Uncommon Schools Reviews

Pros

Your coworkers are your allies and you will make true friends working with them. The students are also easy to love. The pay is hard to beat.

Cons

Overworked and under appreciated by administrators. They encourage you to “speak up” but when and If you do speak up (especially in front of the whole staff) you are reprimanded.

Pros

-lots of efficient and applicable professional development -great starting salary even without teaching experience -you will be trained at a high level using "Teach Like a Champion" ideologies -you will become an effective teacher who produces high student achievement data

Cons

-long work hours often 12 hour days -micro managing -excessive observations -little to no autonomy whatsoever -forced to enforce ridiculous and punitive school rules/practices

Pros

The pay and benefits are decent. My colleagues are friendly, fun, and care a lot about students. You might like it here if you don't have much going on outside of work and like to do what you're told.

Cons

This school is a mess in so many ways, but leadership pretends it’s not. Staff turnover is very high; this year at least half the teaching staff is leaving (it’s more if you count teachers who left mid-year whose roles weren’t filled). Leadership is not very open to feedback and often just doubles down or reprimands condescendingly when given a suggestion or concern. You can have a hundred things to do at any given point and do ninety-nine of them well, but they’ll make you feel terrible about the one thing you missed. Leadership rarely owns up to their mistakes but is constantly communicating incorrect information, changing policies and routines, and scheduling last-minute meetings. There is little autonomy in instructional style and curriculum, and the curriculum is very dry. You get professional development in the summer on culturally responsive teaching and teaching to individual needs, yet teachers have little room to actually make their lessons culturally responsive, and individual needs are an afterthought. Many students are unengaged and failing, and not just during the pandemic; many students get held back or transfer out each year. It’s sad that so many teachers feel totally demoralized and disrespected because a lot of us put in extra hours for the kids and really care about their well-being and academic progress. If you want to teach at a charter school with a similar mission, there are more organized, happier ones out there.

Pros

The team members and I could support each other

Cons

Horrible place to work, Long hours and not enough pay