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KIPP NYC

On the surface, KIPP NYC appears to be a more progressive charter school than it's more notorious charter school counterparts. However, the basis of their model, like the others, emphasizes uniformity over the individual needs of every student. Although teachers inject joy into their classrooms, the expectation is largely that students be held to archaic and oppressive forms of discipline. Here, it is apparent that diversity does not indicate that an institution is anti-racist. Often, the work is performative at this organization like purchasing gift cards for teachers or asking anti-racist lecturers to speak, whose suggestions are ignored.

Another key tenet of this organization is that teachers must bear the majority of the work and are responsible for every aspect of a child's education. Most teachers, if not all, are fully invested in creating a student-centered environment. However, little is done to support them. Often words of appreciation are freely spoken but the actions of the school indicate otherwise. Teachers are solely responsible for not only fulfilling the standard requirements of educating but also being the main source of communication between families and the school. Large, looming, impactful decisions are made without the input of families or teachers and little or no support is provided by leadership. Leaders at the school often spend their time completing menial tasks that do little to support the culture of the school and their objective is to unload duties on teachers as opposed to supporting with the workload. They encourage feedback but when this feedback is shared, they can target those that express concerns. It seems that many leaders are interested in advancing and are promoted into positions that they are not ready to occupy. These insecurities lead to a toxic work environment.

When I began at this charter network, it felt like an education startup, which prioritized and rewarded creativity, flexibility, and intelligence. It has grown too much too quickly, and now includes 17 schools. It has adopted a One-KIPP philosophy of curriculum and instructional planning, which means it spent untold millions on a single ELA curriculum and a single Math curriculum. As a result, teachers are not rewarded for creativity or ingenuity, but are simply observed for  compliance. 

Instead of learning from each other, teachers are forced to fit their own creativity into hidden slivers of time in between harvesting data, and confronting increasing student behavior challenges. To make matters worse, some of the regional heads of instruction are incompetent. In some cases, they have little teaching experience themselves. They are resistant to feedback, and are not discerning enough to judge strong education materials from ineffective or even nonsensical ones. There is a developing culture of top-down management, where the regional heads imagine that their job is to extract productivity from the teachers, instead of supporting teachers in their increasingly challenging positions. For experienced, talented teachers, this squashes joy, creativity, and morale. For younger teachers, this inhibits development, now that they "learn" how to teach from dry and often flawed pre-packaged materials instead of from observing and being trained by master teachers. 

The staff is the best part of the job, as they are hard-working, supportive, and resourceful. The students are lovely and impressive in most cases, but the proportion of students (and families) who needlessly challenge school norms and policies is growing, and administrations are reluctant to stand up to them because they need increased enrollment in order to keep the organization viable. 

Working at KIPP School System over the past three years has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The supportive environment and commitment to educational excellence make KIPP an exceptional place to work. The administration fosters a culture of continuous improvement, providing ample professional development opportunities that have significantly enhanced my teaching skills.

KIPP’s emphasis on collaboration is evident in the strong sense of community among the staff. Regular team meetings and open communication channels encourage the sharing of best practices and innovative teaching strategies. This collaborative spirit not only improves our teaching methods but also creates a cohesive, motivated team dedicated to student success.

The resources available at KIPP are outstanding. The access to modern technology, comprehensive curriculum materials, and a well-maintained facility ensures that both teachers and students have the tools they need to succeed. Additionally, the support from the administration in terms of addressing any concerns or needs promptly has been exemplary.

What stands out most is KIPP’s unwavering focus on student achievement and character development. The holistic approach to education, emphasizing both academic excellence and personal growth, aligns perfectly with my educational philosophy. It’s truly fulfilling to be part of an institution that values and supports its teachers as much as its students.

Instructional blocks of 1.5 hours is not conducive for kids. Especially when they are expected to be seated throughout that entire time. Paper and pencil all the time and a Chromebook which is good but not for student stress levels as they tend to inappropriately use them anyway. Students are not receiving the adequate services in this type of setting and if your the second teacher you will be treated as a para in the room. When your expected to do coverage when management can easily pay a sub for that. The additional duties given that are not part of the job description is unacceptable. To receive a phone and be expected to take weekend calls and follow directives on weekends is ludicrous. there is no form of personal privacy which is insane i dont need to be talking my personal business to no one. Its a job no not a family or cult as they make it out to be. Playing the amazing race as a form of team building during business hours is a joke. I don't get paid to play around with adults but to work with kids. Free up the time and actually give me prep time. Coaches are bias and play favorites. They throw their fancy titles from schools in your face as it it really matters. Service the kids not your egos

There is a lack of cultural awareness in how the students are addressed and managed. 94%of the students are African American/ African and a lot of the students I interact with either had or experienced families incarcerated. The language and management tactics were similar to prison guards and inmates, I heard several teachers either speak to students in a condescending manner or use language like "offenders" on students that repeat their misbehavior or who did not meet expectations. Additionally, the school community did not do its best to recognized Black History month in February, in May there was a full schedule adopted to accommodate the Hispanic heritage. If as a school they are going to celebrate one heritage, why not find a way to celebrate them all (or at least all who are represented in the school). All students and faculty should feel represented and important to the schools' culture.

You work at KIPP because you believe in the impact your work will bring to students whether you're in Shared Services Team or one of the schools. This is a culture driven institution. Work hard and be nice aren't just the motto for students. This applies to employees as well. 

A typical day at work begins with greeting everyone in your team. People here are relaxed but determined in their work. We strive for quality when we can, and we keep each other accountable for falling short. 

We are provided company laptops and phones, which comes in handy since you can take your work anywhere if need be. That might turn some people off, but that's the reason we're able to be there for our students.

However, the team itself can get too lax. We sometimes get so caught up on our goals and action plans it's difficult to take a step back and see the bigger picture of what we're trying to accomplish. This can create some friction with upper management.

KIPP NYC is a great place to work!
There are amazing benefits and higher pay than most charter networks. They also provide wellness days every 6 weeks so that teachers can take time to take care of themselves. KIPP NYC is very date driven and will set goals to meet so that you are on track of meeting expectations for the year. KIPP NYC is not for the weak , if you want a job where you can just watch movies all day with your students this is not the place for you. Their mission is to provide students with great outcomes and prepare them for the future. Yes, the hours are longer than a department of education public school but students are not only provided with academics but also enrichment courses. So much more than what the DOE provides. They are looking for passionate teachers who will build relationships with their students and want to continue and learn in their teacher development. I absolutely love working here and will recommend to anyone. 

The teachers are amazing at fostering relationships, creating a strong professional environment, and adding fun to the job. I have celebrated birthdays and special moments with my peers and it has positively impacted my working relationships. It feels great to have teachers that can also ground you when data or managing student behavior can be stressful. 

Administration can do better at supporting staff rather than focusing on "positive narration" of the teacher burnout. On my 4th-grade team, there are 2 understaffed ICT classrooms (both with only 1 teacher), and this has been the case for a long time. When I have advocated for students for hot breakfast, I was emailed to go through the "proper" channels despite having done so. Admin cares more about the appearance of being put together than actually implementing a strong system to maintain order. 

Staff is honestly very nice, welcoming, & supportive despite our circumstances. The students however are extremely overwhelming and disrespectful. Many of them are below grade level and get rewarded for everything without putting in full effort. Turnover rate is pretty high and this causes stress for all other staff members who have to cover classes that aren’t theirs. ATs often have the same or more responsibilities as lead teachers with less pay which leads to feelings of resentment and burnout between staff. Personally, my mental health has declined since I began working here due to the amount of stress which I was not accustomed to. 

A typical day at work is, i went in at around 9-10 AM and as soon as i got there it was build this, or organize folders for the students, or take out this trash. I learned a lot of Handy skills how to build things on my own. My co-worker were my 2 friends from school. This was an internship we all got chosen to do. The hardest part of the job was , building bookshelves. At the time i didn't know how to build so it was very confusing. Glad i got that experience. The most enjoyable part of the job was when they rewarded us for our good work.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
High school teacher 7 salaries reported	$101,761 per year
Elementary school teacher 3 salaries reported	$95,207 per year
Special education teacher 5 salaries reported	$108,284 per year
Teacher 5 salaries reported	$81,000 per year
Spanish teacher 1 salary reported	$105,855 per year

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