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Rocky Mountain Prep

Rocky Mountain Prep is an organization that thrives on shame, blame, and greed. They are obsessed with competition, tests, and numbers and it trickles down from the top to all of the campus leaders and even to the teachers. This obsession leads to a focus on the bottom line (number crunching for accolades and those oh-so-coveted shout outs and big checks from the CEO) as opposed to the actual learning and well-being of the students. Coaches are abominably inexperienced and all of the same personality type. Most have only worked in one type of setting and emit the most arrogant of attitudes, causing low morale and distrust . They micromanage teachers to death, observing them constantly, talking in the back of the classroom disrespectfully and seem to value uniformity rather than any sort of autonomy or diversity of experience. I have seen multiple teachers get physically ill out of fear of observations from the network and leadership.  Coaches "coach" moves are disingenuous, reek of inexperience, and seem to come from a place of checking a box for job security rather than real life concern or growth development. They seem to also have a fear of vulnerability and honesty and most walk around like things are okay, when in reality, most teachers are deeply suffering and complaining that they want to leave the toxic culture. There is a lack of support for children with high needs that have yet to be evaluated and they are quick to dismiss teachers concerns and shift the blame onto teachers instead of questioning their own competency, knowledge of child development, and abilities in regards to support. The professional culture is like a high school pep rally had a baby with the military. Teachers are treated exactly like the kids-  as though they know nothing. They are forced to do insipid chants and are cold-called at meetings just like middle schoolers. Put bluntly, it is not remotely a place in which kids OR teachers are supported positively and can grow in their love of learning OR teaching.  Teachers and students are all there to be obedient and conform to meet the greatest numeric outcome to improve the reputation of the campus leaders (and ultimately, the entire network).

Management can improve by asking themselves why they began in the first place. For the wellness, betterment, and learning of children OR for notoriety,  more money,  higher numbers, and competitive purposes? Hiring API's that have real life and work experience outside of the organization could be lucrative. Also hiring API's that have more than 5 years of teaching or leadership experience could be helpful. Building a culture of "perfectionism", uniformity, lack of positive and meaningful communication, and fear and shame will cause many teachers to exodus and many students to suffer. If you cannot respect and work with teachers,  their talents, and differing needs,  you will ultimately lose them and continue to be of disservice to the thing that matters most- the  students.


This school is run more like a business rather than a safe, loving, and nurturing learning environment. They are more focused on their enrollment, numbers, and reputation than the actual child. Caring about children and their learning is what brought me to the profession, but sadly this school is the reason why I ultimately left teaching. There were countless times when my students, as well as myself, were left feeling unsafe due to student behaviors in the place where we should feel most reassured. This is extremely unfair to the students who are trying their best to learn, especially after the hindrance COVID already had on their education. Teachers' voices are not taken seriously and you feel as if you are constantly being criticized and micromanaged with every step you take. This work environment is fear-based, toxic, and has such a fake aroma in the air that will leave you wanting to run in the other direction. Fourteen members of our staff were either fired or left voluntarily within my time at this school, not to mention that they lost half of their staff at the end of the school year. If that doesn't speak values, I don't know what will. 

I worked here for 3 years - and in this time I gave every ounce of myself on a daily basis. Instead of receiving any good feedback I was only told I wasn’t doing enough and was given more and more tasks to complete. There would be random people in my classroom observing on a daily basis and this would disrupt my classroom and impact my students.
The worst part was their “bonus” program where they would give the same teachers a bonus based on the performance and growth of their students. The standards they used were completely unfair and to make it even worse they would hand out GIANT CHECKS to these same teachers and make a big show of it. They would be better off giving all teacher a bonus and appreciated all of the hard work that goes into running their school.
I haven’t worked here for almost 3 years but I am still working through my trauma of my experience of working here. 

It is a very corporate environment that cares more about enrollment money than the students/staff. Staff are afraid to give honest feedback for fear of repercussions. The hours and schedules are incredibly demanding. They can add or change your duties whenever they want to without notice given. Constant observations (ineffective, 4-minute long ones that interrupt your class) are coupled with "live coaching". It is a degrading practice that undermines the teacher's authority and credibility directly in front of their students. They lure in young/first-time teachers with slightly above average pay, but it IS NOT worth it. They will work you into the ground without a second thought. Placing 35 students into an overheated classroom with a first year teacher is not equitable or rooted in social justice.

There is no job security and minimal professional development that goes in with Rocky Mountain Prep. This was my first teaching job, and was told that I would have weekly professional developments to help me grow into my role as a teacher. I spent 6 months teaching with RMP, and had a total of 4 meetings with my ‘coach’. Overall working here was a waste of time, administrators do not care about the education of the students as a whole, rather just a select few. On top of this, several students are enrolled that the school is just simply not equipped to appropriately handle and educate, and instead run around the building daily just causing disruptions in other classes. 

I worked for this company during the merge with Strive Prep. When I worked for Strive Prep, I was proud to be at the school and was supported by all staff. Once the merger began,  everything started to fall apart. They started to fire/ let go people without any reason behind it,  all of my coaching meetings were taken away and all support for teachers were taken away. EVERYONE is unhappy and overworked that works there. The upper management doesn't prioritize their staff's mental health and have no consequences for students. If you speak up or speak out about this, you won't have a job the next day. So yes, don't walk, run away from this "movement".

RMP shows our students every single day that we care more about data and money than we do about them. The discipline reinforces white supremacist values and is not trauma informed. They preach rigor and love and I have never seen a loving interaction from admin or those in the central office. The teachers have little to no training and do not understand classroom management. The students have significant traumas, as well as that they have vast needs that require more than one mental health provider. Students with IEPs are suspended on a regular basis and many students do not feel safe or supported at school. Our students deserve teachers and staff who love them.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The salary was very reasonable and the location was not too far from my house when I worked there. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Any free time you had to lesson plan, was taken up by coaching. There is little room for creativity in your lessons. While being observed by admin and guests, admin will take over your lesson, make it worse and put it on you as if it were your fault and make you feel incompetent. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The rigorous work schedule made for less to interact with any of the staff & ZERO work life balance.

One works around the clock and is expected to work 12+ hour days without additional compensation.  The curriculum has changed every year and employees are not appreciated.  Teachers practice simple tasks like giving directions regardless of their ability or performance.  Professional development is not differentiated.  Employees are not treated as professionals and are micromanaged.

The people who work here are amazing towards employees they feel that "fit" into their mold. If you are not accepted, your work like will be miserable. Cut throat environment, awful management, and no authentic staff culture. I was in shock over how students were treated within classrooms, and how the employees treated each other. The turnover rate is extremely high, and it is for many reasons.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
High school teacher 92 salaries reported	$73,988 per year
Elementary school teacher 82 salaries reported	$73,326 per year
Special education teacher 40 salaries reported	$77,363 per year
Teacher 19 salaries reported	$73,200 per year
School teacher 20 salaries reported	$72,268 per year

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