high school teacher

elementary school teacher

english teacher

bus driver

student teacher

Odyssey Charter School

What is the best part of working at the company?
The pay was reasonable for salary.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No full support, overworked, micromanagment from the admins and team lead. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work and culture environment is very toxic. Favoritism is a thing and rumors spread very fast. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working here involved me in completing my daily tasks as an IA while managing a heavy workload that exceeded my contract and lacked adequate support from admin and leads. The only positive thing about working here was the reasonable pay. However, the work environment was often very stressful due to the high expectation of handling a lot of responsibilities without having sufficient guidance, backup, or clear support from leadership. There is frequent micromanagement from both the administration and team leads which made it difficult to feel trusted and confident in the role.

The work environment and culture here is horrible. It felt very toxic because there is a lot of favoritism, poor communication, disorganization, and the rapid spread of rumors among staff (a very clique-like atmosphere). Also, the classrooms is overpopulated with students. I don’t understand how or why the school even manages to get to this point where nearly each grade has about 28-35 students per classroom. How can a lot of learning get done in such a short period of time per subject? Instead of having a supportive team environment, which they clearly advertise during orientation and entice people to join, it often felt very tense and discouraging. Furthermore, they frequently rotate a lot of teachers between different grade levels each year because many of them end up eventually leaving. In my opinion, unless a teacher wants to try another grade, that’s perfectly fine. However, don’t expect to remain in the same grade or role unless you’re one of the exceptional teachers who consistently stay in the same position each year. Overall, I would strongly advise to stay clear away from working here. It was not a pleasant experience unless you enjoy being overworked and treated unfairly.

Super toxic work environment with extreme micromanaging from the management company, Green Apple. A lot of "talk" of support, but never any actual support. They promote the school as an "exceptional" career choice by them being "a family," but it is far from a family-cultured environment. The culture is always so negative with a revolving door of teachers and staff. They expect you to do your job AND take on irrelevant "other duties as assigned," (as stated in your contract) with the expectation that you do them, without additional pay or earned PTO. Their bereavement policies are atrocious and strict. 

The best interest is NOT in it's students and staff, like it should be. I highly recommend you do NOT work here. I would not even send my children to this school, after being in roles where I saw the ins & outs of how the school functions. There are frequent inconsistencies, in terms of staff expectations, student discipline, etc. The management company runs the school, not the school administrators.  The administrative team is amazing, caring, and excellent; but their hands are always tied by the management team and they cannot effectively do their jobs; which trickles down to the poor staff morale as well. 

Co-teaching has often been described by management as a “marriage,” requiring strong communication, inclusion, and mutual respect. Unfortunately, my experience has fallen short of that expectation. I have frequently felt excluded from team activities and decisions, ranging from informal moments like matching team shirts and group photos to more important matters such as planning and communication.
Despite having over twenty years of teaching experience, I am often left without necessary information or clarity about expectations, procedures, or changes. Communication is inconsistent, and there is rarely proactive effort to ensure I am informed or included. This lack of collaboration has made it difficult to feel like a valued member of the team.
A more intentional approach to inclusion, transparency, and professional communication would greatly improve the co-teaching environment and help ensure that all educators feel respected, supported, and empowered to contribute their expertise.

They burn you out by having you do more than you are contracted for to get every last dollar out of you. The turnover is unreal. It's a revolving door. Every year 20-30 teachers leave. Good teachers never stay. 
The culture is very toxic and it starts from the leadership. They say one thing but do another. Favoritism and an unsupportive admin team makes for an unpleasant work environment and will 100% take a toll on your health. You won’t feel safe and that’s no good. There are still some good teachers left, until it happens to them, and they leave. Students also leave at a rapid rate because they see it too. Administration is filled with “Yes ma’am’s” to those in Green Apple. Leaders aren’t allowed to lead, just micromanaged. One admin once told me that Odyssey was “the land of misfit toys” because so many teachers with no certification and other teachers who have been in professional trouble are hired so they can be controlled and manipulated. Anywhere but here! Just being honest! 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The students are a joy to work with, as they are generally more respectful than traditional public school students. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working for Odyssey is the inconsistency of the administration, the massive amount of state paperwork, and the harassment from the parents.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The culture is toxic and stifling - each teacher must have a duty and a club as well as chaperone dances - the teachers are denied PTO and have no rights. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You stand in the hallways and greet the children, they funnel into the classroom, you take attendance, teach the lesson plan for the day; the bell rings six more times and you do this until the end of the day, when the release bell chimes and you walk students to the car rider line to see them off.

now, while my review title is rather off putting, let me start with some praise. the teachers there (and until recently, I was one) are excellent and dedicated professionals. a few of the lower level administrators are good people, too, but those at the top are horrible. they will lie to you, cheat you, and distort what's actually going on behind the scenes. they have a "board" which is full of plotters and schemers, who know nothing about education, only seem to want to "catch" the teachers in piddling wrongdoings, and have the best interests of no one in mind, that I could tell. you'd have more fun working in the court of Caligula, and probably end up the same way as everyone there did (think heads chopped off)...This probably sounds excessive, but I just want to warn perspective employees to stay away. I gave a few years of my life there, and I regret it. Oh, and by the way, everyone who was in my department when I was there, is now gone....

A typical day at work at Odyssey was often stressful and disorganized. Over time, I realized the environment was not the right fit for me. Management was difficult to approach, favoritism appeared to impact workplace dynamics, and expectations for both staff and students often felt unrealistic. The workplace culture was unlike any I had previously experienced.

That said, I believe the school’s overall concept has strong potential. With better structure, clearer leadership, and organizational improvements, it could become a much more effective and supportive environment. In my opinion, meaningful changes in management and leadership would be necessary to achieve that potential.

The hardest part of the job was not being able to perform the role I was originally hired to do. The most rewarding part was ultimately making the decision to move on and turning in my notice, badge, keys, and computer.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Odyssey Schools is focused on quality educational programs and holistic wellbeing for students. It is a great undertaking and responsibility. Do not be fooled by reading ratings of former employees,  riddled with personal  vendetta. If you are a teacher who truly cares about joining a performance-driven school and making a difference for students, please apply to Odyssey Schools! 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Teaching today’s students can be challenging. However, OCS supports it’s teachers. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Familial and supportive! I have been able to grow in my profession under the guidance of the professional leadership of Odyssey Schools.

The school was founded on a good principle: educate the whole child. Unfortunately, as the school grew and money started coming in from the government for students, the interest shifted from serving students to making money. In the year 2021-2022, the management company put pressure on the school to maintain student numbers at a certain point, disregarding the fact that there were no classes to put the students in. They put students in computer labs to take classes that were unnecessary for their  education to simply get them to their school to get money for them. This school might be non-profit but it’s management company is not and they care only about making an A and getting paid. 

There are a lot great components to this school. There are more untrustworthy people than trustworthy people. A lot of unwritten rules that people are required to follow. Very stressful atmosphere. Unrealistic expectations. Must be flexible because things change on a dime.  A huge turnover every year; even within the school year. There are definitely favorites.  Be ready to work very long hours.  Only apply if you are a mind reader, extremely flexible, never taught before, and don't mind working very late unexpectedly because they tell to finish something at the last minute. There isn't consistency, security, etc.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
High school teacher 4 salaries reported	$59,250 per year
Elementary school teacher 4 salaries reported	$58,500 per year
English teacher 3 salaries reported	$59,167 per year
Bus driver 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Student teacher 2 salaries reported	$59,500 per year

Working at Odyssey Charter School: Company Overview and Reviews

Odyssey Charter School

Odyssey Charter School Ratings

Popular jobs at Odyssey Charter School

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected