Pros
I enjoyed my experience being employed with Lightbridge Academy - Virginia Beach. The people who were hired at the beginning (those who are still there) actually care about the place and work hard -- they do their job. Admin staff shows that they care by allowing us to speak to them and express our concerns. They showed support to staff members who were going to school by allowing job flexibility with hours. The owners, Jane and Neil, also show that they care about their staff and do try their best to lend a helping hand. I loved being able to write my own lesson plans. A curriculum is provided, as well as ideas for those who can't always think right on the spot. Additionally, admin and owners tried to set up thematic events throughout the year such as having a magician or the fire department come to visit. Establishing rapport with parents and the children came easy as well because a lot of parents wanted to be involved with the classroom.
Cons
Unfortunately, after 6 months into my employment, LBA became understaffed. We were no longer teaching but rather just "babysitting". It became harder to teach according to the lesson plan or even teach at all because it became more about managing behavior. When we would express concerns to admin, although they heard us out, it felt as if nothing was being done. There was never a set guideline on what to do when we had a biter versus a bitee. For benefits as a full-time employee, while I didn't need health insurance, many of my coworkers did; therefore, I want to disclose that health insurance is not yet provided because not enough staff signed up for it. Additionally, there wasn't a set guideline on behaviors when a child hit a teacher. We would write incident and accident reports constantly but nothing was done until months after the child's behavior occurred. Furthermore, due to understaffing issues, teachers (both assistant and lead) were constantly pulled out of their classrooms to assist with ratios. While flexibility is expected of a teacher, as well as being a team player, it contradicted the admins' promise to newly registered parents about consistency in the classroom. Teachers were constantly changed and involuntarily assigned to new classrooms after already establishing rapport with the parents in one age group as well as the children in that classroom. When classroom leads changed, behaviors evolved -- which was to be expected with classroom inconsistency. Another con is disorganization. School events were schedule last-minute; therefore, it caused inadequate preparation for the teachers as well as for any parents involved in the event. Classroom supplies weren't always ordered in a timely fashion even when supply lists were given on the provided due date. So when teachers went to implement their lesson plans, teachers would have to pay out of pocket for supplies. Sometimes the owners requested the receipts to reimburse but it still was an inconvenience when it's expected of the admin to order the supplies. Additionally, snacks always ran out so the menu wasn't always followed which parents expressed concerns to us. We would repeatedly express this to admin and snacks were still only ordered when it was convenient for them. With staffing, it seemed that some coworkers were hired due to desperation. I say this because these specific coworkers would not watch the children. They wouldn't clean or do as they were asked. They'd consistently come in with an attitude that would sometimes put children at risk because the teacher wouldn't want to watch specific children, i.e. a biter or a "clingy" child. When expressed to the admin about the "lazy" coworker, it would take a while before anything was done. The work climate also changed from people being enthusiastic to work and assist others in gossiping and being lazy. Not all coworkers -- but it still made the work environment not something I wanted to be in anymore. Another witnessed experience is that when workers would try to help out parents, there was a double standard set -- despite a book written by the founder stating that it's encouraged for staff to go to infinity and beyond to establish a "circle of care" with our families. Additionally, favoritism and nepotism played a lot in the work environment. It's a shame because I went from loving this place to not wanting to go to work any more.