Pros
While the network continually makes gains to establish consistency across schools, each campus has a unique set of students, staff, and administration contributing to performance, culture, and complementing the inherent differences between different grade-level schools (es, ms, hs). As a staff member at the elementary school, I see some very real causes for celebration: Commitment to One Mission: Also an organizational value, it's clear staff are dedicated to the success of young people. They bring their experiences and perspectives to push for equity and inclusion, seek and return with training to push innovative teaching methods, and collaborate on instruction, activities, and on a personal level to bring to community together. Work-Life Balance: The shared commitment of all staff extends not only to students but to one another. It is not difficult to find support or coverage when needed, there is understanding of a need for a certain level of personal care and consideration of life circumstances. Efforts toward equity, however rudimentary, and inclusion extend to all people in the building. Freedom to Innovate: There are certainly tasks and duties required within the role of each individual, but within those roles, there is the freedom to bring in one's perspective and experience to appropriately address the needs or wants of the community. Teachers can open age-appropriate and timely discussions in class, staff are invited to propose solutions to community issues, and feedback is welcome - if not always systematically captured.
Cons
As a part of a growing organization, DTES experiences appropriate growing pains: Change Can Be Frequent: Many academic elements (e.g. adoption of new curriculum), practices (e.g. literacy education), procedures (e.g. student transitions), and policies (e.g. HR stuff) have changed over the past few years, and continue to evolve. This is usually necessary/for the best, but the result is that sometimes even recently developed practices are totally overhauled - and sometimes many at once. Sometimes a variety of new initiatives are also launched simultaneously. This can be both invigorating and tiring. Lack of Goal Clarity: So many staff are passionately dedicated to the success of students and strive to meet the stated mission (“excellent teachers prepare a diverse student body to have a positive impact on society and a lifelong passion for learning”). However there is no clear alignment across the organization about what success against this mission truly looks like looks and what priorities will best drive us there. While it’s a work in progress, this can exacerbate the many frequent changes, as priorities are unclear.