elementary school teacher

school teacher

teacher's aide

mathematics teacher

kindergarten teacher

Academies of Math and Science

+A typical day of work entails arriving to a classroom where all of the students' desks are pushed haphazardly around by the cleaning crew. I have to reset my classroom, just like the rest of the teachers, every single day. This is the easiest part of my day. From here I am met by students who are doing everything they can to avoid working, knowing that they haven't been expected to at all by previous teachers (which has been four this year alone). I am coming into a hot mess, mid-year, and I'm thankful for the job, but knowing that whenever I write students referrals, they're like uncooked spaghetti. They never stick. This causes a culture of kids who don't give a rip what they do in the classroom. I finally found a system that works (allowing ten minutes of free time at the end of class if they work for the first fifty). Admin likes to arrive end of class, so they assume nothing is getting done all day, but it is. I have three classes back to back to back before lunch at the end of the day. I am beaten down as a human at this job. It's killing me. If I didn't so desperately need these paychecks (which are decent, all things considered) I would have ran right back out of that classroom week 1. Admin is not on the same page with one another, in any way shape or form, and the teachers are those who suffer. 
* I believe I learned how to approach a class of students who haven't learned anything since the beginning of the school year.
*Management isn't on the same page, which kills me. One administrator (the head one) says "It's like night and day in that classroom since you arrived". That was the biggest best complement I needed to hear in that moment. The other admin said "If you can't get these kids to behave man, I don't know what you're doing here. You need to look for a different job." In the classroom, across the room out loud, in front of an entire classroom full of children. They all heard this, me being called out in front of them, and then when we meet as a team of him and the other 7th grade teachers he has the audacity to say "They don't respect you man". Well you don't either, that's not helping... you're openly disrespectful to me in front of the students. It's uncalled for and just not cool. 
*The hardest part of the job is getting students to do their work and try to understand it. It's an absolute hitshow with an s. 
*The most enjoyable part of the job is knowing that every week the kids are getting more used to me and less violently misbehaving in class. Now just to get them to do their actual work... 


The other poor reviews are not an exaggeration. They need to shut most of the campuses down because they are a liability. Upper management does not really care what’s best for students and it’s evident in how poorly the schools are ran and the insanely high turnover. 

The most successful campuses are those with tons of support. Support is not equally given. It is very clear who is “in” versus who is left to fend for themselves. Very political/clique-ish..The compensation is not appropriate for the workload. Some employees/administrators were able to negotiate salary, while others were told of a salary scale that has never been made assessable for viewing. Part of my personal offer package were a slew of stipends that were never received or I later found out I didn’t qualify for. Then, when you speak up about it, the fix is offering you a responsibility on top of your current duties that “pays”. So transparency isn’t a priority at AMS. The hardest parts of this job are the demands without proper support/training. Additionally, the consistent push for more of my time and more work without any additional payout, I find to be particularly annoying.


Only work here if you do not have a teaching credential and have to find something right away. The starting salaries are pretty decent but they top out very fast. There are after-school opportunities that pay well but most teachers are so done by the end of their day, they do not wish to stay on campus longer. The school will take advantage of you and use you as a scapegoat when things go wrong. This place is potentially committing educational fraud by advertising programs/subjects that have not had a full-time classroom teacher for the year; the substitutes for these classes are always changing because they refuse to deal with and often walk out on the behaviors they encounter. Students are out of control and the network has no control of the situation. Additionally, students are often left unsupervised in large areas such as the cafeteria and the soccer field. If you have ANY other option, go try that first. 

The benefits are decent, but you have to pay for your own supplies upfront (you are reimbursed) and the science department is way undersupplied. 

This is very much a test-based school. Everything is about a test.  Rote memorization is king. Little evidence of pedagogy in reasoning and decision making.

The school day is from 7:30 to 4pm and a 200 day school year. 

The classes are leveled, and the kids know, which negatively impacts the culture. 

The lower classes do not have physical education and miss out on other electives, so that they can have one hour more of language or math each day. 

You are expected to "volunteer" a significant number of hours each school year. This means that your duties are scheduled outside of your contract hours and you are expected to do them, unpaid. 

You also are supposed to tutor or do a club on top of teaching. 

You may be required to do tutoring during your preps. 

Homework has to be posted for the students to write, and it needs to be posted to two different websites daily. 

Consequences for students are not enforced, and student behaviors are out of control.

Let me start off that within teachers has a great supportive environment where teachers helps teachers (such as exchanging tips on grading system, giving lessons, etc). Also depending on choice of health insurance plan, you don't have to pay anything of the most basic one.

I was not expecting that for the whole school year there are 200 days of school instead of typical 180 days.
Due to the nature of the teaching, you will have heavy workload on grading, parent signatures, reaching parents regarding children behavior, lessons plans, etc.
You will have some children who will love you and other will become very disruptive. As the matter of fact, if a child is disruptive, he/she will be signed on Accountability card and call parent(s) if becomes repetitive on disruptive behavior.

Although there might appear as have more time for lunch but does not because of prep time for the class on the same day or for the week.

A typical day at AMSSM looked like pulling strong teachers from their classrooms to support as admin, running around campus breaking up fights, and dealing with obnoxious parent complaints. Management is quick to micro manage, but hides away when urgent support is needed. Professional Development was discussions about anything other than the urgent support needed for classroom management, student behaviors, and discipline support. Network (our version of a "district") was RARELY on campus and would only show face when things really hit the fan. Never to talk to staff and get to the root of the problems, but to get with our admin and figure out how to cover their behinds. Part of the school's motto is "Whatever it Takes", but that solely relies on the teachers-never Admin. On top of all that, they stuff the classrooms with 30-35 kids and are OBSESSED with enrollment. In most classrooms, they didn't even have enough desks to support the amount of students. It had to exceed fire code...

It was really hard to work there and keep a healthy balanced lifestyle. I would not recommend this place to teachers who want to stay within their contract hours because that is physically impossible with the excessive demands of this school (very detailed lesson plans, events to attend, long carpool times, etc.). 

The work environment was not a happy one since everyone was stressed out and working long hours. The teacher retention rate is high and the class sizes are massive (30-34 students). Some of the administrators are great but the "network" focuses on the money and how many students they can squeeze into a school. 

Breaks usually don't occur because you may have to watch over lunch detention, watch the students at recess, or find time to complete the lengthy lesson plans. I highly do not recommend especially for first year or newer teachers. It will cause burn out very quick. 

I have to say that I love working for this school! The culture here is so amazing. I've never worked for a company where I felt like I was truly valued by them and that I was a part of a family. As in all companies, there's always someone that may not like you, but there's so much love at this school, that it doesn't matter. I feel supported in all of my endeavors as a teacher and if I'm struggling in certain areas, I'm not afraid to ask for help. As far as families and students, these are the best! This school is full of families and it's amazing! It's an amazing network and it's beautiful to get to see the students grow as well as their siblings throughout the year. The curriculum is paced well and the administration is extremely supportive, respectful and well-rounded. This is my first year teaching and I think I may have gotten a pretty great deal with this school! The principal and dean of students are amazing and they make this school complete!

There's a reason why multiple staff call out everyday. Along with the fact Principals/Assistant principals are leaving within a single school year. Actively work on finding ways to make the workplace an enjoyable experience. 
 
Examples can include: 
Sending out frequent surveys to retrieve feedback from school staff members. 
Making the Wednesday PD's more relevant to the daily duties of an educator. 
Soliciting & implementing feedback from teachers regarding policies and procedures that directly impact their jobs. 
Offering realistic promotional opportunities to educated high performing staff. (Not just your work buddies) 

At the current rate the campus I worked at is going, there's no way on Earth you'll be able to keep educators the entire school year. Recession or not, they'll stick around for 2-3 months until they get a better job somewhere else. 

Don't believe the information given in the interview.  You will be teaching in a windowless room that was once a warehouse in a part of Phoenix that is a warehouse district.  Expect to pay the company for the privilege of working for the Academy of Math and Science.  Books, pencil sharpeners, white board markers, graph paper, and the normal stuff most schools provides its teachers is on your dime.  Science supplies are delivered but sequestered in the office for weeks with no possible access until it's "inventoried."  Although Science is in the name of the school, there are no supplies.  The same books are used in grades 6, 7, and 8 with no teacher resources.  If working 14 hours a day plus on weekends is something you enjoy then this is your place.  All this plus a normal 90% turnover of teaching staff and instructors bailing out of the madness midyear is a reason to pass this one up.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Elementary school teacher 1 salary reported	$51,000 per year
School teacher 5 salaries reported	$47,622 per year
Teacher's aide 50 salaries reported	$16.25 per hour
Mathematics teacher 39 salaries reported	$50,919 per year
Kindergarten teacher 23 salaries reported	$52,287 per year

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