Pros
I do like the mission of the school. It can be a great place to learn about teaching in a classical school. At the same time, it can give experience to teaching. Many of the parents and students are wonderful. Even though I received a hard experience here, I did learn to become a better teacher. Some of the staff and the Administration tried to be helpful, which I appreciated.
Cons
Out of fairness, I stopped working at Great Hearts Irving (Lower School) in 2019 and I am working for another well-known area of charter schools. Things may have changed since I left but I feel it is best for the management to know of the problems that were happening when I worked there. I also want to give those who want to work there a heads up and to ask questions before working here. I was an Apprentice Teacher and I witnessed a mixture of cliquishness, double-standards, implicit sexism against male apprentice teachers, and even psychological and verbal abuse on apprentice teachers and students. I worked under a young female Apprentice Teacher during my first year there. I was an inexperienced Apprentice Teacher. Instead of receiving help from her, she trash-talked me amongst other teachers. At the same time, there were moments that she yelled at me. She also yelled me at me in front of elementary school students. In many occasions, I saw her yell at students. It was a toxic environment to work with. In my second year teaching there, I had a different and much better Lead Teacher but I felt Administration did not help me enough to be a good teacher. I also felt some people in the Administration of the time talked to me in unprofessional ways like questioning my people skills. I also did not appreciate how Apprentice Teachers received so much scrutiny at the time, but the Lead Teachers seemed to not receive that same level. For example, I was told to be careful with my tone with students especially if you were a male Apprentice Teacher. However, I noticed some female Lead Teachers yelling at elementary school students and getting into their faces. I also have noticed female Lead Teachers psychologically and verbally abusing their Apprentice Teachers. I also felt like there was a bias, whether intentional or not, against male teachers on the lower school campus. You almost got the feeling that you were "a stupid male" if you, as a male teacher, was struggling and learning the ropes. I also did not appreciate the cliquish feeling amongst the teachers. Many of them were alumni from the nearby Catholic institution of UD in Irving. I felt the teachers banded into a "pretty and popular" group of people and if you did not fit in, it was your issue. I felt like I was in high school all over again. Great Hearts Irving (Lower School) may have changed. Since I left, there has been new leadership with a new Headmaster. Things may have changed and I do not want people to just assume that the problems that I had are still problems in the school. However, I want the management to know that these problems at least once existed, and if they still exist, that these problems should be taken seriously. I do not discourage people from working here or sending their kids here. I have actually put a positive rating because GH can teach people to become teachers. I also think GH does have some dedicated teachers, Admin, and staff. Their mission of a classical education is also a great thing, but I hope they take my issues seriously.
