Pros
Great atmosphere with co-workers and students. You get to learn a lot if interested in pursuing a career in education. This job is very demanding, with a lot of stress, and little work/life balance, BUT if you make it through one year, you will come out prepared to work anywhere and confidence to take on anything.
Cons
The most disturbing part of working for these schools is the lack of good leadership and a set curriculum and routines. had the opportunity to work at different campuses and each one operates differently, with different schedules, different types of daily operations. chaotic at best. every campus functions differently. the assistant principals of operation (API) are supposed to manage teachers and instruct them in the curriculum, but they themselves seem to need help. with constantly changing curriculum strategies during the school year, it seems they have no IDEA on how to manage and stick with a curriculum that works. after years, it seems they are STILL trying to figure out how to manage and run the school.This causes a lot of stress and confusion among teachers and co-teachers. the pay is not that great, considering the amount of work you really put in, especially if you are hired as a co-teacher. You are paid salary with no overtime unless you tutor (which you have no say so). a co-teacher is far different from a teacher assistant with regular public schools, which some pay you hourly at a decent rate with great overtime, and you don't do half the work you do working as a co-teacher. seems co-teachers are the "hard workers" since they are used for everything. As they put it "you work for IDEA, you know what you were signing up for", don't know if these words are supposed to inspire you or demean you.Everyone gets 30 minute lunch, pick duties are a MUST for everyone, especially co-teachers. Teacher turnover is the worst I've seen in years. Every year they need to train and hire new teachers and co-teachers. The majority of teachers don't stay for more than 2 years. Overall, it's a great place to start off your teaching career, but not a place you want to be at for more than 2 years. There are better opportunities in other districts, which seems why many teachers leave.