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
4.0
Sep 10, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The team of people working toward the same mission of sending all of their students to and thru college is amazing. Also, the professional development and leadership opportunities will prepare you for ANYTHING in your future.

Cons

The long days and lack of flexibility about time off can make it difficult to make this network a sustainable place to work.

5.0
Sep 5, 2016

Middle school teacher

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Achievement First strives to close the achievement gap. Teacher receive consistent feedback from their academic coaches, and have opportunities for weekly professional development. Achievement First schools maintain a joyful and rigorous culture both for educators and for students.

Cons

The hours are significantly longer than that of a traditional public school, so maintaining a strong work/life balance can be challenging.

5.0
Aug 21, 2016

AF - All about the people

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I love coming to work because the people around me are super positive and are all working together for the kids. I am rarely frustrated with a colleague and when I am I can always go to them to work it out (other places that I worked in had an adult culture similar to cliques in high school). At AF we actively work to create a strong adult culture at a school level and I have grown a lot as a teammate here. I also feel extremely supported. I have gotten weekly coaching from a committed coach for seven years -- and over time I've been given the freedom to direct what my coaching looks like and take more ownership around my development. I've grown outside of the classroom as well, as a result of being at AF. After getting encourage from our school's leadership team, a group of teachers at my school formed a white, anti-racist affinity group. Many schools ignore the racial difference between teachers and the children that they serve but at my school we are open and actively seeking to explore and grow in this area. Finally, I feel like I've built a career here. I make a much higher salary then I ever dreamed due to the Teach Career Pathway evaluation system, in which stage 5 teachers make salaries in the six figures.

Cons

With the level of support also comes a really high level of accountability. I am held to a very high standard and often the practice for how to get to that standard changes from year to year. AF is constantly looking for best practices and growing. There's a downside there - the lesson plan structure that we are expected to master has changed virtually every year I have been here. Also the network determines and writes all the curriculum. This is a huge plus for newer teachers, but for teachers who have been teaching for a while and may want to experiment or write their own curriculum it is restrictive. That being said my administration has been open to modifications depending on the teacher asking.

Viewing 400 - 402 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.