KIPP DC Employee Reviews about "professional development"

Pros

Working for KIPPDC has been truly a blessing. I came here 5 years ago and have loved every second. The top 5 reasons to work for KIPPDC are: 1. Amazing development and leadership opportunities, KIPPDC provides so much professional development and truly develops their teachers and staff to the best of their abilities. In my time at KIPP I have grown in my career more than I ever thought possible. 2. Mindset: Every person, from our Headquarters staff to our custodial team is dedicated to the work we do and all of our children. 3. Strong coaches: The network provides literacy, math and classroom management coaching. Through this coaching our teachers deliver quality instruction and are truly content managers. 4. Great Benefits: Even with the changes we are facing as a nation, KIPPDC is committed to taking care of their teachers and staff. Our healthcare, vision, dental, and retirement is top notch and completely reasonable in prices, even for dependent care. 5. They take our feedback: KIPPDC is committed to taking our feedback and growing as a network. With our feedback KIPPDC has changed our working calendar (longer summer vacations) , upgraded technology (Mac Book Airs) , and even added some personal wellness days (refresh and renew). I have worked for different school systems and no one has been this responsive to our needs!

Cons

Hours are longer than some of our public school counterparts: We do have to be in our building for longer than other public schools. These longer hours lend themselves to making sure work is completed in the building and you don't have to take as much home.

Pros

- School culture is excellent both for staff and students - Supportive staff/ co-workers - Professional development happens continuously with experts in different content areas - Good starting salary - Lesson plans are written out for you - Materials are bought with school money, not your own

Cons

- Long school year - Long hours (5:30 days, 3 times a week) - Sometimes unrealistic expectations placed on teachers

Pros

Comfortable physical environment Numerous tools for professional development through the KIPP Network A full suite of technology apps to manage your classroom

Cons

Not the level of staff and leadership diversity you would expect in an urban system Few experienced (10+ years) educators KIPP DC leadership doesn't encourage staff-community immersion Absence of opportunities for parent and community engagement

Pros

Colleagues are absolutely brilliant. KIPP teachers, in my experience, are immensely talented in education philosophy and practice. The people that you work with will save your soul. Classroom resources are readily available and able to be ordered. The salary is relatively competitive especially for novice teachers.

Cons

You work more than an investment banker for a fraction of their pay. School leadership does not care one iota about your career trajectory, especially if you are a successful classroom teacher. If you are producing results on assessments- their interest is to keep you as a cog in a wheel. Then, use your data to support their failed leadership strategies. If you have a legitimate concern about a workplace problem- HR will just say that "principals have freedom to lead". Professional development opportunities are few and far between. Salary scale is a complete and utter mystery. If you call off- be prepared to be interrogated via text, email, and phone- just short of a good ol' fashion waterboarding.

Pros

The benefits provided, that you are barely able to use. I was able to become certified, however went through pure hell to become eligible.

Cons

If I can give KIPP a negative rating I would! Each classroom is packed to capacity with students. Most of the students have severe behavioral problems and undiagnosed learning disabilities. Days are very long 7:30-5:30 with no REAL break. Students stay in the classroom for lunch so this is not a break for the teacher, and during specials is considered to be your planning time however you are often scheduled for meetings with the school leader and/or assisting students who return back to the classroom with whatever they need. I was a capital teaching resident so my workload was doubled as I had to fulfill my obligations to the CTR team and my KIPP team. Once every week we were also expected to attend 3 hour professional development sessions after a full day's work and often times at another school across town. You received full benefits but was also frowned upon when you needed to go to the doctors during school hours or needed a day off for personal reasons, or called out sick. There is no such thing as substitutes in these schools so when you are not there to cover your class, your responsibilities fall on your coworkers. Staff is overworked, under appreciated, and under paid!! Not to mention everyday we deal with physical, emotional, and mental abuse at the expense of our students! Also for staff outings you are strongly encouraged to attend which cuts into a significant portion of the time you dedicate to yourself!!