preschool teacher

lead teacher

teacher

preschool director

school teacher

KLA Schools

I don’t usually write reviews, but felt I should write one as I  wish there had been reviews to warn me about the job before I applied.
Working with children is really fun and rewarding, I loved it. 
Unfortunately, there is a national shortage in teachers who actually care about children and are willing to put in the work, and KLA was no different. It is not an easy job, it is very hands on and takes a lot of proactiveness and teamwork to make days go by smoothly. So your daily tasks become impossible to manage with coworkers that prefer to chat with other teachers and scroll on their phones, rather than play and engage with children. There is no accountability from management who are new and appear to be trying their best, but seem to be at a loss about what to do with teachers dropping like flies and constant pressure from higher up to enroll more kids and make more money - and there is a general lack of respect towards management from the employees anyway who basically want to run their classrooms however they like so they can get away with things. So there is basically no organization or standards at all.
Your average day is spent putting out fires, writing accident reports as there is no way to keep an eye on 15 kids all at once and then trying to explain to parents why you don’t know how it happened, juggling how to teach kids with 0 support from coworkers who check out and instead of engaging with children basically just sit, leave them to it and wait until someone starts crying to do something.
People come into the job with zero training on how to work with children, no organization from management and unfortunately this is the end result. Turnover rate is understandable as the stress is too much to deal with. No lunch breaks as theoretically nap time is when you should take a break and eat, but the kids don’t go down anyway with all the teachers cackling and gossiping instead of being quiet to allow the kids to rest, so you’re basically working 8 hours with not even time to eat.
Please only work with kids if you really care and love them! If you just want to make easy money, please do not take this job and make it so much harder for everyone else.

Only worked here a little over a month and missed multiple shifts from getting very sick (assuming from the job).  I’m pointing this out to prove how little I had to be there to learn what I did. learned very quickly that the teachers are amazing staff and people, but the management/owner lacks communication with its staff. Multiple teachers (that made this place a fun and functional place, left during the very short time I was there…assuming due to lack of reasonable pay, employee value, and management function. I heard multiple complaints of the atmosphere starting to feel like a chaotic daycare, rather then the school feel it used to have. They are always understaffed, they push for employees 10 min break an HOUR after starting shift, to get them out of the way. Causing employees to hold their “restroom needs” until their lunch, sometimes 4-5 hours later. During one of my shifts I had to wait to be relieved for a bathroom break, I had held my urine so long that I had UTI symptoms the next day. I had a feeling this would happen because I’m prone to them, but if an employee can’t have proper relief to use the restroom then your doing something wrong. 


I’ve been a teacher at KLA for almost 5 yrs and my children currently go to school here. I’ve seen the highs and lows of this center and I’m happy to say that we have a come a long way. The admin team have only been together for two years and it is like night and day from the previous admin team.  The energy of the center is completely different now than from those past years. The current teachers work well together and the learning environment for the kids is amazing! The pedagogical coordinator is great and try’s to find ways to help us understand and grow in the Reggio-Emilia approach, as well as our overall teaching skills. The Director and AD actually take time to hear what staff say and value our opinions. They work with us to make the center a better environment for employees, children and families.  Of course not everything is perfect and their bumps along the road and rules put in place that you may not like but when envision working at a center, it’s definitely KLA that I see.  The quality of  care, cleanliness, their philosophy and the amazing culture of the school, you can’t find anywhere else.  My kids have been extremely happy here and have grown to love KLA school of Hillsboro tremendously. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
 A supportive and collaborative work environment, opportunities for learning and growth, meaningful work that aligns with personal values, a strong company culture, good work-life balance, and a sense of belonging within the team

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There was none with me to be honest. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
open communication, mutual respect, a sense of belonging, where employees feel valued, supported in their growth, and empowered to contribute their ideas, all while fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable being their authentic selves

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
greeting children upon arrival, engaging in morning circle time, structured learning activities, outdoor play, snack breaks, lunch, quiet rest time, afternoon activities, another snack, and finally, wrapping up with a closing circle time before parents pick up their children

I don’t know where to start and there is no way I will be able to fit everything in here but KLA School of Sweetwater was the worst work experience I have ever encountered. They are extremely sneaky and shady, between paying us minimum wage for required meetings (that happened extremely frequently and were hardly productive) and also would be paid minimum wage in professional development days that they say are “required”. I was shown no appreciation and given very little guidance going into the lead teacher role. Which requires an extreme amount of responsibilities including lots of work on the computer that they expect you to complete while also watching the children. On days they are understaffed they won’t allow lunch breaks. They have encouraged us to come into work sick because they “needed us”. Overall I felt disrespected and drained at this job. Management is very shady and does not know how to properly run a business. 

When I first started this position, everything seemed to be going well. However, after a few days, I began to notice unprofessional behavior from leadership. I observed the director speaking to employees in a disrespectful manner, and I experienced similar treatment myself. It became clear that decisions were often influenced by personal disagreements rather than performance.

While I truly enjoyed working alongside my coworkers, who were supportive and professional, the management environment was challenging. There was little to no structured training provided, yet employees were expected to perform tasks without guidance and were criticized for not immediately knowing procedures.

In my opinion, the lack of professionalism and proper training contributes to the high turnover within the organization. Unfortunately, both the director and owner displayed behavior that I found to be unprofessional and discouraging.

KLA is one of the few early childhood centers that put a focus not only on the families they service but also the staff with paid holiday breaks and appreciation events throughout the year. The school is always clean and well-kept. Staff is professional and dedicated to their jobs. The school-provided emails allow for ongoing communications and boundaries between parents and staff. The hands-on approach to education is child-led and allows for each school year to be focused on the interests of the children in the class instead of a rotation of worksheets. The administration is helpful and constructive with their suggestions and feedback. They have extensive knowledge of child development and are always willing to help problem-solve with teachers. 

The manager assumed the most menial tasks like laminating, instead of actual management. At my other school, they hired a ward of the state to do those tasks. The manager would place making money above quality of care. She wouldn't order enough food to feed the kids fully, and sometimes the food quality was subpar. There were numerous licensing violations, but the manager insisted on spending money on Kindle Fires for each classroom, which were awful! Management spent money on things we teachers never asked for! We were also forbidden from having "negative" conversations with parents. Meaning: if their child had a bad day, we could only write it down, give it to management, and when parents asked about their kiddo at pick-up, we had to refer them to management.

I started as a lead teacher in a 3 year old room it really wasn’t communicated with me what room I’d be working in, I was in the older threes for my first two weeks then pulled out and put In the younger threes and told I was going to be the lead in there I had some people come in and help me and I don’t really understand where I went wrong when they were with me because no one communicated with me but apparently they went to the directors and said that I was really difficult to work with after the directors told me this I proceeded to work on it. One day I had an insanely terrible migraine I have a brain condition and I guess it looked like I was being impatient. The next day the directors took me into the office and said they hadn’t seen much growth in me and were letting me go I was extremely confused how can a person grow in just three weeks

There is no one currently working here who has been there longer than 15 months so that should say something about the turnover…no one has been there 3 years. 

Disorganized and confusing are two goods words to describe this place. Corporate never checks in to ensure policy is being followed and there is no paid overtime. When corporate is there, they only check surface level things and no one is held accountable. At times super low staffed but they won’t call in subs to cover the missing spaces. There are required events on weekends which mysteriously don’t count into overtime hours. Large sections of “blackout times” usually entire months where no one is allowed to take time off.

We are required to do all of these KLA events but no one actually checks in to make sure management follows KLA rules…

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Preschool teacher 37 salaries reported	$19.29 per hour
Lead teacher 6 salaries reported	$21.10 per hour
Teacher 1 salary reported	$16.50 per hour
Preschool director 2 salaries reported	$68,750 per year
School teacher 6 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour

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