Tilden Prep Marin is one of the best places I have worked
Pros
I have been working at Tilden Preparatory Marin since it opened its campus in Sausalito in summer of 2017. I have read the other reviews about the campuses in Albany and Walnut Creek, and, while I have never worked at either of those places, I can say that the negatives mentioned in several of the reviews are not applicable to our campus in Marin. Since our campus opened, the Director and founding teachers have tried to foster a very welcoming and supportive atmosphere here, and this positive culture continues even today. I always feel that I can bring up any concerns or questions to management without fear of retaliation, and their Open Door Policy is literally that: if their door is open, they are available to talk. The Director and Head of School also are very involved with the everyday functions within the school. One can always find them walking around, asking students how they're doing, and checking in with faculty, even during lunchtime. It's not done in a micro-managing way either; you can tell that they are definitely emotionally invested in the students' and faculty's well-being. As for hours, I have never worked less than 20 hours a week here, and, within the past year, I have not dipped below 30. The Director ensures that we do not end up with gaps in our schedule. If we do, it's usually for a reason beyond their control (a student gets sick and has a leave of absence, or a student finishes their course and there isn't another student at that moment that can fill in). When we do have a gap, management is always apologetic and tries to fill it as soon as possible. I have known them to even turn parents away for that moment if we don't have an available teacher, rather than over-hiring and leaving the existing teachers with more and more gaps as students finish/leave. The administration, after working out a few kinks in the beginning regarding turnover and some personality clashes, is now running like a pretty well-oiled machine. They are also available to answer my questions if I have any (at least, the ones that they can answer. If they cannot, they refer me to Management). Bottom line: Management and admin are friendly, approachable, and have our well-being in mind. I rarely hear lip-service from them; everything they say and do is backed up by them actually following through. I never have to worry about office politics, or not being accepted for who I am, and I can almost guarantee that the rest of the faculty here feel the same. Anything we need to further assist students, management and admin will absolutely provide it, whether that be supplemental materials, better ergonomics for one's desk space, or even caterpillars to rear! The building that we are in is spacious, beautiful, and modern. It is located right on the Sausalito Harbor, so we can take walks with students in a gorgeous setting. Science teachers can take their students out for activities that utilize the natural space, and other teachers can just take breaks while laying out on the benches and docks in the sun. Within the school, we all have our own desks. Most of the "founding/senior" teachers have larger desk areas which have cabinets and plenty of space. The cubicles which are provided for newer teachers, while smaller, are still nice enough, and have enough space for them to at least not feel cramped. Admin also provides the teachers in those spaces with any organizational things they may need, and every teacher here decorates their space with things that reflect their interests. Many of us have brought plants to decorate the school, and have donated books for our little library. We have all tried very hard to make this place feel like a "home away from home" and I think we have been pretty successful. I get along with all of my coworkers here, and, on the rare occasions where I might have gotten into a disagreement with someone, we have smoothed it over and resolved it without having to escalate it further. I feel respected here, and have not noticed any cliques forming, or anyone being left out or isolated. Many of us hang out after work and grab drinks or dinner. Some of us have even hung out on weekends. I consider many people here to be friends, and not just coworkers. Not to be dramatic, but this is the least toxic and most supportive and friendly environment I have ever worked in, and many of my coworkers have said the same. The teaching model is something that I really enjoy; I can really get to know students on a 1x1 basis, and make sure that I am tailoring my teaching style to fit their needs. I am happy to be able to support students that otherwise would have a hard time in traditional schools. Most of the parents here are very involved in their child's life, which is refreshing, but sometimes can be a bit overbearing. Luckily, in times like this, management and admin step in and take over communication so we do not have to deal with it. I really appreciate them having our back. Our hourly pay is pretty high here, and we get bonuses at least 1x a year. We also usually receive a raise 1x a year as well, although this can be contingent upon whether you have had any excessive absences or disciplinary issues that might work against you.
Cons
One of the downsides about working here are the benefits/PTO. For starters, we do not get paid for breaks, unless we get a bonus during that time. The reasoning for this is because Tilden is "technically" open, and we can schedule time to work with students if we want to. However, I have never had a student during our breaks, and feel that, if the school is closed to regular school, then we should get paid during that time. It makes it hard to plan for those huge gaps in pay, especially living in a place as expensive as Marin. Our health insurance plans aren't great; we have a choice of Kaiser or Blue Shield, and, although the school does pay $125 of the monthly premium, if you are on the lowest-deductible PPO plan, you will still be paying $400 a month. This plan does not cover many things either, and the copays are still pretty high. From what I understand, our campus will be looking into better plan options once we have more faculty hired on, so I'm hoping this is a temporary issue. Another issue is that we only accrue sick pay at 1 hour per 30 hours worked, which is the CA minimum. We do not earn PTO or vacation pay, which is not great. Even most of the retail places I worked offered PTO/vacation, and we accrued Sick pay at a higher rate. So, if you get sick or miss a day of work, just know that you will have to use your sick pay to cover it. Parking around campus is also $4 a day, which the school does not pay for. They do offer a commuter/health savings plan, but you will still have to pay for parking on your own. The curriculum here (at least for humanities) is pretty outdated, and many of the books are at least 10 years old. As a history teacher, this makes it frustrating to cover current events. From what I understand, there is a plan to update these things, but I am not sure when it will be implemented. Hopefully soon. The way that Tilden is set up, with each hour devoted to a different student, makes it hard to connect with other teachers except for lunches and breaks. In addition, we cannot do field trips unless they're on weekends, and all of our events are during lunchtime. There are no "easy" days here; meaning, you cannot pop a movie in for the duration of class and chill. You must be on, all day and every class, which can get quite exhausting, especially if there are no cancellations. Many of the students have learning differences, and, while admin and management have helped with some resources on how best to help them, the students still often need their hands held quite a bit, and cannot be left to do work on their own, even a little bit. That makes it hard to grade during class or to plan, or even to catch your breath. I find that English class is the worst with this, as even in math class I feel that you can have the student work on a few problems on their own for a bit. An open prep hour once a day would help a lot with this, I think. I'm not sure if there is a lot of room for growth here; there are department head positions that open up periodically, but, other than that, unless you want to be an administrator, I don't think there's a lot of of upward mobility.
