science teacher

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Third Future Schools

This is a great place to work if you're looking to make a real difference in kids' lives. I have taught here for 4 years and have never seen this type of growth from students in any other school. Third Future has a unique personalized learning model which helps give each student the differentiated support they need on a daily -- even hourly -- basis. I feel privileged to work in a school network that truly cares for their kids, and has an actual proven method to help them grow from where they are and close the achievement gap.

The schools in this network also serve their communities with free before-and-after-school care for the students. Yes, this is an extra burden on the teachers and staff, who usually have to pick up a couple a.m. and p.m. duties each month to help care for the kids before and after school. Though the hours are long, it always feels worth it, knowing the service we provide for the students and families is priceless.  

Think of it this way -- if this network was a team of athletes, we'd be Olympians. I truly believe the teachers + leaders that make up this team are some of the best of the best. We train hard, we work harder, we perform well, and our results prove it. This is not the place for amateurs, beginners, or anyone who needs lots of grace and time to improve. This is the place for rockstars and world-class professionals, who are ready to be pushed further and to grow deeper in their skills. I have found that the leadership is easily available (not always the case in public schools, but our CEO and Director of Schools are literally on campus every single day), they are ready to help, and they're willing to support me in any way that I ask for -- as long as I, too, am willing to do the work, and to demonstrate growth and improvement over time. 

Anyone who works here for just one day will learn the vibe -- because the leadership here is a transparent, no-BS type of team. They will tell you to your face what you're doing well, what you could improve on, and what you need to stop doing. You will never have to wonder what the leadership is thinking or planning, or how they feel about you. They're kind people, but straightforward, with no frills and no tolerance for drama. For some, this can be a harsh environment, but I personally have thrived with this sort of direct feedback. Though it can hurt the ego to be told directly what you need to improve, I also believe it has helped me to grow in my profession faster than ever, and has also benefitted my students and my colleagues. Employees here need to have a thick skin, a sense of humor, and commitment to continuous improvement to be able to thrive here. 

In short -- don't come here with the expectation to be paid better than any other teacher in the state, without having to earn it. We get paid best because we ARE the best. Olympians don't make it to the Olympics by just getting by and doing the bare minimum. They go above and beyond, all day, every day. So do we. 

Do you believe in magic? Well, this school does. Teachers are expected to have everything at the snap of their fingers, with no support but “positive” vibes (fingers crossed) sent your way hoping you make something out of nothing. They are too rigid of a structure that there is no structure. They are also a great supporter of the quote “The only thing that is constant is CHANGE.” Teachers should expect random changes even to the last minute. They do not utilize substitute teachers because outsiders feel lost covering classes of a specific system. So, teachers should expect to cover for their colleagues who are missing work, with no extra pay. You can’t also complain, otherwise you are at risk of getting booted out. The turnover rate is high, but hopefully, the posted salary online is enough to entice teachers or “wanna-be” teachers to temporarily cover the empty position. Otherwise, more work for the teachers in the system, since they are expected to switch and keep covering those classes. If you are a teacher with a style, drop it! Forget about your creativity. They expect you to work in a tedious, repetitive system which eventually turns everything robotic. Slightly, it is advantageous because that is less work for your brain. Maybe you can use that creativity and thinking energy outside of work. Oh, wait… I forget to mention this is your life now. Work here and your life revolves at work. Expect to go home dead-tired and exhausted.

Extra stuff: expect to do “the walk,” (a must-do cardio). It is a test of teachers’ survival rate out in the neighborhood. You hand out school flyers, clip them close to the mailbox (but do not touch the mailbox), or put them under doormats. Just cross your fingers that you don’t get yelled at, chased by dogs, or get shot for trespassing. The thought of a teacher running down the street chased by a dog may be comical, but not so much in reality when you are the one running. 
Another thing I found ironic is how they promote students’ preparedness for 2030 but strictly limit technology integration in the classroom. If you are an environmentalist, this is not the place for you. Tons and tons of paper are printed each day, and most end up in the bin. Hopefully, they will incorporate tree planting in their program. Students would enjoy doing this and learn from it, but forget about the "learning is fun" concept. Not in this school.
It was an experience of fatigue and a low-quality life!

Many teachers do not want to be managed or held accountable.  This is the reason many schools are failing.  Our school was going to close due to years of failed state test scores.   When a school closes, the neighborhood and surrounding areas are often next to decay.  
The process of separating the disruptive students from the classroom allowed those who could excel focus and achieve higher test scores.  During this process the cream can rise to the top.  We have protocols for every situation.  The disruptive or troubled students are not just sent to the office.  They are given a chance to zoom into the class with headphones from a separate learning environment.  It is the future of learning.  They are still accountable to do the classwork but can no longer disrupt others.  
We definitely have our share of classroom management problems appearing daily and often predictably with the same students.  It is a difficult aspect of teaching in a city environment where the home life for many may not be ideal.  
Many students in our school were used to not doing work and just watching tv or playing on their cell phones the previous year or two during school hours.  Some would tell me how much fun it was last year because they were on their phones all day and did not have to do much schoolwork.  They were used to this and now we are snapping them back into reality and how the rest of the world attends school and behaves.  They are too young to take the initiative on their own and need structured direction.  
I took special pride in being able to communicate in Spanish to students who were only Spanish speaking.  My skills gave them a chance to communicate while learning English.  Since I am not a native Spanish speaker, some situations I would make a grammar or pronounciation mistake they would giggle and correct me.  They could feel like they won one with me even though I am the teacher.  

A typical day often involves balancing responsibilities across multiple campuses or programs while responding to ongoing operational issues and adapting to frequent organizational changes. Much of the work centers on coordinating communication between campuses, solving administrative challenges, and trying to maintain consistency while roles, staffing, and program structures shift around you.
One of the biggest lessons from working here is how important stable systems and clear communication are for any organization that operates across multiple campuses. Without those foundations, employees often end up spending more time reacting to structural challenges than focusing on the actual work they were hired to do.
Management decisions and restructuring can sometimes feel disconnected from the day-to-day realities staff are navigating. Positions are frequently eliminated or reassigned, but the responsibilities tied to those roles often remain and are redistributed among the remaining staff. Over time this can create workloads that become difficult to sustain.
The hardest part of the job is the constant instability created by staffing changes, restructuring, and shifting expectations. The most enjoyable part is working with students and collaborating with educators who genuinely care about helping them succeed.

Reflecting on my tenure at TF, I am compelled to provide an honest and balanced account of my experience. While there were certainly aspects of the school that had potential for growth and improvement, it's crucial to acknowledge the challenges posed by the toxic work environment.

At TF, I had the opportunity to engage with a diverse student body, each with their own unique strengths and areas for development. Despite the challenges within the school's culture, I remained committed to fostering a positive and supportive learning environment for my students. I utilized innovative teaching methods and tailored my approach to meet the individual needs of each student, striving to empower them to reach their full potential academically and personally.

However, it's important to address the systemic issues that hindered the effectiveness of my efforts. The toxic work environment, characterized by negativity, lack of collaboration, and ineffective leadership, presented significant obstacles to professional growth and job satisfaction. Despite my best efforts to remain focused on the needs of my students, the toxic culture often overshadowed the positive aspects of my teaching and work experience.

I believe that constructive feedback and open communication are essential for any organization to thrive, and unfortunately, these were sorely lacking at TF. There was a pervasive sense of mistrust and animosity among staff members, which hindered our ability to work together cohesively towards common goals. Additionally, the lack of support and resources further compounded the challenges faced by teachers, leading to feelings of frustration.

I worked here for a year and two months into the year, I knew I had made a mistake. I thought the pay seemed decent, what's the catch? Well, the catch is this is like working a teacher job while being harassed almost daily by management plus picking up an additional 15 hours of babysitting and an extra 20 hours for planning since you are given no resources and literally have to rely on Teachers Pay Teachers or whatever you can create on your own since you have no teacher manuals, textbooks, workbooks, or well any books. I felt like I had no energy for life outside of work.

There was like 1 window in the school period. My classroom had no door, so students sometimes would sneak out/in. Kids could be very rude due to everyone (teaching staff and students) hating the environment created by management who could care less. I thought I was going to a progressive, caring school; but it was more like a boot camp because of all the yelling from management directed towards the students about like shoe type or sock color. What a long year and a big lesson!

This place requires long work hours, longer than most teaching jobs. Yes, you will have to plan and grade no matter what, but here, you have to work beyond the "contracted hours" in the building on top of the other teacher duties you expect, you will be running the before and after school child care. They do not supply you with any storage other than a small work station, so you will be spending your own money getting storage and shelves for your classroom as well as teaching materials because they do not believe in even supplementing with programs. They expect you to create your own lessons on an awful computer that does not work well and I am sure is older than 5 years. The students get better machines than the teachers. Yes, the class sizes are small, but you will be recruiting students during your down time. The test scores are amazing and this is definitely attributed to amazing teachers. But they do not look at students as humans, they are numbers.

Part of the issue teachers have comes from the high performance culture and need to continuously improve. Seasoned educators have become accustomed to a lack of accountability which has taken a toll on student performance. This network holds teachers accountable just as a sales team is held accountable for their performance. If teachers are used to never seeing their administrators or being coached on improving their performance and instructional practices, how will students improve? Yes, it is a challenge and it’s not for those who don’t want to be told how improve. If you want to be alone in your classroom and never improve as a teacher then don’t apply here. If your goal is to help students improve and become successful, independent, critical thinking people then this is the place for you. The majority of Third Future’s student population comes from low income areas, we want to break that cycle for them so they overcome the circumstances that create a revolving door of poverty.  If that task is too much, it is not the place for you. 

Toxic culture. Constant criticism is masked as coaching. Lacks professional development and true training opportunities. For example, teachers are asked to create daily tests, with no training on how to do so. The CEO's vision is an admirable concept but poorly researched and executed. Learning and student engagement is stifled due to the model that incorporates SIOP strategies, but administration forces teachers to use them against how the research suggests they should be used. In fact, the "differentiation" of work is also not appropriately implemented when compared to the research. Seriously? Packets every day? Teachers standing by copy machines for hours at a time?

This company is flawed from the top down. To be clear, there are many great educators who work there, but they are given an insanely difficult job that is barely compensated with the above-avarege teaching salary. Hours are long, and inconsistent. At one time, the weekly start and end times were arbitrarily changed on Sunday night, to go into effect THE NEXT DAY with 0 input from those affected. Students in my classroom didn't even have chairs for the first 2 weeks of school, and other equipment and supplies I was told I would receive weren't ever ordered. The CEO is a class A narcissist, and has forced many great leaders out of the school for not complying with his way of thinking. Overall, this place needs a ground-up overhaul in how it operates, and the staff turnover at this job should make it clear how terrible a place to work this is. Don't work here.

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