high school teacher

teacher

elementary school teacher

school teacher

office manager

Uncommon-Schools

This network dupes, brainwashes, and breaks young graduates with no teaching experience by touting their amazing culture and "results." (btw, the method seems effective in driving "student achievement" until you look into how they cherry-pick students by filtering out students with special needs, and how the entire selection process excludes students without parental involvement de-facto; and of course, the parental involvement is a huge driver of their "success.") Teachers usually work about 60 hours a week - so while the salary seems great on paper, the hourly rate is really not great once you do the math. As others have mentioned, work-life balance is virtually impossible because of the "do whatever it takes" mentality, which both coerces and denies teachers the ability to perform the self-care that is absolutely necessary for a job like this. IN addition to impossible work-life balance, admin is constantly on your case, and the days are ultra-stressful with Big Brother always watching and true breaks nonexistent. I never went a day without seeing at least one teacher sobbing.

This role is particularly bad for those who really, really love children because of the discipline policy. Enforcing the militaristic discipline and behavior policy is crushing (no talking at lunch, no recess, no noise of any kind while the teacher talks).... I was observing lessons once in kindergarten classroom. A student literally *coughed* while the teacher was talking; she self-interrupted (stopped talking immediately), slowly pivoted to GLARE at this 5-year old, and then slowly pointed to the corner. The 5-year-old silently got up and stood in the corner facing the wall for the entirety of the remaining lesson, which was 25 minutes. The student was still standing silently in the corner when I left the observation. The student was 5. The student was punished for coughing ("not remaining silent"). 

It's also bad if you have a genuine interest in teaching, since you will literally be given a SCRIPT to memorize for each lesson which must be delivered verbatim (this happens the entire first year until you begin to participate in lesson-writing; even then, you still must memorize and deliver pre-approved lessons verbatim.)

Finally - the organization is led by white admin and teachers who almost ALL have a "white savior complex" and view these kids as needing to be "saved" -- by doing "whatever it takes" -- by enforcing a top-down militaristic disciplinary policy which is rooted in the inherently racist belief that these kids need so much structure because they're incapable of any form of independent learning. Sorry, but I don't want to treat kids like they're dogs in obedience school.

Thank u, Next.

Because working here had such a negative impact I did/ do not want to relive it.

I’m going to make this short. 
Our contract states that we begin at 7 am but we had a daily meeting at 650 am. We do not get lunch breaks, we stand and eat and we monitor the kids eating, making sure they don’t speak, elbows on the table, feet flat and backs straight.

Admin will say you can eat during “preps” but what if you have early preps or one early and one at the end? 
Either way, your preps will most likely have you walking around and ... you know, prepping, looking into closets for materials, making copies (this school doesn’t use text books or workbooks), basically you’re always on the move. Therefore, you’re still standing and eating. 
Students must sit in “star” all day and if you don’t reinforce by giving checks or dropping praise (and checks) you will receive an email.

I worked from 6 am to 6:30-7 and I would come in on the weekends often. However, by contract you can leave at 5 pm. It was rare to see anyone leave at 5.

Whenever we had staff issues like someone quit or admin heard rumors that we weren’t happy they would call a meeting and have us realign with our mission lol. They believe their methods help close the achievement gap. I believe there’s a great possibility that these methods hinder the future of the students because, they don’t have recess so don’t socialize (development of social problem solving skills)there’s no talking in class unless a teacher asks you to turn and talk, lunch talk is earned, and it’s a lot of recall and repetition and not critical thinking questions and discussions. 

My school in particular was full of dedicated and talented teachers with a strong belief in making a difference. I think a restructuring of the delivery of academics as well as the work/ teacher culture needs to change. 

I definitely learned what I don’t ever want to do again. I also learned about routines and management and how to make that part of classroom culture and reinforce it and reset it, etc.  When I applied for this job I read all the terrible reviews, thought it must of been new teachers who couldn’t handle teaching, but I was wrong. 

Worst experience of my teaching life. :( 
I also, would not eliminate this experience from my life and I don’t regret working there. 

But you’ve been warned.

I’ve worked here for several years but had to make the decision to leave after years of being stressed and over worked. Love the children and the mission however it’s too much responsibility but on too few people. There is no flexibility at all on the expectations even when you are understaffed and the stress trickles down. The leadership team that is supposed to be aligned and supportive during difficult times are not. Everyone works in a bubble and then finds the most vulnerable person to push blame to when things don’t go well without offering any help - just judgment and a vibe of elitism. I pushed through so hard because I loved the work I was doing but it started to impact my mental and physical health to the point where I just had to walk away even without a new job lined up. Like I said, I pushed through for yearrrrs because I was made to believe that everything would get better if I just pushed myself harder and harder but that just made things worse for me. Getting up in the morning and deciding to go to work was mentally torturing and I know I deserve better. 

The salary and professional development and organization was top tier and is what they use to keep people but then when the data shows overall that all employees are unhappy and overworked, including leaders, leaders are still told they need to somehow make the environment “joyful” for teachers. I’m also an empath who feels all the emotions around me and just felt helpless and powerless hearing the concerns and complaints around me. I wanted to do better and do more for my staff but I was being done wrong on so many levels. 

Would recommend for anyone young and early in their careers for a few years to make the money and learn the skills but then make sure you make the decision to leave when your gut tells you something is wrong and you need to leave. They do not listen or implement any constructive feedback at all although they claim to really care about it.  

This is a Business, not about Educating Students or creating a great environment for teachers and students. Everything is scripted  which takes the joy out of teaching. the students can't be themselves they are met with resistance at every turn and dear I say it policed. MY students told me they felt like they were in prison. Teachers are not respected,  we have to internalize lessons that are already created and most of the times the lessons do not make any sense,  there are gaps in the materials and the kids don't get a full grasp of the material. I would come in at 6:45 am and leave after 5pm, there was no work/life balance we had demands that would need to be met where we would have to do work in the evenings and on the weekends. The school would also use this ridiculous curve system that passed the kids which made them not even try, because they knew that they didn't have to rely on their real grade but the grade that was fixed. Teachers had to participate in what we called teachers detention which consisted of us going into a classroom and we would have to get in front of our peers and practice our teacher moves and lessons. we had to video record lessons to submit and get feedback, oh and everything was our faults. the turnover rate is abysmal, from September to December around 8 or 9 teachers quit, and when that happens the remaining teachers are required to sub those classes, get materials for those classes and somehow take on more work on top of their work. The Principle and admin didn't respect us, the deans held more power than teachers and we were just the help. I wouldn't recommend this place to new teachers, I was going to leave this profession but decided to go to public school as I am certified. 

You can expect to build strong relationship with your students and coworkers. You will find the work rewarding and learn more about disadvantaged students.

The salary itself isn’t bad, but expect to work at least 45+ per week in the school  building and also expect to bring work home with you during the weekend (This happens very often, especially being a classroom teacher or being in leadership). 
You’re also expected to stay past your scheduled hours at times. 
30-33 students per classroom has been the norm, sometimes teaching by yourself if your co teacher is in a meeting or there is no coverage. You also don’t get a real lunch break in the day,  just when you have some time in the schedule. Most teachers eat lunch when the students eat, this takes place in the classrooms.
The biggest thing I experience is that Uncommon wants to be culture responsive, but they struggle to make this happens effectively. The network tells teachers how to incorporate culturally responsive teacher while the same people telling you to do it have never taught in a classroom with 30+ black and brown kids. 
The HR department has become very discriminatory in situations. Turnover rates are extremely high, you will notice many teachers quit throughout the year and at the end of the school year. Worse of all, the kids are not treated great. They barely get breaks or recess, lunch is very short, the lunch itself isn’t very good, and they are expected to be there as early as 7:15am until 3 or after in some cases. Honestly, it’s an okay place to work if you’re trying to get your feet wet but it’s not really a good place to work, especially if mental health is important. It truly is a very stressful work environment, days are so long. 

I initially came to Uncommon looking for opportunities to grow as a teacher but I have stayed for the passed few years because of the extremely meaningful work I have been able to contribute to. Not only does Uncommon Schools provide some of the highest quality professional development in the country, their school leaders are committed to fostering that growth consistently throughout the year to ensure excellence is achieved in a short period of time. Their mission is to provide the highest quality instruction to historically underserved communities in order to close the achievement gap and open the door to future opportunities that all students deserve regardless of race or socio-economic status. They believe that this mission begins with high quality instruction and every professional development session, observation, and evaluation is designed to support their teachers in reaching this goal.

If you have a child(ren) please look the other way! Your tasks will be so long that you won’t ever catch-up to the next task given to you by the following week. Then the expectation is to complete all task by deadline and this is when the expectation is for you to stay extra hours to make sure you complete the task by deadline! This job is a 5 person job but 1 person is completing it and this was obvious but when the DOO stated this it’s just confirmed I wasn’t going crazy! Then, let’s not get started on the additional  responsibilities of being technology savvy and catering to the teachers every need even when it’s something they can do themselves. Oh and fun fact we are Janitorial workers as well...  all the while the DOO delegates from their desks and micromanage you with every task given to you! This job isn’t for everyone and it wasn’t for me! I thought so highly of this school at one point and once I walked into the position I was suffocated with so many task and micromanaged! I never in my life had 4 “supervisory meetings” (micromanage meetings) that went from 1 to 5 hours in just 1 week! This wasn’t a healthy environment for me and knew this in just only a couple days into the position. Don’t get me wrong this job is for someone that doesn’t mind the tasks overload that never ends and being micromanaged every step of the way! However, I must say if you feel overwhelmed and overworked there are colleagues who will be right there to support you with kind words and wisdom. I write this from my own experience and understand that your experience can be different from mine! 

A typical day would begin around 7am, where you have an arrival post. You would then have to attend advisory (co-run with another teacher) and consists of a highly structured time where you reinforce school rules and give a group of about 16 students school announcements. Throughout the day you teach about 4 classes, have about 2 weekly meetings with a coach, have multiple coverages duties during free periods and after school. 
As a teacher, you have tons on your plate as it is, but this network does not put the well-being of it's staff first as they put entirely too much work on a single person without giving enough time to be successful at any given task. 
Administration tends to be condescending toward teachers and often give constructive criticism without anything affirmative to say.
Staff has a weekly professional development which is helpful, but often redundant. This causes staff to be disgruntled and disinterested, as they normally have a lot of do at any given moment. 
The hardest part of the job is not only the long hours, but meeting the expectations set by administration while also trying to manage and improve your craft as a teacher. Co-workers are cordial with one another, but there isn't necessarily a sense of family among staff because that time isn't built into the calendar year. 
The most enjoyable part if the definitely the kids. They're genuinely good children that have the best intentions and are highly capable academically and socially.

Teachers are expected to uphold an unsustainable workload. The leadership team is all new this year and every day prove to be more and more incompetent. They constantly throw negative feedback at teachers regardless of performance but never ask teachers for feedback in return and operate solely in a bubble of delusion. Principal and DOO are completely out of touch. The discipline system has ZERO accountability for students that prove time and time again to be a danger to our school community. Students know they can pretty much get away with anything and have NO respect for teachers or staff. They pride themselves on "to and through" college but realistically do not give students the skills they need to thrive in college and typically have to drop out which saddens me deeply. The elementary and middle schools curve scores and pass kids through that should NOT be advancing and it leads to high schoolers that only have a fraction of prerequisite knowledge needed for their classes, then blame the high school teachers for not being adequate when in reality they're blindly tasked with catching these kids up from years of dishonest grading. No support for the arts, absolutely no outlets for kids so they act up. The school is an absolute revolving door for teachers, and all the long-time returners are being driven out by the incompetent new principal and DOO. We spend countless hours in absolutely useless PD. I'm pretty sure students actually learning is the last priority here. 

Uncommon… the staff are great, the Higher up Team are amazing,  Great Culture. Everyone is Super helpful and very available. Additionally, the students are the magic of the job. However, Uncommon’s flaws run much deeper than any worker in the building. One- too much is placed on teachers, I can count the days I’ve actually had time to eat lunch or a snack before the end of the day. They are constantly asking you for more- when staff already give so much. Then when staff can’t find the time, it’s  “well how about during your prep” instead of thinking about the depth of the workload. There’s countless meetings, some of them only being 15-20 minutes which doesn’t seem like a bad thing but when you’ve been at school since 7am and had not one prep by yourself because a push for small group instruction or other to-do’s, a meeting at 4:30 for fifteen minutes is very intolerable. They constantly stress filling “bit sized gaps” amongst student education however, when you give your teacher 20 bite sized gaps to fill in a week, it is actually counterproductive. Additionally, they refuse to believe that the model may not be applicable to All scholars. They genuinely want what’s best for their scholars, i do believe this 100%, but they will never find longevity in their teachers so long as they continue to work them until burn out. Teachers cannot perform to their best degree because there is no room for sustainability.

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Office manager 21 salaries reported	$25.11 per hour

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