Great for teacher development but unsustainable - Anonymous employee Achievement First Employee Review

I really appreciate you taking the time to provide a review. AF is a mission-driven network, and I'm glad to hear that's your experience as well. We are also always working to ensure teachers are being supported, because we know that's what's in the best interest of kids. But you're totally right, the hours are long! We are doing work that some people, unfortunately, say is impossible. It requires hard work. But we're taking small steps to make sure we are working smarter so that our teachers can also commit to their personal priorities outside of work. We interviewed 75 teachers last year to find out more about what makes their work challenging and how we can improve their experience. One of the biggest themes was how much time it takes to close the achievement gap, especially planning great lessons. We had to face a brutal fact: our teachers are spending way too much recreating the wheel. This year we made it a network-wide priority - and made a HUGE investment --in creating lesson plans that all teachers can use as a base in order to teach great lessons. We’re going to build lessons for every grade and subject, because we believe that it’s key to our success with kids and our support for teachers. Without question though, it has some impact on the teacher autonomy you cited. At the end of the day, we want teachers to be great leaders of kids and bring their own personalities to the classroom, but we also have a commitment to rowing together. For teachers who want a blank canvas in the classroom and the ability to make every choice on their own, we’re probably not the right network. But for teachers who want to develop their leadership while also rowing together with their team under a unified school vision, I think AF can be a great place to accomplish some incredible things for kids. Thank you again for sharing your opinions and helping others learn about AF. -Tom Kaiser, Chief Talent Officer