Pros
From the moment I walked into this school, more than 10 years ago, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. The work can be challenging, but it’s also highly rewarding. This organization is focused on one thing, the student. It’s important to make each student feel safe, successful and cared for. This school is not about the adults who work here; it’s all about the students who learn here. Each student’s program is highly individualized. Which means the classroom teacher needs to know each student’s learning objectives, strengths, barriers and motivational factors. This is why the classroom sizes are kept small; the student-teacher ratio is 6-to-1. The small setting ensures students are not lost in a crowd or forgotten because they are quiet or shy. Keeping students safe via adult supervision is important to the learning process. Attentive supervision helps students feel safe and provides opportunities for teachers to coach students in social situations. The organization of classrooms, storage areas and other work spaces are designed to maximize instructional time and the time spent interacting with students. Classrooms are designed to ensure any staff member can substitute for a teacher and not waste time looking for materials and lesson plans. Teamwork is essential to our success. No teacher is an island. We accomplish great work here because we work together as a team to ensure our students are successful.
Cons
Occasionally, the Administration gets it wrong when hiring new people. People who are not team players, not organized, not interested in delivering direct instruction , not following the prescribed process for each student, not willing to complete the necessary paperwork, not willing supervise students appropriately throughout the day, and generally not willing to show up for work every day with a can-do attitude hurt the students and put more of a burden on those desiring to help our students be successful academically, socially and personally.