Pros
Working in my childhood neighborhood and serving my local community was such an honor. The issues our communities face when it comes to poverty and crime are prevalent, but are not impossible to resolve. Working with children provided me such a great experience. I made genuine connections with my students and I truly believe I was able to leave a positive impact on them. Being a positive influence on individuals at a young age can make a difference in the future development of our workforce and community as a whole.
Cons
Working in a school setting brings challenges I was not aware of. I'm accustomed to working in predominantly male settings, so working in a predominantly female setting made me realize that one cannot develop such close bonds with students without parents and families taking up issue it. Also, Voices as whole is very disorganized and focuses on numbers rather than the well-being of their children. This is an issue that comes from the top. Teachers and staff, in general, really do care about their children and want the best for them, but Voices inhibits its employees from doing this. There are number-oriented goals that one must reach and in doing so, leaves some students behind, when in reality, we should focus on our troubled/at-risk students. Communication and transparency are also not "important" to higher ups, so don't be surprised when you are constantly being left out of the loop. Good luck trying to answer families' questions. Like I said, I do it for the kids.