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Charter School Associates

The websites boasts an "Extended Learning Program", it's glorified babysitting. They expect the responsibility and accountability of an administrator and in return you'll be treated like the red headed step child, or perhaps janitor at best. Don't expect a formal training period, you will learn on the fly. No previous experience in education or with children necessary, if you have a pulse they are satisfied. Resources are scarce, space is limited. Must be able to talk parents, students, other faculty down from hysterics, patience is a must. The program begins at 6:30am, hopefully you have a good team working with you, if not, good luck. 6:30pm is the close of the afternoon program but, pick ups as late as 7:30pm have happened. Parents will receive a $10 late charge and a slap on a wrist and do it again the next week. You'll enjoy the students because after all, kids are funny and overall a great time. You'll be downtrodden by the sloppy management from corporate, long wait for email replies, inconsistent information, just overall inconsistency that will infuriate you and frustrate you to the point of resigning. If you build and train up your team, you'll be happy in your own little world. The pay is lousy and there is no room for advancement unless you want to be a teacher or work in education in another way. Camps were always fun, and very successful $$. Planning is important, organization is key, you'll find no one really knows what you do or will understand your struggles. If you find compassionate teachers, befriend them, it feels less lonely. Take solace in the fact that you aren't here to serve the principal or teachers or corporate. As a commuter school many of these families have no choice but to utilize the program, if you run it smoothly, communicate transparently, parents will be grateful and appreciative and this was the best part. Your job is important even if its only helping the single mom with four kids feel confident that someone is looking after and caring for her babies. It could be great but, the principal sets the tone and corporate runs the program, you are only there to manage so, you are at their mercy. For the most part, lots could be better, LOTS but, no one has the time. CSA is busy opening more schools than they can properly manage, money is obviously their motive.

I’ve worked for CSA for almost 10 years and, in my experience, the company and its schools get better and better as the years go on. They are really investing in students more, investing is cutting edge educational programs and technology, and investing more in its teachers and their continued success. I just wish they paid more and automatically set up a retirement plan for us… similar to how the district does.  Working at charter, a lot of work is put into making it run well (much more than a district school… as far as hours are concerned). I just wish the compensation could match those hours because Tampa is so very expensive to live in now. However, I also know that their hands are tied  with teacher pay… due to the state being the worst paid state for educators. CSA does provide opportunity for small raises and to move up if you choose to do so. I really enjoy working for my small little school and for the company. But I have 4 stars because compensation isn’t always comparable to the hours teachers put in that go above and beyond the 7:30-3:30 paycheck. 

Staying quiet and doing your job means nothing to them. People who complain constantly (about co-workers, job, students, and parents) were believed. The lack of professionalism there is truly sad. Those complainers were able to push people out. Professionalism includes minding your own business and not whining about every little person and or thing. I did that. Sadly, the whiners and the constant backstabbers still have jobs. The professional mature adults don't. Parents are believed over trained professional educators. 

Students are placed in classes by levels. Parents have school shopped, so that their child with an IEP go to a Charter school for help. They think that, unfortunately parents need to school shop more in depth. CSA does NOT have the proper help that students with IEPs need. PLEASE parents and teachers know this!!!
Professionally, students can NOT BE placed by levels. The low students will never have the chance to improve and get out of the low level tracks.

They've set a new standard for the "hostile workplace." When the local directors have students in your class, you're expected to give them easy A's... or else. The administration will make changes to your class, breaking what works then blaming you.  Resources are outdated or non-existent and you have to supply your own technology. The parents aren't helicopter parents hovering to close, they're bulldozer parents knocking everything out of the way (including you) and the administration will throw you under the bus before you even hear it coming. Don't expect support from co-workers, they're just a terrorized at you are. If you consider yourself a professional educator or would like to become one, run away from them like its a fire drill, then get in your car and drive until you run out of gas.

I was a first and second grade teacher in an elementary charter school based in Florida.  I managed a classroom of 16-18 children everyday from 7-3pm.  I created lessons based on state standards, data baselines on each individual child, and program information for each subject area taught.  I adhered to timelines, and deadlines for all lesson plans, tests for the state, and communicated through various computer programs the data compiled from these state tests.  Administration was very supportive, and I had excellent rapport not only with parents but students as well.

this company does not care about their employees, and some of the teachers are not even certified. There is no union, so if they want you to work on a Saturday or come in for an evening, you pretty much have to. They nag you to death and find every little thing that they can wrong  and then they hound you  more until you finally leave for better pastures.  Administration plays favorites, and although I have been a highly effective teacher for years they let me go because I would not teach directly from the book. 







Word for Word. This not best practice, but they do not care. The teachers that they hire have sometimes no experience, or are not even certified teachers.

My time at CSA was short.  Due to the lack of funding, hostile off site oversight and lack of understanding of developmentally appropriate practices for children under 5 by school leaders, ethically I could no longer continue my employment. 

A lot of teachers feel that more and more is expected of them from their school’s (or district’s) administration: offer constant support to the students, keep a line of communication open with parents, give more personalized help to students who need more attention to succeed, provide extra tutoring, run mtss during school time, watch children for 1 hour long car line pick up every day. and so on. While teachers do want to provide the best support to their students, we maintain that they don’t receive enough paid time to do so. 

Unless you fit their specific "mold" or are willing to be  a "yes person" and have none of your own input into things or mind of your own, then there is no chance of advancing in the company.   It is also a "for profit" school that very much puts the needs of the management over the needs of the students and staff.   I had been working there for 8 years and have so much experience watching them slight the staff and students for their own needs.   It's really sad. 

You will be support a charter school system that will railroad you, you will be alone, management will blame you for things that happened before you got there, you will be assigned 2 schools to keep up with, each school will have its own issues. Basically each school needed ITs own IT, but this Miami based company is renown for treating their employees like garbage, was happy to walk out of a write up for thing management knew about but rather blame the worker. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Elementary school teacher 4 salaries reported	$60,203 per year
School teacher 6 salaries reported	$57,884 per year
Mathematics teacher 3 salaries reported	$60,796 per year
High school teacher 1 salary reported	$58,798 per year
Teacher 3 salaries reported	$46,208 per year

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