Teaching Lab reviews

2.9

39% would recommend to a friend

(25 total reviews)

33% positive business outlook

Teaching Lab has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 25 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Teaching Lab employee rating is 22% below average for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

25 reviews
1.0
Sep 13, 2022

Run Black Women!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The organization provides a flexible work environment and perks such as monthly technology reimbursements.

Cons

Be prepared for textbook examples of gaslighting. The culture of the Teaching Lab organization is extremely toxic. Gaslighting means you're being made to doubt your own feelings, thoughts, intuition, and judgment. In my multi-year long tenure at Teaching Lab, there is a palatable lack of trust between the executive team and the rest of the organization. While simultaneously lauding employees for being leaders in their respective fields, Teaching Lab puts little stock in what their employees can bring to the organization relying mostly on outward appearances of “ equity”. Additionally, speak up at your own risk. Speaking up about the organization and highlighting room for improvement will put your job in jeopardy. I and many of my colleagues were so saddened to see this play out over and over again. Openly asking for feedback, the executive team makes the majority if not all of their decisions without consulting folks across the organization who may be directly influenced or impacted by their decisions. The executive team expresses the desire to become an anti-racist organization and asserts that the organization is on a "journey" to become anti-racist while Black women employees leave in droves. If you were dazzled by the anti-racist rhetoric on the website don’t feel bad, they are good at talking the talk, but as far as walking the walk, I suggest you walk elsewhere. I caution anyone who decides to pursue a career at this organization to do your research. Take the time to reach out to current and former employees to inform your decision as I personally wouldn't recommend anyone I know to join this organization.

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Teaching Lab Response
3y
Thank you for acknowledging the ways we strive to provide the resources necessary for our team members to work in pursuit of educational equity and for sharing your perspective. At Teaching Lab, we value and strive to incorporate the perspectives and insights of our community members into the work we do in service of our commitments to racial justice and organizational development. We know that the work of learning how to live these commitments is never ending and yet we take seriously our responsibility to always be moving forward on our journey toward racial justice and liberation. At Teaching Lab, the next phase of this journey takes the shape of an organization-wide, community-driven racial justice initiative led by our People & Culture team. You can learn more about the principles and commitments to racial justice that guide our internal and external work here on our Teaching Lab website: https://www.teachinglab.org/equitycommitment. We are excited about the ways these next steps in our journey will allow us to embed our commitment to racial justice and our respect for the identities and humanity of our team members more fully into our work with our internal teams at Teaching Lab and our partners in the broader educational justice community.
1.0
Feb 12, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I have some wonderful colleagues who do seem to care however they are not in a position to make true change within this toxic environment.

Cons

The feedback from black women is crucial and must be taken seriously. Before considering joining the company, it's crucial to proceed with caution. Despite the company's claims of being anti-racist and valuing fairness and justice, it falls short of those ideals. C-Suite executives fail to communicate respectfully with staff, negatively impacting everyone's work experience. This lack of respect creates hesitancy among employees to speak up about issues or just to have a basic conversation that ties to their work due to fear of backlash. This raises the question: if this is how employees collectively feel, how does it disproportionately affect black women, and people of color? The company should prioritize learning how to respect employees before marketing the organization that is rooted in DEI and anti-racism efforts. True fairness in leadership goes beyond simply having a "diverse executive team"; it requires genuine understanding and care for all employees and ensuring your team is equipped with the right tools to effectively communicate and lead marginalized groups. Even with three women in executive positions, including two people of color, Teaching Lab still fails to prioritize its people. Rumors circulate about executives withholding crucial information from the CEO, which is concerning. As a CEO, being informed about the company's operations is vital for addressing issues proactively. This lack of transparency indicates deeper problems within the company and signals its decline. Management is ineffective. My Home manager is unsure of their responsibilities, leaving me to lead our weekly conversations. I'm hesitant to bring up issues with my manager due to interactions I've had and warnings from my teammates to stay away from HR. Moreover, there's a recurring theme suggesting that the HR mishandles investigations, potentially covering up problems from the CEO instead of resolving them. Last week, we received an update on a new policy, threatening disciplinary action for employees who didn't comply. What year is this? 1995? Any forward-thinking company would recognize that this use of terminology is outdated and doesn't bode well. Reviewing past experiences shared on Glassdoor and how Teaching Lab responds, it's evident that the company lacks accountability. I anticipate a defensive response to my review, as I've observed with others. So, to save the person who responds to Glassdoor some time, let me compile some of the previous replies from Teaching Lab: "Contrary to your perception, there is a widespread belief in the efficacy of this leadership structure and in personal agency at Teaching Lab: a recent Employee Engagement and Commitment survey found that 85% ............." "We know that the work of learning how to live these commitments is never-ending............." "Finally, our diverse team - including our CEO - are deeply, strategically, and practically committed to DEI........" "We invite you to explore the guiding principles and commitments to racial justice that shape our internal culture and external partnerships: www.teachinglab.org/equitycommitment..............." Do yourself a favor and don't respond to this review. Your responses are cringeworthy! More importantly, they confirm the toxic behavior providing current and previous employees on Glassdoor.

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Teaching Lab Response
2y
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. As you mentioned, information about Teaching Lab and our commitments to equity and leadership development are available in previous responses and through our company overview and website.
1.0
Oct 4, 2022

Just Say No

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The core team of educators are incredibly passionate and dedicated to improving the quality of education in America for children of color. They are interested and willing to discuss systems of oppression in education.

Cons

There are too many issues at Teaching Lab to document in this review and others have done a wonderful a job of summarizing the discrimination and poor treatment of women of color. I would include men of color as well! They are true, and I would not suggest any person of color join this company. Don’t let the diversity statement, the diverse leadership, or participation in restorative justice fool you. It’s toxic and deeply rooted in white supremacy culture. When I think about my short tenure at Teaching Lab, what makes me the most upset is how the senior leadership treated their team. I had unique access to all C-level employees and was consistently told how poor performing everyone was. Everyone was replaceable because it was easier to replace people than to train them. My decision to leave came after one particularly terrible conversation with a c-level leader who had been cruel, unreasonable, and unhelpful in the weeks leading up to my resignation. Mind you, I was about 90-days into my role and quickly feeling uneasy about one-on-one meetings with this leader. You never knew what mood they would be in and how they would judge your performance. Unpredictability in a manager is never good. When I tried to give this feedback in a compassionate and constructive manner, believing what I was told about an open culture of feedback and improvement, I was told it was me that was dismissive and underperforming. I filed my resignation the following morning. I told myself I would never be in another meeting with that leader, ever again. Upon sending the resignation I was told, “Well you have a lot of work to finish before your last day.” I, too, was replaceable! Did I do the work? Yes! Because I didn’t want to leave my team in a bind. The team I left at Teaching Lab was terrific and I still miss them. The mediocre money, the benefits, the working from home… none of it is worth that working environment. My advice: take another job.

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Teaching Lab Response
3y
Thank you for sharing your perspective and acknowledging the passion and commitment of our team and our organizational commitments to educational equity and racial justice. At Teaching Lab, we value and strive to incorporate the perspectives and insights of our community members into the work we do in service of these commitments. We know that the work of learning how to live these commitments is never ending and yet we take seriously our responsibility to always be moving forward on our journey toward racial justice and liberation. At Teaching Lab, the next phase of this journey takes the shape of an organization-wide, community-driven racial justice initiative led by our People & Culture team. You can learn more about the principles and commitments to racial justice that guide our internal and external work here on our Teaching Lab website: www.teachinglab.org/equitycommitment.
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Glassdoor has 30 Teaching Lab reviews submitted anonymously by Teaching Lab employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Teaching Lab is right for you.