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Great Hearts Academies

Engaged Employer

Great Hearts Academies reviews

3.4

51% would recommend to a friend

(496 total reviews)
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Jay Heiler

69% approve of CEO

48% positive business outlook

Great Hearts Academies has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 496 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Great Hearts Academies employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

496 reviews
1.0
Apr 17, 2024

Not as advertised

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Disciplined students eager to learn, for the most part

Cons

Although the motto is 'Truth, Goodness & Beauty' Great Hearts Academies push an highly secular, non-Christian education. In fact, even for a charter school which receives state Title One funding, individual opinions or beliefs in God are prohibited and will result in remedial actions by upper management. Instead, students are bombarded, at an highly susceptible age, with concepts, via GH's obsession with Ancient Greek (pseudo-philosopher) culture and writings advocating pedophilia, abortion, homosexuality, relativism, adultery, etc. One week each is dedicated to the Old Testament Books of Genesis and Exodus, while 3/4 of the year (at the 11th Grade) is given to Plato's highly erotic works (especially the illogical ramblings of Socrates, which even my students were individually able to discern by themselves) and the Iliad, Odyssey, etc. Meanwhile, Aquinas has been removed from the curriculum and Augustine is given a mere week or two at the end of the year, IF there's time. In addition, the teacher culture is riddled with 'F-bombs' and 'Jesus' outbursts in the teacher's lounge. When the teachers are not expressing hourly contempt for their "backward," "hopeless," and "sad" students! Or, when jealousy for the FEW educators who are intent on challenging their students to reach a higher plain of inquiry and reason, are daily stabbed in the back and slandered by the "old-timers" going through the motions to collect a check or thriving on their constant power-trips over their young charges! I have never been so disillusioned or disappointed with a job environment which perpetually advocates for "Truth, Goodness and Beauty," yet PRACTICES the complete opposite at every grade level. Plus, the starting pay (even for first-year teachers) is 25 - 30% LESS than a comparable position in a PUBLIC SCHOOL. In short, look elsewhere!! You'll feel better about yourself and, most importantly, genuine education.

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Great Hearts Academies Response
2y
We are sorry to hear this was your experience at one of our academies. We value constructive feedback which we review for consideration. We strive to have a positive learning environment for our students and support our faculty and staff. While we do give emphasis to the literary and philosophical Classics of the West and Western tradition, it is because of the way they speak about the universal condition and the laws of nature. We do not subject any student to teachings or topics that are inappropriate, unsuitable or improper for K-12 students. We believe our education helps our students think deeply, love noble things and promote working well with one another. Any concerns in this area can be discussed with your leadership at your academy as our students' well-being is of the most importance. If you don't feel comfortable doing so, please leave your feedback with us directly at the email addresses below. We have been working to address the issue of compensation for several years despite no significant funding increases from the states in which we operate. Great Hearts does provide excellent benefits (medical, dental, etc.), with employee premiums that are significantly below the national and regional averages. As a result of these efforts, we have recently updated our salary schedule and increased our compensation levels for our teachers for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Please feel free to share specific examples and concerns to our leadership team at HRFeedback@greathearts.org so we can work to address any concerns. We will continue to uphold our pursuit of cultivating the hearts and minds of our students in the pursuit of truth, beauty and goodness.
5.0
Apr 12, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are some really cool people who work on higher levels of management. They take your input in consideration.

Cons

The pay scale is not very good.

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Great Hearts Academies Response
2y
We appreciate your feedback on our schools. We pride ourselves on having a caring environment that fosters a love of learning which supports students learning through a classical liberal art education and great books curriculum. We are aware of concerns with respect to the salary. We have been working to address this issue for several years despite no significant funding increases from the states in which we operate. Great Hearts does provide excellent benefits (medical, dental, etc.), with employee premiums that are significantly below the national and regional averages. As a result of these efforts, we have recently updated our salary schedule and increased our compensation levels for our teachers in 2024-2025.
4.0
Apr 10, 2024

Decent Job

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people and good benefits

Cons

You work long hours on your feet

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Great Hearts Academies Response
2y
Thank you for your affirmation of our model and curriculum. We strive to set a standard of excellence for our students with a focus on a rich liberal arts curriculum and emphasis on moral formation. Thank you for taking the time to address such an important issue for employees, which impacts our overall health and wellbeing. Finding balance in a work environment is a collective effort on the part of administration and the employees, and that partnership is not always aligned at times. We appreciate your input on this issue, and we have in recent years made it our goal to eliminate the non-essential burdens on teachers. We continue to look for ways to best support our teachers including having two teachers in every Elementary School classroom to allow for the workload to be spread between more people to best support the students within the challenging demands of teaching.
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Glassdoor has 508 Great Hearts Academies reviews submitted anonymously by Great Hearts Academies employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Great Hearts Academies is right for you.