Pros
- If you are early in your career and desperate for teaching experience that you can leverage and use somewhere else, this is a really great starting option. Your pay will match this, so you can expect it to be as low as they can possibly set, and then push to convince you to stay low, but you can use this experience to build your career. - If you are completely burned out at your school and need a quick change for an organization desperate for teachers, this school will likely have a better student body and admin experience. Administration is so busy that as long as you keep your head low and work hard, they will not care what you are doing at any point. - If you need health insurance, they provide it to full-time employees. - Your colleagues are pretty great almost always. Get to know them and be good and they will be good back. The workers here care, and are kind. They understand they're all in it together and are here to help. Eventually with time you can ask questions about what is stated in this review. This information comes from many sources so any returning staff will know these stories, and know about how little you matter to the organization. - Fantastic student body in general. This school is oftentimes complemented by teachers who come from other schools as having above average behaviors.
Cons
In my limited years here, dedicated teachers with exceptional student outcomes and hardworking administrators leave consistently due to issues like withholding raises, lack of receptiveness to feedback, and even wage reductions for the following year. Excuses are used constantly to minimize compensation. This is a charter school, and the only thing that motivates them to pay teachers more is that they have to compete with other schools to provide something that is at least close to equitable. Employees are allotted 10 personal days per school year, but the school operates beyond the typical 180-day school schedule in WI, with shorter breaks and more mandatory attendance days. Bereavement leave for ANY family loss is not granted (parent, child, does not matter, use a personal day), and even when Covid illness is proven with official doctor note, a personal days must be used. Snow days also consume personal days if more than 1 snow day is decided by administration. Exceeding the 10 personal day limit results in paycheck deductions. Moreover, it can also be cited as a reason for withholding future raises next year, regardless of the circumstances you make clear to them. Remember, you do not matter. If you think you will be different, if you think that this cannot be true if you work really hard, if you show great results for the students standardized test scores, if you are never once tardy and stay late multiple times a week, or volunteer to be a part of committees or pilot the new curriculum programs - you are wrong. They do not value any of this. They will thank you earnestly as you do it with the hopes that will be enough for you to keep doing it, and move on from you when it is convenient. You mean nothing to them when there are willing participants next year with less experience who need to take what they can get and who will be ok accepting the bottom of what is possible. Considering this reality, it's essential to have backup plans A, B, and C so once you have fulfilled your needs (like resume building, escaping a more toxic previous work environment, etc.) you can be prepared. Just know that the hammer will fall for you eventually, and how you respond to UCC telling you that you do not matter will be an important consideration in your future. Don't have anyone in your family pass away requiring time off. Don't have your kids get sick and need you. Don't ask for anything, essentially ever, so you can stay off of their radar. This will all be used against you to convince you to accept lower wages.