Pros
I worked for Achievement First East New York Middle School for 2 years and there are so many wonderful things I can say about this network.
#1. The passion to close the gap in the education system in low income communities clearly shows in the way they push teachers to be their ultimate best for their students. There are multiple workshops teachers attend to practice in front of their peers and receive feedback. I found that incredibly helpful and it is the reason why I constantly improved in the classroom.
#2. Teachers in this network have immense love for their students and they go above an beyond to make their students feel empowered. I can only speak for ENYMS and I have seen teachers stay back until 9pm to decorate the school for events (halloween, Valentine's day..etc). I have met teachers who have spent money from their own pockets to buy snacks, pencils, stickers, and other goodies for students on State exam week. I have witnessed my dean dressed in a banana suit just to crack a smile on their faces. I have seen everyone on staff come together in the name of a tragic event and game planned on how to support that scholar who is going through a downfall. I have never seen a staff so loving of their students ever and I was honored to be a part of that.
#3. Achievement First's curriculum definitely challenges students to think critically and analytically. As a science teacher it was very interesting to see that AF leaned more towards students gathering their data by performing experiments and pushing kids to come up with a conclusion on their own. Scholars built roller coasters to explore the concept of kinetic and potential energy, they made their own medal detectors to learn about magnetic fields, we utilized motion sensors to differentiate the difference between speed, velocity, and acceleration and the list continues.
I strongly believe the combination of the use of advanced technology, the level of rigorous lessons provided to students and incorporating the method of teachers acting as facilitators in their learning rather than lecturers are very powerful tools to equip our scholars with analytical and critical skills.
#4. AF have a thing called 'Community Circle' every Friday and that is a time for kids to display their talent (talent shows), highlight kids for their academic growths on IA / State exams, to have friendly competition with other schools, students, and teacher in reading challenges, and its also a time for students to learn what is currently happening in the world politically and socially.
#5. Working in this network not only creates a fun space for students but it also creates a happy fun space for teachers to express themselves in front of kids. (ex. dress up days)
#6. I also enjoyed the fact that I not only got to teach my students but I got the privilege to mentor kids and build relationships with them and their families. Although I no longer work for AF, I still keep in contact with my students and their families. This would not have happened had AF not cared about family/ teacher relationship building.
Cons
The only thing I can say was tough for me was balancing my personal life and this very demanding work schedule. Working for this network is not your typical 9-5.
