Achievement First reviews

3.1

35% would recommend to a friend

(999 total reviews)
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Fatimah Barker

39% approve of CEO

21% positive business outlook

Achievement First has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 999 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Achievement First employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

999 reviews
2.0
Nov 22, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Trial by fire. Great if you want to learn quick.

Cons

AF was a total mess. I had 0 teaching experience and was full classroom teaching by the second month. That would be fine if a little grace was afforded… however, it was not. My coach was fluent in professional passive aggressiveness. Teach like a champion is the gospel and zero tolerance is eyeroll inducing. Place is a pressure cooker off stress. I left and have been at the same charter, so it did get me in the door. Be very careful though, they only care about test scores.

1.0
Nov 14, 2021

Toxic and bullying culture

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Organization built on good intention. Mission-driven people (although they won't stick around too long)

Cons

Toxic work culture. I joined during the pandemic, so I never got a chance to meet the team in person. You would think that the toxicity won't show when you're working remotely, but I thought wrong -- it is even worse than being in the office. I can't speak for other teams, but the team I was in was toxic and managers gossip all the time, it was the main reason I decided to leave. Not only managers call you 24/7 to get you do things and clean up after their mess, but also they constantly gossip about team member (and you'd wonder when you're going to be the next target) AND candidates for a position. It really bothered me how phony and cruel a manager/director/team lead can be, when they're not even willing to have 1:1 open discussion to deal with any team issues. The team hierarchy is extremely intense, you won't get any direct feedback from your team lead if you're not reporting directly to that person. Most people I worked with were smart and kind. But the managerial people are work you to the bone, have no boundary, gaslight you, and never motivate you or give you constructive feedback. I was told by my manager that I was a "racist" and "unprofessional" many times -- which shocked me and made me cry multiple times. I joined AF even if the salary was lower than market average because the mission and values align with mine and I really wanted to work with like-minded people, but this organization is internally really messy and extremely disappointing.

Viewing 310 - 312 of 999 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,021 Achievement First reviews submitted anonymously by Achievement First employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Achievement First is right for you.