Many administrators have little to no experience in the classroom, and it shows in teacher interactions. As a charter school, many teachers do not have certification to be a teacher, and you will be working with a lot of heart, but low professionalism. Also, because there is a lack of professionalism, I feel that (at least at my school), I’m micromanaged (turning in unit plans, weekly lesson plans, needing to take screenshots of convos with parents… ext) because of other’s lack of accountability.
If you work in SPED, you will be pressured to keep rigor high (which is awesome, but not always appropriate). For SPED teachers, you will be a “learning specialist”, and is is REALLY challenging to be treated as a “real” teacher by staff and students. At my school, there is a belief that students don’t need to be in an instructional setting as juniors/seniors…. which again the inclusion is awesome, but we fail students that struggle with basic math/reading skills. If you have strong SPED ethics, you will not thrive in this environment, and you will struggle between what is right for the student/expectations of the school.
Also, the school is managing a huge “culture” overhaul (Google Noble’s prepandemic policies). They are really struggling to be restorative AND accountable. The rules and expectations change so often that it is really challenging to know what exactly is expected as a student/teacher.
The nepotism and “friend of a friend” hiring that happens is sometimes damaging. I cannot speak for all schools, but previous teaching experience at my school is not seen as meaningful experience. The people who have worked there the longest have basically all the say. Which is often good, but sometimes a little toxic and unchecked when other people have good ideas. ☺️
