Pros
I came to FLVS because I wanted something different out of a career in Education than what the traditional setting was providing. I've stayed for several years because I found it at FLVS. I actually like that we are highly accountable to each other and to student success. Teachers and administrators in a traditional school can simply let that kid in the back of the room put his head down and sleep through class. (They get full funding for that student whether he sleeps or learns.) FLVS only gets funded for working with a student if that student learns. And here's the thing: that's much, much harder than letting him sleep. When I was a traditional school teacher, I did everything I could to get every student engaged and excited about learning. But I knew for certain that there were teachers all over my school with tenure and double my salary who let them sleep. I appreciate that for as long as I've worked at FLVS, I've known that that kind of disparity in teacher quality was not going on here. FLVS is different because no one--from teachers to ILs to the CEO--can let anyone sleep in class. Our way of work depends on everyone being fully invested in students actually learning. It's definitely not easy, but, for me at least, it's worth it.
Cons
Budget uncertainty every year. Everything in the organization is completely dependent on state funding decisions out of Tallahassee.
