Pros
I would say work from home, but because of this "perk" you are excessively micromanaged.
Cons
Admin - provide no support and are looking for ways to fire teachers rather than encourage and support. You would think with the amount of teacher turnover, they would be trying to keep good teachers. Content admin especially are people who think they carry more power than they do and are out to get teachers. Pay - significantly lower and does not account for advanced degrees. Other charter schools make their salary schedules public, but GCA does not. If you are Master's educated, prepare to have a salary in the 40,000 range. Classes - I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but in the elementary grades, reading and writing are taught in one class. That means you are responsible for teaching 2 subjects to fidelity in a 45 minute class period. Math is also only 45 minutes while Science and Social Studies are also 45 minutes. It is very unbalanced. ELA and Math teachers are held to very high standards but do not have the time to teach the standards effectively. You also are given 5 class periods with an average of 20 students per class. So, that is about 100 students that you are responsible for teaching, differentiating instruction for, tracking data, etc. but you are only give 45 minutes with them a day. It is truly laughable and goes against all educational research. Tasks - There is a task list that is used that has an average of 30 tasks to complete each week. And if you don't complete them, no assistance is provided. You will instead get an email from your supervisor threatening consequences. Don't forget, you will teach 5 45 minutes classes a day, a 20 minute homeroom, and have meetings during your planning periods. But you also have to complete an insane amount of "tasks", lesson plan, reach out to parents, grade for 100+ students, and know your 100+ students levels and abilities at the drop of a hat. Meetings - Every planning period will be filled with meetings. What are the meetings about? The task list first of all. Yes, you will be in multiple meetings about what you need to do instead of giving you time to complete the tasks. Then, you will meet about data. Every. Single. Week. You will "dive into the data" to only come up with the same solution every week: we need more time with less students. We can't do our jobs in the set parameters. But, you won't be able to say that. You instead will have to fill out a super cute organizer with the plan you are have created in 5 minutes to fix all of your students' problems. Lesson Plans - The lesson plans for your 45 minute classes have to be planned using the gradual release model EVERY SINGLE DAY complete with what you will say to check for understanding in between tasks and the check for understanding can't be the same every day. You will get comments on your lesson plans about your instructional planning if you aren't doing/saying something new and different every day. ELA teachers are told to teach one standard a day.........but have to teach two subjects. They do not believe in integrated standards. But, there are tests every 6 weeks on all of the standards. Navigating this will literally make your head spin. Also, if they come to observe you (which you never know will happen because classes are recorded) and you aren't following your lesson plan to a T, watch out! Your TKES observation will be in the toilet. There is no room for spontaneity or fun teachable moments. Literally all of the fun is sucked out of teaching at GCA. This job is mentally and emotionally draining. You have to stay one step ahead of admin at all times so you aren't caught and punished for their perceived infractions. I am not kidding, when I tell you to run as far away as possible from this school. Everyone thought this year would be better than the last and it has somehow only gotten worse. Nothing will change.
