LEEP Dual Language Academy Charter School Reviews

Pros

LEEP is a wonderful school! The new leadership has helped me grow as an educator immensely. They really look out for their staff and help in anyway they can. They truly care about bettering your craft. Leadership is always available for any questions, concerns or even just to check in. I feel the ALEGRIA in every classroom I walk into. The students and families make all the hard work worth it! I love how everyone single person in the building works together making your work life much easier.

Cons

Lots of work but you grow and learn from all of it.

Pros

Great coaching and positive feedback.

Cons

Hire more staff in order to divide tasks.

Pros

- Love the mission they have - Family and students are loving and kind - Great location for a bilingual school - Almost everyone speaks Spanish - Young crowd: All the teachers are young so it's easy to relate

Cons

- Autocratic Leadership: Not always a bad thing but when the main management doesn't know how to make fair and informed decisions, the whole school suffer because of them. This includes the kids and the families and that's not acceptable. - Horrible hiring process: Only hire out of desperation. Hire people who doesn't have the skills to take on the job. Doesn't specify the job description and what is expected of the role. Expectation does not match the reality. - Exploits their employees: They only hire recent graduates who have no experience in the field so they can mold them easily and have them take lower pay. A lot of them work for more than the hours expected including the weekend and it's still never enough for management - Toxic environment: Management openly gossips about other coworkers and share their personal business.

Pros

The relationships you build with colleagues, teachers support and help one another. The only pro is gaining experience.

Cons

You work long hours with a very short lunch break and are working the majority of the time during your lunch. LEEP hires staff members and makes them do various tasks outside of their position. Leadership speaks about other staff members behind their backs and among other colleagues. Do not trust the process - staff members will continue quitting due to lack of support and the culture within LEEP. Unless you severely need experience avoid this school.

Pros

If you need a fairly simple job for the summer.

Cons

Having to be outside during hot summer days, and payment is done through a third party that takes substantial time to pay you.

Pros

It is easy to get hooked into this school because they talk a big game. You want to believe this might be a charter that is truly aiming to support diverse learners, because they SAY they support culturally responsive teaching and SEL. Teachers and admin WANT the best for students- delivering is another story.

Cons

Despite what they claim, they really are a no-nonsense charter school. The leadership is extremely disorganized and there is no work life balance. Leadership has little experience in dual language- English is prioritized at every turn. Ive worked at a lot of charter schools and public schools, but the gossip here is another level- it is common practice at every level. They have such high turn over for a reason- they are driving teachers and students away at quick rates because of their damaging practices. On top of that they have little knowledge of actual best practices. They are extending the school day next year- even though most research shows this does not actually help learners- but they wont take the feedback. Invest in giving teachers time to plan high quality lessons rather than eating up every minute for meetings meant to intimidate teachers into complying. If they like you and feel like you will do what they say you can get promoted easily- espcially since even admin turns over so fast.

Pros

Teachers ( they will make the biggest different in that school) They’re helpful, loving, caring and truly guide you in order to deliver the material to the students. Students (some) A lot of these students have very intense behavioral problems that aren’t properly addressed by the school and are completely ignored by the leaders and administrators. This causes a danger to the staff and students.

Cons

Everything? Like where do I start? After reading some of the reviews, it’s quite comforting to know I wasn’t the only one going through the same experiences. I never got to work under the old director and administration of LEEP but from what I’ve heard and read, everything started going down hill once the new administration started taking over. During our training month of August 3-4 staff members quit and during September to October 3 more teachers quit. This school has so much potential to truly be amazing but it lacks management, organization, and most of all respect. Deans will randomly walk into your classroom and begin re-arranging furniture, messing around with materials and screaming at children all while you’re in the middle of teaching a class. It’s disrespectful, inappropriate and most of all demeaning. Many times my students expressed how uncomfortable and scared they were when the deans would walk in. Incredibly long work hours (more than 60 a week including weekends and work from home). Are lunch breaks even a thing? Cause it sure didn’t feel like it. At times teachers didn’t get lunch coverage and had to go the whole day without eating. Last minute assignments to be completed without any time given during the school day thanks to their ridiculous PD’s that no one cared for. Listen there’s so much more to say and so much negligence happening for example hiring personal who weren’t cleared to work with children, but not caring. If you are a parent please please think twice about sending your child here. It is not the teachers fault, they really are trying to do the best they can without any support. Many kids are leaving the school due to the lack of staff and overall disorganization of LEEP.

Pros

Loving and respectful environment. Parents, students, administration as well as the Ops team work hard as a team to build a loving, fun and respectful educational environment.

Cons

If you love teaching then you are here to TEACH. If you want to do the opposite of TEACHING then this is not the place for you.

Pros

AMAZING students, great staff, dedicated teachers, awesome virtues, ideal mission vision, supplies provided, dual language

Cons

New school. Disorganized. No work-life balance. Poor teacher-retention rates. This year we’ve had several valuable teachers quit midyear, our speech therapist left, 2 administrators left. You’re expected to work around the clock. Admin emails/Slacks on weekends, evenings/nights, and during extended breaks. Admin micromanages your every move. There are not enough people in the building for the amount of work that needs to get done so everyone has to do multiple jobs. Teachers have gotten sick/been hospitalized due to the stress and anxiety. This school has taken a sharp turn towards being a zero-tolerance charter. It has lost sight of its original vision. Every year the teaching staff is entirely different because only a few return. I strongly do not recommend working here.

Pros

-Amazing students and families -Great mission & Values -Lots of opportunities for growth & leadership -Supplies provided -Great colleagues -Safe community -Very good compensation and benefits

Cons

-Be ready to work for the kids (that's what we're here for)