Great Hearts Academies reviews

The curriculum is rigorous and rich, with a strong focus on reading and writing, the fine arts, primary texts and liberal arts content knowledge. Their approach to the humanities is appreciative and humanistic (e.g., what meaning does this have for us, what can we admire about these figures/institutions/texts while also identifying their shortcomings), not deconstructionist and reductive. They treat the humanities as works of art, not as (simply) raw material for teaching skills and detecting ideologies. I've found coworkers to be exceptionally generous and helpful, though this is my first year teaching so I don't know how common that is in the field. Many teachers are intellectuals who love to learn. Their emphasis on character education is philosophically rich and integrated into the curriculum; they truly espouse the philosophy that studying the liberal arts can make students better. (The application of the philosophy does seem to vary by classroom.) The children are sweet and hard-working. Most school families seem stable and committed to the kids' education. Our parents last year were supportive but not overly intrusive. It was very easy to start a club. As a Teaching Assistant, I rarely felt overworked and was always compensated with overtime pay for working more than forty hours a week. Benefits are good. The school had an orderly, cheerful, nurturing atmosphere and culture.

Great Hearts teachers are some of the most brilliant and dedicated people I've ever had the chance to work with in my career. While I don't think this is equally true of all schools in the network, the faculty and the headmaster (principal) comprise a collegial and tight-knit community of people who think in similar ways about teaching and learning. (I know from my experience outside of Great Hearts, that this is rare indeed.) The Apprentice Teaching program has had the effect of bringing together teachers with very different backgrounds - veteran teachers that have studied child development, lesson-planning, assessment, etc. AND graduates of liberal arts colleges (they apparently recruit heavily from schools like Univ. of Dallas and Saint John's College). Some Apprentice Teachers have never set foot in a classroom and have MUCH to learn from their supervising teacher, but when the partnership works, it really works, benefiting the teacher, the apprentice, and their students (it also helps the teacher/student ratio). The workload is intense. Truly intense. But I have to admit that Great Hearts really did deliver on the part that drew me to the schools (more than a few) years ago: the academic culture of the faculty. Headmasters, and recruiters, and other administrators in the home office constantly say that this is the most essential characteristic of the school, and while they haven't followed through on all promises made to a passionate, idealistic young teacher, I do feel like they prioritize OUR learning- the continued learning of the TEACHERS themselves. I've read poetry, and more philosophy and history than I ever thought I would since joining Great Hearts, and these activities have engendered deep friendships with my colleagues, and have almost certainly made me a better teacher.