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The Childrens Guild

It appears that two of the trouble makers at the top were finally let go, one is still looking for a job. Both apparently knew more about HR than true HR certified degreed professionals. Not even sure where to start, they hired a Temporary Executive Human Resources Director who was the biggest backstabber, I guess he felt he needed to backstab in order to save his job, but he was let go too. The company allows bullying, the CEO (and the 2 Execs that are no longer there) actually encourage bullying and calling out people at the 10am Culture Call meeting.  Hard work does not pay off, they do not understand what HR does or the purpose of HR. There is no regard for HIPAA law, also, if you are pregnant you will more than likely get terminated. The CEO feels that woman cannot work while pregnant or once they have a family. This place is toxic, run, run far, and run fast. The CEO continues to bad mouth former HR employees to staffing agencies. He should understand that the HR people he bad mouths are the same people that these staffing agencies go to for business!! He is not a very smart person and you have to ask yourself, how is he still there when the HR department continues to have 100% turnover year after year. Lastly, the same old white boys at the top that glare at employees only doing their best are the same people that are managing a school for children with needs. Would you send your child here? 

Under no circumstances should you consider working here as an teacher! There is no room for growth unless you are white. There is a sense of favoritism here were if your are not in favor, you career here (at least at the Hyattsville campus) is stagnant.   If you are the type of  educator that works hard, you will not get support from administration. Therefore, experienced teachers here deal with high rate of burnout/stress. Your health and sanity will declined  while working here. The administration will tell you that they appreciate you but its totally fake! The company says they care about students but I beg to differ. I don't feel like the company cares for us (employees) yet we have invested time into the company particularly into our students. The administration/company is focused on bring students into the school but are not providing resources/educational materials and/or a curriculum to service them.

If you are blessed enough to get a two percent raise, the raise will just cover your cost of living so it will appears as if you have never received a raised at all!  There is no tuition reimbursement, is if they said that they will reimburse you for tuition its a lie! 

So, once again under no circumstances should you consider working here!

This is not what I expected. The student's behavior is insane because of the lack of parental support and their living conditions. Leadership is just as worse. People are walking on egg shells because leadership dangles the at will aspect like a carrot. They are quick to fire people and have tons of favoritism. Most of the staff are either family related or have personal relationships, which is unethical and contributes to the soap opera drama. 

The curriculum does not fit the population, which causes the students to go in crisis. You scaffold and differentiate but because the students did not master the prerequisites, you're teaching the prerequisites from two grade levels or more below. This is because leadership is changing students grades, and passing them along with data that proves the students should be retained. Due to this, there are students in 4th grade  or higher performing on K/1 level. Lack of support from instructional coaches because they're too busy sucking up to leadership, or providing demeaning feedback that has caused a hostile work environment.

This place is insane and it's ashame the CEO hasn't come in and cleared out the confusion, which stems from leadership (CAO).

This position was so hard because we were not even allowed lunch breaks. People were so stressed out and management could not care less. Nothing was ever good enough and the high turnover meant that there were 3 principals in 2 years. The constant change in management and staff meant that it was hard to build and maintain relationships, and it honestly was a disservice to the students, who had to keep getting to know new adults frequently and repeatedly. There was no stability and we were treated as machines rather than human. If you were one minute late you were written up. One of the principals once told one of the children (who had autism) that if she had $100k, the principal would leave her teacher in her classroom instead of transferring her to another class in the middle of the school year. After that, that child was hospitalized over 10 times for suicidal and homicidal ideations due to not having her teacher anymore.  Feeling so helpless and constantly dealing with crises that could have be avoided if management consulted with their workers about what is in the best interest of the children.

The Children's Guild should be an employer of choice. It has a clear mission and has been in business for more than 50 years. The problem is that it lacks vision and leadership. The staff is overworked and the HR department, which in most organizations is the most compliant, structured, and stable department, constantly turns over. As a result, The Children's Guild is known as the "upside down organization."  All decisions are vetted through the CEO, Dr. Ross. There are no people of color at the senior or executive level and cronyism runs rampant. As a result, the environment is full of political maneuvering and mistrust. 

If you choose to work here, know that the key to your survival  is to keep your head down and your mouth closed. Do not ask questions, offer suggestions for improvement, or try to make things better. They don't want to hear it. Doing so will get you fired, labeled incompetent, deemed not a good fit, or all three.

The school day begins at 8am and the kids are released around 3:15.  What the hiring recruiters and management leave out when conducting interviews and offer letters is that all staff is expected to be there no later than 7:45am and you are not allowed to leave until 4.  It is common that you won't receive a lunch break; and frequently looked down upon if you actually take one.  Additionally, there is no consistency in the way rules are implemented, work culture, or expectations - one administrator may tell you one thing while another one gives you a completely different story or directive.  The communication is terrible, and no day will ever go as expected.  The hardest part of the job is that you'll be told what to do and given tasks by people who are not remotely qualified to do your job.  The most enjoyable part of the job is watching the children grow.  With that being said, the administration and overall management of The Children's Guild makes it a frustrating place to work, and the kids are what saves it from day to day.

The Children's Guild provided me with all the resources I needed to support teachers. I was not micromanaged. I by corporate or site based administration. It was the best experience ever. Unfortunately, the site I was transferred to was too far. I wish they had more schools in the city.

The Children's Guild has material, text-books, science kits, recorded programs, computers, and everything a teacher would need. There is no need for teachers to spend their funds. 

In addition, the schools plan together. The site-based leadership is multi cultural so many perspectives are represented at the decision table. A great place to work. As a Instructional Lead Person I supported no more than 20 teachers, only focused on my teachers and was never pulled away to do other tasks. This was the opposite to when I work in large public schools.
The salary was $7,000.00 less than public schools and I worked year around. But, my presence allowed me to be in on the planning stages and that was appreciated.

This company, I have no idea where to start. There is NO job security, things change ( work and responsibilities) every month it seemed like, and the administration are rude! Overall, they are just about getting grants and money they do not care about employees or the people they serve. Take a look at the executives, it's not hard to figure out their agenda. 

Overall, I left here after 2 years and I always warn people about working here. Every time they take the chance they always complain back to me. We used to sit around and just complain about everything and other workers would chime in too and DON'T work at the schools, it's World War 3 there. I have seen this company show favoritism and overlook quality just to fill spots and they are extremely cheap but check their salaries.

The Children's Guild Academy is a very phenomenal place to work. My experience there has been great. Each day working there were different challenges for me to grow from. You work with eight different teenage girls all whom are coming from different cultures and suffering from different traumas. Working with these remarkable children has taught me how to listen and understand. The staff there knows the definition of team work. The most enjoyable part of the job is knowing that I have a impact on these children lives and that one day they will use something they learned from me and the staff. The hardest part of the job is the hours. Management there is good, but I just don't feel as though they are open minded enough when it comes to the staff and schedule.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The opportunity to help students that have been unsuccessful in traditional school settings is the best part of working at The Children's Guild.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The administration is not supportive of employees, students or families.  They are lacking experience with and knowledge of the disability characteristics of the student population.  This causes stressful and unsafe working conditions for students and staff.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
For those serious about educating students with special needs, the environment is depressing.  It is not a culture that celebrates collaboration or professional growth. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There is no typical day at this company.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Clinician 27 salaries reported	$64,444 per year
Nurse practitioner 25 salaries reported	$20.02 per hour
Social worker 31 salaries reported	$71,065 per year
Special education teacher 16 salaries reported	$72,781 per year
Speech language pathologist 5 salaries reported	$86,000 per year

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