Pros
The emphasis on feedback between managers and employees was excellent, and I really liked the structure of weekly check ins. I felt that in my role I was listened to by my manager and supporter in my choices as a program manager. Working with college students can be demanding but is refreshing and a fun aspect of the job. Being able to work in different parts of the city (sometimes high school management meant working schools over 30 minutes away from each other) was a great way to learn about Chicago and intimately get to know CPS. As a lean organization, you have the opportunity to do your job in a way that works best for you. They also had excellent benefits and vacation times. I felt that for the most part the work we were doing was rewarding and important. There was a great desire to listen to staff although it was not acted upon well.
Cons
As a founder driven company, PHE definitely suffers from founder's syndome and is very slow to change. They cycle through program staff about every 2-3 years and any and all improvements on program administration are usually lost. At times, giving feedback felt like yelling into an abyss - it was never listened to, and field staff often spent a lot of their time on tedious tasks that could have been automated with the right investment, financially. The national priorities were often out of sync with the local ones, and many senior staff were in positions that they did not seem qualified for (i.e. writing curriculum with no experience or education on child psychology, pedagogy, or education/curriculum writing). The HR was a mess for the majority of the time I worked there and did not really exist in a meaningful way. Job transitions were handed opaquely.