NYC Teaching Fellows Reviews

Cons

Low Pay and High Turnover

Cons

Long hours, PST hard

Cons

For me, I was NOT provided with a curriculum or books. I was expected to get my students to pass the regents exams they failed. They were ESL students, and I had NO knowledge of which exams they failed. How are we supposed to teach these students when given impossible scenarios? Not ok! PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH CURRICULUM AND BOOKS. GOD IT'S NOT THAT HARD.

Cons

- extremely demanding
- irrelevant grad classes and lessons
- you don't get to choose the grad school
- you may have to pay out of pocket for additional grad-school classes
- a possibility of expulsion if strict guidelines are not followed
- poorly organized structure
- masters degree is not fully paid for; you still have to pay around $10,000

Cons

It's supposed to train you for high risk schools but all the training is focused on charter schools. They don't train you to teach for urban settings and urban cultures.

Cons

Unclear goals for each training site. Understaffed and underfunded.

Focus on ratings and strict cutoffs, but close to no training for coaches. Some have no training at all.

Too many supports expected from too few staff.

No time for team building.

Cons

They treat grown adults like the children. Lots of pointless work, most of which has no practical use. Paychecks are always late. Little to no transparency. They always hold back information until the last minute. SBS not geared toward specific strategies needed to engage your area.

Cons

Long hours, extremely intense structure, and hard to get direct information.

Cons

There are MANY cons to the program, unfortunately. If you really want to develop as a teacher, you won't be able to do so reflectively, applying your masters' degree coursework in the classroom. You are just trying to stay alive. Being a first year teacher is challenging enough as it is, but to try to do so while taking graduate courses is extremely taxing. Also, the schools that hire fellows are often very, very limited in funds, can be hostile work environments, lacking in administrative support, etc. Many of us are drawn to the program because we truly desire to help make education in the city more equitable, but in my experience, the obstacles present at the hiring schools can be insurmountable. I think there ARE many teachers who emerge from the program with a job at a school that they love, so be smart as you do your job search. Other cons: you don't get to pick the area in which you receive your certification, because the selection process is based upon school need. Also, the pre-service training (which is the summer school intensive training) does not necessarily prepare you for your classroom in the fall. For instance, all of the literacy lesson planning you learn through the Fellows curriculum is actually quite good. However, if you are doing elementary education, or high-school science, it is essentially useless. Therefore, you start your job in the fall without any practical /applicable experience, and can't know how much you like it and/or how well you will do. Also, there is often lack of coordination between the DOE and your graduate school from an administration standpoint, so at times you have to "jump through hoops" to get some of the backend work completely as far as your certification requirements are concerned. Ultimately, if you can afford to go to graduate school and work part/full time in another capacity, you will have a much better outcome.

Cons

1) Due to heavy politics, position is not stable; if you have a job already don't quit to become a fellow, because acceptance into the program is no guarantee that you will be allowed to finish; and then you will be stuck with no job.
2) First three months ~$800 month stipend only.
3) If you don't live at home with your mother, you'll need a second job to survive 1st 3 months; caveat is - it is almost impossible to work a 2nd job based on the volume of work.
4) Because the environment is very political, be prepared to compromise your integrity or lose your job.
5) Even if you meet all of the academic requirements, pass all State exams and get all "A"s in the Master's program, if you are not willing to go along with questionable policies, just to get along, its difficult to move forward.
6) If you are from out of town - Fellows offers no housing support, and its difficult to find decent housing in New York.