Brooklyn LAB Charter School Reviews

Pros

Fun atmosphere and enjoyable people to be around

Cons

Long work hours but was fun

Pros

Freedom over curriculum Most of the kids rock Some co workers were great

Cons

Oh boy. There are no systems or structures in place. It is the wild Wild West, so if you like freedom and know what you’re doing, you’ll be fine. I felt terrible for brand new teachers who were put in front of kids with no curriculum and no coaching. My department head was in their first year of teaching in person, which tells you a lot about the mission and vision as a content team. Literacy is at the core of what kids need, so why do we have someone with no training and experience leading the department? Some fellow teacher report others to HR for mundane things, despite the very clear conflict of interest they are involved in. There is no support for sped students, especially terrible because the school is 40% sped. Most kids are severely below grade level. High schoolers who couldn’t read or write beyond a 6th grade level made up a vast majority of my classes. I’m glad I left before the new leadership took over because it sounds like a dictatorship. Before I resigned, I attended a summer session with the new CEO. She said we need to be run like a corporation. That’s all I needed to hear. Best of luck, but this school needs to be shut down. It is unethical to have kids enrolled here and IF they go to college, they will be severely underprepared, never finish the degree, and have taken on loans they will never be able to pay back. Really scary, sad, and cruel.

Pros

You really get to make a difference in students lives.

Cons

Very high turn over, admin only cares about the "bigger picture" not how it effects students and classrooms.

Pros

Decent pay Some passionate co-workers Kids are not the worst

Cons

If you are a student there - Get out If you are a staff member there- Get out If you are thinking of applying there - Get out of the application If you have a disability - GET OUT RUNNING Lack of culture Unprofessional and incompetent administration Lack of curriculum or rigor Basic school systems missing No social-emotional support 2-3 fights per day The regular presence of weapons on campus (guns/knives, etc) Kids run the school No Coaching or support for students Lack of real data systems or organization No intervention systems in sight No gang prevention work Abusive senior leadership Deceitful school No support for Scholars with Disabilities No real SPED teachers on staff Terrible benefit coverage The list goes on

Pros

as with most schools, the teachers have good hearts

Cons

super disorganized and toxic work environment

Pros

Innovative programs (remote program was one of them) Decent pay Autonomy in classroom

Cons

Lack of support and coaching; I was placed teaching a subject that I had no experience in and had support Lack of communication (including HR they hardly ever responded to calls or emails) Teacher turnover is high They got rid of the remote program, which was very effective Waste time and money on systems that they don’t stick to No one takes accountability

Pros

Autonomy in how to teach the content, near the train station and food.

Cons

Toxic higher-ups, microaggresive behaviors from management, lack of communication, cliques and favoritism amongst colleagues within the campuses, grade team leads with no experience on leading a grade team. Must be worse even after the

Pros

The hours were pretty good.

Cons

The leadership was inconsistent at best.

Pros

The teachers and the students are fantastic !

Cons

So much turnover it’s sickening. Quality teachers leave, services are not in place, overcrowded classrooms, inexperienced teachers become lead faculty, the new administration is a dictatorship and even worse than the clueless last administration.

Pros

The Administrative staff is awesome!

Cons

Terrible place to work. Students not learning and falling several grades behind. Corrupt leadership and should face criminal charges. Keep low-performing students from testing to boost already extremely low test scores.