What an awful experience. The afterschool sites I worked at appeared to have little structure or disciplinary standards in place to control the children.
The program's motto is "Where learning is fun!" But anyone who has worked with children in an academic setting knows that you must maintain a structured environment with children or risk losing control. I don't mean heavy-handed corporal punishment. But STAR appears to believe that children cannot be disciplined; they are allowed to run free and explore their whims without any structure. It was madness at the sites I worked at, all across LA county.
Every site director is different so every day presents a new set of challenges to wade through. Each day I worked, I felt a tangible sense of depression and weariness from the site staffs, which in turn depressed me. As a substitute, you have little to no status so you're fighting against the class that's trying to take advantage of you every minute. I saw little to no actual "teaching" going on. Most of the teachers I saw were young with little to no real-world teaching experience. I never got the point of the program; it just seemed like one big afterschool daycare center.
I experienced a work-related issue and received zero support from management in resolving the conflict, which led to my leaving. I discovered afterwards how many other people had negative experiences with STAR. Wish I'd known before applying; will never return.
