
      Classical Charter Schools Response
      9y
      Thank you for your feedback! There is a lot to chew on here. First, thank you for highlighting our dedicated staff and strong community. It is something that we’re very proud of. We are also very proud of our ability to develop new teachers and ensure that every teacher in our school has the knowledge and support necessary to produce great results. Over the past 16 months, we have made a concerted effort to bring in more experienced staff (at all levels) and we believe that will serve us well moving forward. That being said, it is definitely our preference to promote from within which we think is helpful in building a strong, close knit community. We are sorry to read that you left us with the belief that some of our decisions were not made with the student's best interest in mind. In actuality, all of the decisions we make are made through the lens of what is best for students. That is the reason our specials staff is so robust and why we hire Speech Therapists and School Psychologists as full-time staff instead of using district services. While we do have a culture of high expectations for all students that is difficult for some of our newer teachers to manage at first, some of your characterizations are overstated. Our staff turnover rates have varied but have improved significantly over the past few years, a trend that we anticipate to continue thanks to our ClassiCorps fellowship. Student attrition is no higher than a typical school in our district and we work hard to keep all of our students until they graduate from 8th grade. Finally, our Character Curriculum is a work in progress that will undergo the same revisions and modifications that our Core Curriculum undergoes. Again, thank you for your feedback. As you mentioned, we are an organization that is focused on improvement and will continue to identify and address areas of improvement as we grow.
      5.0
      Apr 14, 2016

      High expectations and no excuses, top to bottom

      Learning specialist
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      This network offers: Pre-written and aligned curriculum, culture of high expectations and achievement (academic and behavior), excellent and regular instructional coaching, supportive and responsive administration, dean position for behavior referrals, relevant and actionable PD, unlimited copies, and a deep, network-wide respect for teachers' work and scholars' learning time. This includes an organizational structure that supports classrooms above all. Meetings start on time, end on time and make the most of each minute. Employees' time is never wasted. The school offers -- and requires -- uncommon accountability.

      Cons

      Like all teaching positions, this one requires long hours. The no-nonsense culture is not a fit for all educators.

      avatar
      Classical Charter Schools Response
      9y
      Thank you for your feedback! You did a great job highlighting some of the things that we think make our schools great. We understand that the hours are long and our culture of transparency and high expectations may not be a good fit for all, but we believe the work is worth it and are truly thankful for all of our staff who give so much of their time and energy to make our schools great. We are working on fine tuning our application and hiring processes to ensure that we are attracting the right candidates (and retaining them!).
      Viewing 181 - 183 of 190 Reviews
      Related searches: Classical Charter Schools jobs | Classical Charter Schools salaries | Classical Charter Schools benefits | Classical Charter Schools interviews
      ReviewsClassical Charter Schools reviews

      Glassdoor has 196 Classical Charter Schools reviews submitted anonymously by Classical Charter Schools employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Classical Charter Schools is right for you.