WA is the reason I left teaching - Upper School Faculty Worcester Academy Employee Review

It has taken me a year to write this review, as there is no way to encapsulate the damage Worcester Academy has done to me and so many others. I can immediately list at least a dozen amazing humans who have been seriously harmed (predominantly emotionally/psychologically) by Worcester Academy's incompetent and cruel administration and its harmful, entrenched systems and beliefs/"values". To be clear, Worcester Academy was a dream job for me - I even went back and earned a second Masters degree so I could stand out amongst the competition. When I was hired, I thought I had reached Mecca, and after twelve years of teaching I believed that so many of my dreams were coming true. Rather, Worcester Academy absolutely destroyed my sense of self worth as well as my belief in my abilities and skills. I was consistently gaslit by administration, as well as repeatedly falsely accused of a whole host of transgressions for which they had no proof, evidence, remediation plans, or ability for me to learn from or repair. I was one of three (that I know of) women who, in the 2022-23 school year were randomly offered "medical leaves of absence" because, as administration informed me on the phone: they were "worried about me." If they were worried about their employees, they would take care of them. They would listen to them, respect them, pay them what they are worth, and believe them when they have a problem or concern. In my four years there, I saw significant turnover in the faculty, some individuals leaving after decades of service. Each one of those individuals, heartbroken when first separated from WA, are all doing much better now that they have separated from such a toxic workplace. Working at Worcester Academy turned from a dream into a nightmare. In fact, I am still haunted by my treatment there and continue to have literal nightmares. I am blessed to be able to have the resources and the courage to leave over a decade of teaching and discover a new path for myself, but it still breaks my heart that friends of mine are still working in a system set to destroy and disrespect them. It is no way to live, and Worcester Academy needs serious remediation in order to live in accordance with the values they claim to care about.