Pros
- The staff is truly one of a kind. I have never felt so supported. - Every team lead I have had has been someone I can go to for advice, and the admin are most of the time very understanding to life circumstances. - The way the infrastructure is set up means you never have to worry if you have a sub to cover for you -- there are apprentice teachers on staff to cover absences. - It is accessible for new teachers, or teachers who did not get a traditional education degree. The focus is more content-based, and there is a lot of training provided in teaching "the great hearts way" -the discipline policies are consistent and they WORK. the students are usually quite engaged, very polite, and respond well to correction. -Almost all classroom supplies are provided by the school and you get a decent budget for your personal classroom needs. Copy room always well stocked :) -Pay is pretty decent to be an unlicensed teacher, and the addition of an assistant teacher in every classroom means the workload is not so bad. I generally get around 2 hours duty-free to complete work during the day, meaning I don't have to take so much home.
Cons
- As a liberal woman who is a member of the lgbtq teaching in texas, the overwhelmingly conservative vibes can be frustrating at times. the schools claim to be apolitical but everything is political, and those politics tend to skew right. - there are often speakers and lecturers invited for PDs who constantly bring Christianity and God into the conversation. I know this comes with the territory, but just be aware if you have more liberal views that you are probably in the minority and will need to bite your tongue on some things. -very large class sizes. as a charter school there is always a wait list and they pack as many kids as possible in there. most teachers have 30-32. the space available is starting to be an issue! -Charter school also means they kowtow to parents a lot.
