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Explore Schools Reviews

Updated Aug 29, 2023

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Found 124 of over 124 reviews
3.1
53% Recommend to a Friend
71% Approve of CEO

Found 124 of over 124 reviews

3.1
53%
Recommend to a Friend
71%
Approve of CEO
Explore Schools CEO Karen Annette Francios (no image)
Karen Annette Francios
8 Ratings

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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment

Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor

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    1. 5.0
      Jan 5, 2023
      ESI
      Former Employee, more than 3 years
      Brooklyn, NY
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The people at the network office are super smart, helpful, friendly - great coworkers. I always felt both supported and challenged. Expectations were high, but we were encouraged to work together and ask for help when needed to make things happen.

      Cons

      As is the case with many non-profits, a challenge can be that many of the "systems" are just one person's experience and knowledge. It makes it easy for things to fall through the cracks.

      1. 4.0
        Aug 29, 2023
        Managing Director
        Former Employee, more than 5 years
        Brooklyn, NY
        Recommend
        CEO Approval
        Business Outlook

        Pros

        -approachable, inspiring, super smart leadership -collaborative in nature -comprehensive health benefits -great colleagues

        Cons

        -antiquated/manual data systems -inconsistent employee experience across teams and schools

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        1. 3.0
          Apr 18, 2023
          Teacher
          Former Employee
          Brooklyn, NY
          Recommend
          CEO Approval
          Business Outlook

          Pros

          A lot of great students! The families are really invested in the charter network. Planning days across the charter were helpful and it was nice to connect with other teachers and share resources across the network system. Curriculum the charter uses comes with a lot of resources teachers can build off of.

          Cons

          The charter required a lot from their teachers - and a lot of the requirements consisted of busy work. Expect longer hours and more hoops to jump through than if you work at a non-charter. Daily lesson plans were required, after school programming for teachers happened 4/5 days a week, and expect to be constantly reviewed and critiqued by your "coach" and principal. Salary jumps are less than if you were working for a public school in New York. Teacher retention at my particular location was low and that seemed to be a trend across the network.

          1. 1.0
            Jul 9, 2023
            Teacher
            Current Employee, more than 1 year
            Brooklyn, NY
            Recommend
            CEO Approval
            Business Outlook

            Pros

            Co-teachers in every class except for enrichment classrooms. 12:1:1 classroom options. Pay is competitive.

            Cons

            Hours are 7:30-4:30 every day. There's a lot of talk about SEL and incorporating it into classrooms, making classrooms accessible, catering to the whole child, etc. but classroom management is mostly teachers yelling at and embarrassing students ("This is why you are repeating 2nd grade--you don't do your work and you don't listen"). Kids' needs are not taken into account. For example, K-5 get 15 minutes of lunch & 15 minutes of recess at 10:20 am, don't get snack time, and get punished for eating outside of meal time.

            1. 1.0
              Apr 29, 2023
              Anonymous Employee
              Current Employee, more than 1 year
              Brooklyn, NY
              Recommend
              CEO Approval
              Business Outlook

              Pros

              most of the kids are sweet and hardworking

              Cons

              Empower lower is toxic. There's another review on here about the leadership and I gotta confirm it's true. The principal is incompetent and tries to hide it by being straight up mean to people. He talks down to others and it's very hard teaching here and working for someone who disrespect you daily. I don't think he actually trusts and respects anyone but himself. He is a micromanager and belittles his staff. If you're late or he thinks you've left your post 1 minute early- you get a nasty email like you're a child. Bye.

              2
              1. 4.0
                Feb 23, 2023
                Special Education Teacher, Elementary School
                Current Employee, more than 3 years
                Brooklyn, NY
                Recommend
                CEO Approval
                Business Outlook

                Pros

                Flexibility with Curriculum Positive work environment Opportunities to learn

                Cons

                Different Curriculum from entire school Different range of development in specialized classroom

                1. 4.0
                  Mar 5, 2023
                  Anonymous Employee
                  Former Employee, less than 1 year
                  Recommend
                  CEO Approval
                  Business Outlook

                  Pros

                  Caring parents, support from leadership; focus on results

                  Cons

                  None to add at this time

                  1. 4.0
                    May 9, 2022
                    K-5 Teacher
                    Former Employee, more than 1 year
                    Brooklyn, NY
                    Recommend
                    CEO Approval
                    Business Outlook

                    Pros

                    If you're mission-driven to search in a place that puts anti-racist principals, this is the place for you. They're very dedicated to having these conversations at the local and network level. There is also a TON of room for growth if you have the drive to get past some of the chaos that can go down.

                    Cons

                    Things can be a little bit disorganized, the leaders are overworked and sometimes tend to micromanage instead of loosen the burden although they're all very kind and open to talk. It's hard to feel like you're getting valuable feedback. The curriculum is strict and there's limited flexibility for teachers to stray from that.

                    1. 4.0
                      Jan 27, 2023
                      Teacher
                      Current Employee, more than 10 years
                      Brooklyn, NY
                      Recommend
                      CEO Approval
                      Business Outlook

                      Pros

                      Leadership cares about staff members. Compensation has improved in recent years. Greatest students on Earth.

                      Cons

                      Poor communication Long Hours Space Issues

                      1
                      1. 3.0
                        May 3, 2023
                        Teacher
                        Former Employee
                        Brooklyn, NY
                        Recommend
                        CEO Approval
                        Business Outlook

                        Pros

                        People are generally nice; hardworking

                        Cons

                        Overcomplicated work streams - making the work harder than it is

                      Viewing 1 - 10 of 124 Reviews
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                      Explore Schools Reviews FAQs

                      Explore Schools has an overall rating of 3.1 out of 5, based on over 124 reviews left anonymously by employees. 53% of employees would recommend working at Explore Schools to a friend and 40% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -7% over the last 12 months.

                      According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Explore Schools employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Explore Schools. This rating has decreased by -6% over the last 12 months.

                      53% of Explore Schools employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Explore Schools 2.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

                      According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Explore Schools to be senior leadership, career development, benefits and the cons to be management, work life balance.

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                      Feel free to post any interview questions you might be asked and I’ll help you compose an effective response :)

                      Senior Resource Manager

                      Last Thursday and Friday I interviewed with 2 hiring managers for 2 different companies. Both of them said they’d like me to progress to the next interview and the recruiter would reach out. One company said they wanted a offer out this month so it would be a quick process. I sent thank you emails and references. I haven’t heard from either recruiter. I had the recruiter screening and hiring manager interview just days apart, I thought I’d hear back by now. Thoughts?!

                      2
                      0 Comments

                      Underwriting Support Specialist

                      Underwriter 1 commercial line posted salary $45k-75k, I am aiming for at least 65k. No degree or designations, currently p&c licensed with 4 years of insurance. Is my goal too high? How should I go about negotiating my salary?

                      1
                      0 Comments

                      Program Manager

                      Just heard that some companies are going to start paying people for their time if they are asking you to do a presentation or something! Does anyone think this will become a thing?

                      1
                      0 Comments

                      Glassdoor has 124 Explore Schools reviews submitted anonymously by Explore Schools employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Explore Schools is right for you.