Pros
DREAMs small school sizes do create a strong adult culture. There is a mentality of “we’re in this together” present in the org which helps you on the hard days. There is also an interesting backstory which has created a real sense of community. Rich is quite media savvy which leads to a well resource and funded network. The buildings are beautiful. I found my school leadership team to be respectful and supportive, even if they’re often put in impossible situations. The kids are obviously why anyone enjoys teaching!
Cons
DREAMs first, second, and third priority is optics, NOT what’s best for the majority of students. This leads to lack of support for teachers and zero consequences throughout the network. For instance, DREAM tries to keep suspension rates artificially low in the name of “equity”. Unsafe student behaviors are often not addressed in any meaningful way. Teachers have been physically assaulted and little was done. In fact, the blame is put on the teacher for many of the situations, instead of the chaotic and unsafe environment the school has created from kinder up (elementary schoolers roaming the building which leads to lockdowns). However, you better believe kids are in uniform just in case an important person (with money) makes a visit. Optics. I can’t blame school leadership since this guidance comes from the network level who wants to flaunt these “low suspension rates”. This idea of optics above all else is present at all levels of the org. DREAM is incredibly quick to tout “100% of our students take AP courses”, which as an educator always was cringe. Not every kid is or should be AP material. This simply leads to many kids receiving material that’s too difficult for them instead of receiving the remediation that they need. Unsurprisingly, they’re way less quick to name the percentage of students that passed the AP test. This is similar with college acceptance where high school grades are heavily inflated (grading floors, no deadlines, modified assignments, grading limits so students don’t “dig themselves into a hole”, etc), but the skills of the students are nowhere near college ready. It’s a matter of time till DREAMs acceptance rates start to dry up after schools notice their attrition rates. All of this leads to incredibly high turnover amongst the instructional staff. I personally saw entire teams come and go during my time with DREAM. In turn, this leads to inexperienced school leadership teams that are ill prepared for the unsafe environment, and sadly as a result, this environment is perpetuated. Unless you are a master classroom manager stay away. I’m aware that these trends (PBiS, restorative conversations, unrealistic teacher expectations, etc) exist in education more broadly, but DREAM takes it to another level . Rich and Eve’s number one priority is expansion. More seats equals more money, especially if those seats include IEPs, They should focus on creating meaningful systems of supports for their population in the schools they already have.
