Pros
+The kids are inquisitive and fun. +Working in the faculty office as opposed to individual offices promotes collegiality, and many teachers are genuinely fun and nice to hang out with. +The material is interesting. +Decent benefits, including help with pet care.
Cons
These are situations from my experience at one of the academies (Trivium Prep): -The administration does not care about students. Several girls were sexually harassed or assaulted or had racist comments made to them, and the administration did nothing about it. Students began to not tell admin about these issues because nothing was done. -The pay is truly abysmal. There is almost no room for bonuses. I was paid $37k/year at Great Hearts, but will be paid 12x that in a different school network with the only difference being 1 year of experience. -You don't get your own classroom. The expectation is that you have the "First Five" written on the board before class and this is something you can get docked on-- however, this is impossible when you have to switch classrooms abruptly. -Teachers are given no support from the administration. -Teachers are actively lied to by the administration. -The "culture" is very back-stabby and there are cliques that are clearly favored. -Values and policies are not applied fairly-- things that certain teachers get in trouble for are not things that other teachers get in trouble for. -There were 2 non-white faculty members and one is noticeably mistreated and is being subtly pushed out. -The work-life balance is non-existent. You are expected to give everything to your job with them saying that it's "for the kids." -Your contract doesn't mean anything. I was told that I would teach a certain course load, which was changed completely. -Great Hearts are conservative Christian schools and the higher-ups have made violently homophobic comments. -There is very little practical training. Most of the trying is a reiteration of the mission to teach the "beauty" of "Western Civilization." -Teachers who run clubs are not really paid. Students will pay a certain amount for clubs (typically $80-$100) which is the entire budget for the club. -People chosen to be headmasters usually have little to no experience. -There is a HUGE faculty turnover rate, so students don't really get to know teachers as well as they could. -Great Hearts feels like a cult a lot of times and it feels like you can't criticize it. -There is not good communication with the faculty at all. -The education really isn't better or worse than other schools-- it's just different. Overall, I do not think this is a place that is worth your time.
