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TNTP Teaching Fellows

Part of TNTP

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Basically a Scam - Anonymous employee TNTP Teaching Fellows Employee Review

1.0
Jun 29, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's a fast way to get your teaching certification and get into teaching. They attract an amazing cohort of fellows who come with interesting backgrounds, experiences, and stories. You would meet some amazing people at this program.

Cons

The program is basically a scam. The program gets income from two sources: government grants and sponsorship from charter school organizations. The charter schools also get government grants to run their summer school programs. You sign up to this program and give a charter school that you do not get to choose for weeks of free labor. They will work you like a dog. Expect a ten hour work day plus commute and frequently even homework. Don't think you'll get weekends off either. Some people have it significantly worse than others. If you signed up for a SPED certification that's more work. If they give you two lessons to teach per day, that's more work. How well you do in the program is almost completely random. You will be assigned a random grade to teach at a random charter school. Some schools have small class sizes (as little as 3 or 4) and some have huge class sizes (as much as 44 students in one classroom). Some schools have nice desks, clean white boards, and plenty of tech, others will have folding picnic tables, scratched white boards that don't erase, and whatever tech could be scrounged together at the last minute (and may not work). These differences are not taken into account when you are evaluated. Evaluations are also random. They happen on random days and at random times. The difference between passing and failing the program can come down to when your observer decides to walk in the room. They only stay for ten minutes and will grade you on parts of your lesson that they didn't observe. If you're trying to enter the field of education you probably already have an idea of what kind of teacher you want to be. You may have a vision of yourself as an educator based on the kind of educators that helped you as a child. TNTP does not care. They have a specific kind of teacher they want and expect to have a bad time if you want to go another way. If you want to see what kind of teacher they'll be making you go watch some videos from Uncommon Schools. Personally it looks like some kind of dystopian nightmare where students are replaced with robots.

Explore other reviews about TNTP Teaching Fellows

5.0
Jan 29, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

So Excited! Amazing opportunity to work and grow!

Cons

None at the moment at all!

5.0
Jun 28, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I entered this program with some prior teaching experience, but having never received any formal training and in need of a teaching certificate to move forward in my career. TNTP academy provided extremely practical, hands-on training that prepared me for success in my kindergarten classroom. The coaching and mentoring was excellent. I was given clear and specific advice and feedback and I was consistently challenged to do my best. I really enjoyed that, through my weekly classes, I became part of a network of peers. I learned so much just from talking with other teachers. I also enjoyed the emphasis on practice and self-reflection. Teachers are extremely busy and can easily become isolated, forgetting to take time out to examine what they are doing well and what they need to do differently. TNTP Academy provided the structure and support I needed to make sure that I was pushing myself, which ultimately benefited my students. I am very happy with my choice to enroll in TNTP Academy. I love my school and I love teaching kindergarten. I am really excited about this new stage of my career and I owe my success in large part to the training and support that I received through TNTP Academy.

Cons

This is a highly demanding program that requires a serious commitment. There is an expectation that teachers devote a significant amount of time to their planning, to their coursework, and to making their classroom highly effective in the first year. If you are able to embrace feedback and get comfortable with constructive criticism, then this is the program for you!

4
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