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      Achievement First

      Engaged Employer

      Achievement First reviews

      3.0

      35% would recommend to a friend

      (999 total reviews)
      avatar

      Fatimah Barker

      39% approve of CEO

      21% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Achievement First has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 999 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average 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
      5.0
      Jun 8, 2017

      Rewarding and demanding

      Teacher
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I'm finishing my fifth year at an Achievement First Middle School. I came to AF after mixed results teaching in a district ran school and a different charter school. My first year at AF was powerful--because of the systems at my school, I was able to get closer to my goal of providing every student with an excellent education. Previously, I was able to serve kids that were invested in school, but I struggled to reach kids that seemed uninterested and/or misbehaved consistently. I realized, though, that it wasn't the systems themselves that helped me, but the team of teachers I worked with that prioritized our collective vision rather than their individual classrooms. I recently attended the "high school senior signing day" for the 8th graders I taught five years ago and it was extremely rewarding to learn which colleges they would be attending in the fall: UPENN, Carleton, Colombia, Lafayette, Skidmore, etc. I believe AF is truly expanding the life opportunities for almost every student in our schools and am proud to be part of this team. On a more personal note, I feel like my coach at AF has helped me significantly improve each year. I feel fortunate to have a job where I am improving each day.

      Cons

      I love this work and it has become all consuming at times. I regularly put in much more than 60 hour work weeks. There have been times where the amount of work I have on my plate has been stressful and I have struggled to give my family the time I want to give them. Another significant stress agent is the irregular schedules my school frequently has. Our days are long, 7:15-4:15, and irregular schedules for events such as interim assessments can lead to me having fewer much cherished preparation blocks.

      avatar
      Achievement First Response
      8y
      Thanks for your positive and kind feedback. It’s great to hear that both the systems and collaboration at your school led to academic gains for your kids. We believe in our bones that this work is only possible if we all row together. In regards to your point about more extracurricular activities, we definitely agree that our scholars need to spend time exploring their passions and skills outside the classroom. If you haven’t already, you should check out our Greenfield Model. At each Greenfield school, scholars have enrichment classes twice a day, and then also engage in expeditions a few times throughout the year. These expeditions get scholars out of the classroom and into the community to engage in various learning projects. We’re proud of the work we’ve done with Greenfield and are excited to build upon that throughout the rest of the network. Thanks again for taking the time to review us and best of luck with the start of the school year. -Tom Kaiser, Chief Talent Officer
      4.0
      Jun 7, 2017

      5 years at AF

      Teacher
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I worked in the restaurant business for 10 years before making the transition to teaching and one of the things that I value most about AF is that nowhere else have I found such a group of passionate and committed individuals. It is difficult work, but incredibly inspiring to be a part of such a movement. Furthermore, I have grown tremendously due to the coaching and support I've received. I doubt I would be the teacher I am today if I had started my career somewhere else.

      Cons

      As others have said, the work is pretty consuming. Only in my fifth year have I developed some work/life balance, but I did not join this work or school because I knew it would be easy but because it would be hard. Still, there are some things that the network could do to make it more sustainable.

      5.0
      Jun 7, 2017

      AF

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      -Strong belief in ALL children succeeding -Accepts all children regardless of disability a good education -Strives to give every child a good education -Coaches are great thought partners - Your job matters a ton, so give it 100% daily -Consistent staff development and PD -Tons of resources available within the network -Passionate team members -The families and children are amazing

      Cons

      -Work-life balance can be a challenge because you want to make sure you are always doing the best for your students

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