teaching assistant

family support specialist

associate teacher

contract specialist

tutor

Carole Robertson Center for Learning

Big tip: always avoid a workplace with a low retention rate. It always points to awful management and this place is a prime example of that. People have to step into roles not in their job description, making it unclear who does what, because this organization is understaffed constantly. Don't be fooled. They are not in a transition period, especially not one that takes years. They are disorganized, inefficient, and unsustainable in every possible way.

Work life boundaries are not encouraged. They want people to stay past work hours. If you make your own work boundaries, you're seen as lazy or unwilling to work...unless you visibly put in long hours recently. Management wants you to prove that you deserve a break instead of it being a basic work right and act of self care. You will get calls, texts, emails outside of work hours. On top of lack of boundaries, any questioning, even for clarification, is met with hostility.

I went around to different departments, asking people if and how they liked their job. No one said yes. They were very ready to say what bothered them, too. The big ones were:
- bad management,
- lack of communication,
- being thrown into work without support,
- and low pay.

Management does not take responsibility for an unsatisfying work environment, instead they make it the worker's fault for not supporting the mission enough.

The only good points are: they offer insurance benefits and are willing to help students or aspiring students go through school. (Though I did not check if there were requirements to the education assistance, like whether or not you needed to complete a full semester with a certain grade achieved before being monetarily compensated for the class.) Plus the kids and families are a delight to work with.

I worked at CRCL for less than 6 months and it was absolutely awful. There is no flexibility. Rampant backstabbing culture -- people will cc: your manager on basic emails to you about anything. Very big "blame game" and passive aggressive culture. Terrible salary structure across the board, and non-Executive professional/administrative staff are severely underpaid. Poor benefit package; ridiculously expensive for people with families. No 401k match and absolutely no other perks for employees. They recently moved into a new office building that is much better than the archaic building that they dwelled in previously for several years, however the new building has no elevator and seems like it was selected in haste. HR VP is a joke and talks badly about almost everyone in the org. This place is so disorganized, so behind in regards to almost everything, and they're stuck in vacuum that I don't see them ever getting out of. You can forget about work-life balance because you'd have to work until at least 7pm or later just to get through everything you need to do, and even then you still won't get through it all. Teams aren't collaborative internally or across other teams. Lots of unhappy people. Lot of people who have worked here for several years and stuck in their ways; lots of doing things "because that's they way we've always done it" -- even when it's outdated, incorrect, or just dumb. 

In a nutshell the Carole Robertson Center for Learning is where dreams go to die and is an enormous dysfunctional disgrace to the legacy of Carole Robertson. And this review is barely scratching the surface of the issues. If you value your life and do not want to be underpaid and groslly overworked and underappreciated, hard pass on this place.

The kids and families are amazing, but management expects a lot with little reward. Asked to work after hours or on weekends a decent amount. Compensation is low and the company culture is not positive. Many people working directly with the families and children express frustration with management frequently. However, there is no culture of change or open communication that allows people to express themselves. Reasoning is usually “that’s just the way it is” or they will try to turn things around making it seem like you did something wrong. Definitely never felt comfortable speaking my mind or saying no to something, and whenever I did I was met with hostility from management. Typically if things are going poorly somewhere management realizes they are the ones to blame, but at the Carole Robertson Center, they always find a reason to blame people with the least amount of power. Additionally, instead of giving current employees higher salaries, they would hire new positions up at the top without posting it internally. Meanwhile, there are barely enough teachers for the place to function. Extremely high turnover, especially with HR. Overall, very top heavy and disorganized in terms of paperwork and licensing standards, which falls on direct staff. Upper management has no idea what goes on daily in the buildings and doesn’t care. Often you are expected to do things that are not your job due to understaffing. I would not recommend working here, but if you do please just be aware of all of these things and advocate for yourself. 

The biggest problem at CRCL is that not all of the managers are properly trained to do their job and/or manage a staff.  Add in bad interpersonal skills and you have a system that pits staffs against their supervisors and NOTHING gets accomplished that way. 

Also, though the child care standards are pretty high for the little ones, the school aged children pretty much run a muck at some of the sites.

Financially and organizationally, the agency is in constant flux because they do not "forward think".  They spend money frivolously on projects that are ill conceived and problematic from day one, yet they continue with them.   As well, there is a HUGE salary gap between some of the managers, especially when those that are paid the most are barely even seen.  And when they do make organizational decisions it's because they are FORCED to not because they are monitoring and updating protocol regularly.

In short, if you decide to get a job here you will find yourself clocking in and immediately counting the minutes until you leave.

Like most daycare centers their is no room for advancement and ou're  expendable and they let you know that and you're expected to do a tremendous amount of paperwork and not given the time to do so .. They kiss up to the parents the parents are even allowed them to speak to staff any kind of way.. While employed their a parent came into the classroom while children are present and and try to fight me and they did nothing about it.. Management later in for me that I was not considerate to the parents feelings..I would NEVER EVER refer this to company to anybody their not all what they THINK they are to be ..The only thing positive I have to say about them is that they pay on time and you get direct deposit..

Disorganised from the top and it affects all the workers. Almost no support for new hires. Most people lose motivation and are searching for new work within weeks of starting.  Management move staff around with no explanation or time to transition. Every low morale and almost no work gets done because of constant restructuring and improving. Claims of inclusive for all students but they like single out students who are more challenging and allow them to do whatever they want. The kids are the fun part but there is no structure for expectations for the parents or students. For you’re looking for something to fill your time while you look for something else this is a good place for you. 

As a contract worker I found my experience to be positive. The kitchen staff members were welcoming and very helpful. We always worked together as a team.

I learned how to cook for a large (250) number of children and to utilize commercial appliances and equipment appropriate to the task.

I would say the biggest challenge was keeping a steady supply of clean serving and eating dishes. This was done through ongoing dish washing.

The most enjoyable part of the job was developing relationships and working together as a team to meet any challenge.

You're going to learn if you're going to sink or swim. You will not have any assistance and if you ask for it, you will be reprimanded and have the constant fear that you're going to lose your position. Some kids have actual disabilities are treated like regular kids including nonverbal and in theory that sounds like a fantastic idea; but certain kids require specific tools that they aren't receiving. Be prepared to become a speech therapist, coach, family member, unlicensed therapist with zero support from management.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The respect, compassion and dedication the workers give to children and families should be given by the company supervisors and managers

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dealing with children and families is not easy but more stressful when your supervisor does not support or back you up.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Improper communication, bad management style, toxic environment 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Work itself is rewarding due to families and children, a well-educated work force would make a difference.

What is the best part of working at the company?
My children that we served . And also my co-workers.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
All the paper work and the parents who are not wanting to work with the teachers to support the teachers.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Togetherness, Team Worker and doing all we can for our parents and the children we served 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy. 
Stressful at times
Good Fimea 
Too much paper work

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teaching assistant 11 salaries reported	$37,250 per year
Family support specialist 5 salaries reported	$45,900 per year
Associate teacher 3 salaries reported	$48,627 per year
Contract specialist 2 salaries reported	$48,250 per year
Tutor 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour

Working at Carole Robertson Center for Learning: Company Overview and Reviews

Carole Robertson Center for Learning

Carole Robertson Center for Learning Ratings

Popular jobs at Carole Robertson Center for Learning

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected