bus driver

custodian

Summit Academy Schools

The workload in the front office is far greater than you’d ever expect for this position. A “typical” day requires wearing many hats. You act as the school nurse—handling sickness, vomit, blood, medication, and more. You also step into maintenance roles—moving furniture, fixing things, and cleaning up messes. On top of that, you are a key support for administration, teachers, students, and parents.

Office assistants are also asked to help in the cafeteria during lunch, supervise afternoon pickup, and even sub for teachers if no substitute is available—all while trying to keep up with your actual office responsibilities so the school can function. The demands are extremely high, yet the pay is very low compared to the level of responsibility.

If there’s a school event after hours, you are required to attend and help, even when it falls outside of your contract hours—and unfortunately, there’s no extra compensation for this time. One of the most difficult aspects is that taking time off is nearly impossible. No one else can realistically cover what you do, and HR may deny PTO requests if they don’t fit into specific rules. It’s discouraging to have earned time off that you can’t actually use.

Professional development is another area where office staff are overlooked. Teachers are given opportunities to grow, but office staff are not. While the pay is far below a teacher’s salary, the reality is that office assistants are the backbone that holds the school together.

The one saving grace is the work culture. The faculty and administration are supportive, friendly, and work well together. The team environment is positive, but the role itself is demanding and undervalued.


The Summit is, by far, the worst place to work. And not because you're working with adjudicated youth. Despite the challenges of working with them, they really are the lone bright spot in an otherwise terrible place of employment. I miss the kids.

No, the management is awful. Unimaginably unprofessional. Toxic. Not to mention the long hours, low pay and horrific health benefits. Mind you — check their 990. They have the money but they choose to overpay management and underpay front-liners. 

The worst part? After you leave, it takes you months to adapt to being in the real world, with humans and not in some weird, toxic h e l l hole. 

(Mind you, it's been more than a decade since I left. I've grown older and wiser and kinder and despite all this I cannot encourage you enough to not work there.) 



What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexibility and high school staff are really good to work with 


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Teacher turnover each school year

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Positive, helpful, administrative staff is easy to talk to and wants to help where they can

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start the day greeting students , breakfast duty, first period begins and I go to my office to work on paperwork sometimes students come in to ask for things I help them if I can, lunch duty, and then back to my office to continue with documents.

My experience at Summit Academy has been very rewarding. I've had the pleasure of working and building good relationships with students who may not have those relationships elsewhere. Although my job may sometimes be challenging I always keep in mind that it's all about the students and that's what keeps me motivated.

As Dean of Students I have the opportunity to work with the students, families and the community. Summit Academy has given me the opportunity to do what I love to do. My 22 years of experience and my (2) associate degrees has been a tremendous asset for this position.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The children are the absolute best part of this job.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The staff and the politics are extremely stressful. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment was horrible, yet we had to keep a smile or the kids.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The day is a struggle among staff and the Administrative staff. So many things have come against this school for the last 2 years. I can only hope they can get things turned around quickly because the children deserve it.

I felt that Summit Academy was doing their best to create success.  They seemed to work really hard at striving to have stability, structure, and discipline.  The teachers and staff definitely have their hearts all in with doing whatever it takes to educate and guide the students to develop goals, display positive attitudes, understand rules/guidelines, and encourages them to support each other.

Summit Academy was a nice place to work.  Staff was friendly. Students and families were also great to work with.  Hardest part of the job was balancing a classroom of 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students without a paraprofessional in class for part of the year.  The most enjoyable part was watching students grow and learn each year.  I learned a lot about cultural diversity and what inner city teaching was like.  I made an impact in may lives and it was hard to leave this school.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Getting to know all of the students and watching their progress. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Some of the other teachers didn’t care as much or weren’t as eager to help and heal the students. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was okay. There were some instances where teachers said some questionable things to students that admin didn’t properly address.

I just left Summit Jr. High Draper Campus after teaching all the music classes there for 2 years. I loved every moment of it. The teachers are all very kind and supportive. There is a great support system for new teachers. With it being a small school, it really has a community feel. The students are well behaved and supportive of each other. I'm only leaving this position due to my family circumstances. I highly recommend for any teachers looking for a great place to work. 

I’ve been at Summit in Middletown for 5 years now. The leadership change in the last couple years has been huge for the overall climate of the building. She fights for what is right and advocates for her school. Teachers, families, and students are happier and truly it is a great place to be. Leadership at the building level gives support and has your back. Some days are hard, but I think that is any school. The only complaint would be compensation.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Bus driver 3 salaries reported	$39,667 per year
Custodian 1 salary reported	$15.50 per hour

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