- The programs. Seeing Stars is their most reliable program, but it's based almost completely on bottom-up reading (phonics, memorization) and very little on using comprehension and top-down methods (which is what ALL current reading research supports). VV doesn't work and OCN is a joke.
- Nancy Bell's husband is the head of R&D. They have about 1 "real" research study which focuses on a change in gray matter volume in the brain. No longevity studies following students who have completed the programs, yet they've been around since the 80's. I wonder why?
- Very fake culture.
- I was promoted a lot, very quickly. I naively took the promotions and at the end was making a great salary but felt horrible about my work (selling these fake programs to desperate parents for an unreasonable amount of money (tens of thousands per summer). For the vast majority, this will be a summer job and you will have no career opportunities.
- CRAZY turnover. They basically hire all new teaching staff every summer. As a parent, this should concern you. Your child's teachers are almost always going to be brand new and overworked.