Guest Post: CJ on Kittredge And Moskowitz talking corporate charter secrets

Apparently a charter spokesman, Jeremiah Kittredge in NYC, has difficulty---or feigns difficulty in order to manipulate folks---with the statistical concept of "average."  

(Kittredge is the high-paid and top spokesman for FAMILIES FOR EXCELLENT SCHOOLS, a non-profit that is funded by the Waltons, Eva Moskowitz' husbands' group, and hedge-funder-backed PACs.)

In a WCNY radio interview, Kittredge was asked to respond to irrefutable data that charters serve significantly less-than-average numbers of Special Ed. and ELL students. He countered by comparing charters' records to that of public schools.  

His proof.

Charters' dismal record for under enrolling Special Ed. and ELL students is no big deal because... try not to laugh... "over 50% of New York City public schools" serve "a less-than-average number of Special Ed. and ELL students."

Yeah, he actually said that.

Hey Jeremiah, when "over 50%" of ANY group does something, doesn't that mean that they will ALWAYS be doing it on a "less-than-average" rate or basis?

Put another way...

51% ALWAYS does something 49% or less (i.e. a less-than-average % or percentage) of the time.

52% will be doing it 48% or less of the time.... 

...and on and on..

This quote is from the NYC BAT's video "UNKNOWABLE":  (watch it, as it presents, then analyzes these and other answers from Kittredge & also from Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz in her interview with the Ayn Rand-ian libertarian website REASON):

https://vimeo.com/120305258

Hmmm... what other brilliant defenses will Kittredge, Eva, and their ilk be making and publicizing next?

(Here goes my audition for THE ONION!)

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Re: teachers' attrition & the longevity of TFA teachers (the vast majority of whom leave after two years, three at the most... RINSE & REPEAT ad infinitum) -

KITTREDGE:  "Oh... Attrition Schmmattrition.  The numbers don't lie, and they back us up here.  An impressive result from a key study indicates that up-to-49% of our TFA Corps Members staffing our charter schools have longer-than-average teaching careers, and remain in the classroom longer than their fellow TFA colleagues.  In turn, our charter scholars reap the benefits of this selfless dedication."

or

"And what about the sky-high attrition among unionized public school teachers and THEIR career length?  Nobody ever talks about THAT.  Is their record so much more impressive?  A damning statistical analysis reveals that over 50% of teachers in unionized schools leave teaching and abandon their students, on average, earlier than their fellow unionized teachers.  Just think of the resulting negative impact that is then visited upon their students.  Shame on them!  The system is broken!"

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re: student attrition -

EVA MOSKOWITZ:  "We're extremely proud of our record on this issue, and never moreso than on Graduation Day.  To see the glowing satisfaction on the faces of our SUCCCESS ACADEMY scholars and parents makes all that we do so worthwhile.  Indeed, we're proving those cynics wrong, as the data incontrovertibly shows that a whopping 100% of our Success Academy scholars who are not kicked... err... 'counseled out' prior to Graduation Day actually walk across that stage to get their diplomas.  I mean, come on!  100 PERCENT??!!! You can't do any better than THAT!" 

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re: co-location -

EVA MOSKOWITZ:  "This so-called 'co-location crisis' in NYC schools is way overblown by our detractors.  Indeed, 100% of the public schools that do not yet have a charter school co-located on their campus---and there are hundreds of them, mind you---report ZERO percent of the problems typically associated with charter school co-locations.  Why aren't our critics reporting this fact?"

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re: charter school leaders' refusal to pay rent for the public school buildings---originally built and now maintained by taxpayers---that the charters do/will occupy -

KITTREDGE:  "Look, this is just Business 101.  It's a basic market principle:  the more you SPEND, the less you HAVE... so how can you then charge us rent, and steal money from the education of poor children?  Didn't you see our TV commercials with all those adorable Charter School kids?  How can you do this to them?"

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re: enormous Charter industry executive & administrator salaries... in the mid-six-figures (i.e. Kittredge, Eva, Dave & Mike at KIPP, Deborah Kenney, etc.) -

KITTREDGE:  "Look, we don't overpay our top people.  Across the city, we see it again and again... and this needs to be reported more... over 50% of charter school executives and administrators take home a less-than-average salary in comparison to their fellow charter school administrators and executives.  The enormous amount of money saved then goes to the classroom, and to meet the needs or our scholars. Why can't our critics see this, then get off this topic, and find something new to whine about?"

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re: intensive test-prep for standardized tests, sometimes two hours or more a day (N.Y. Magazine reported this, along with a comment from a Success Academy administrator proudly describing the students as "little test-taking machines") - 

EVA MOSKOWITZ:  ""Look, what's wrong with a little practice before a standardized test?  We make it fun, and it's not even that much to begin with.  Our tracking of our scholars shows that an impressive 50% or more of our students spend a less-than-average time doing drill-and-kill test prep compared to their fellow Success Academy scholars.  That frees up time for ... what, exactly... oh... I dunno... I forget... "

Citizen Jack's compendium of teacher reviews of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Empire

"They don't tolerate what we tolerate," she said several times. What is it HSA doesn't tolerate? According to my co-worker: disruptive children and parents who don't play an active role in their child's education. — Brian Jones

"Jack," a frequent commenter on Professor Diane Ravitch's site, sent me the following compendium of reviews from a website that allows employees to rate their workplace. The workplace in question is reactionary Eva Moskowitz's corporate Harlem Success Academies (HSA). Ravitch did mention the site, and also referenced an article discussing the staggering turnover rates of teachers, with HSA being the most egregious offender.

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Hey, why don’t we hear from the current and former instructors at Eva Moskowitz' SUCCESS ACADEMY Network? Thankfully,  we can actually do that, and hear the unvarnished truth that they have anonymously shared, thanks to the "Glass Door" website that provides employees an opportunity to share the good, the bad, and the ugly about the people for whom they work, and the workplace culture that they've experienced.

(Get it?  The "glass door" gives transparency.) 

Finally... FINALLY (!!!) in post-Michael-Winerip era, there is a free and independent entity that is beyond the control and clutches of Eva and her ruthless multi-million dollar PR leviathan.  Indeed, Glass Door's posted motto or promise is:

"Your trust is our top concern, so companies can't alter or remove reviews."

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Success-Academy-Charter-Schools-Reviews-E381408_P2.htm?sort.sortType=OR&sort.ascending=true

I just cut’-n-pasted the first 24 teacher reviews from the site above (settle in, it’s a long read if you care to read it all.)

Often I found myself asking the question, “Did I just read what I THOUGHT I read?"

For example, “FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 11” said that Eva banned any administrators or even teachers from writing letters of reference for SUCCESS teachers---current or former---who wished to teach elsewhere.  As this teacher put it put it:

“They will not give you reference letter; its against company policy."

What is this?  The Hotel California?  “You can check out any time you like but you’ll never be able to work again as a teacher…. that is, if I, Eva Moskowitz, have anything to say about it.”  It’s like… “If I can’t control you---i..e. you leave or I push you out---I won't help you with continuing your teaching career elsewhere.”

In my two decades of teaching in the traditional public schools, I’ve never heard of a administrator acting like this.

Some of them are even "LEAD TEACHERS"---NO. 17 is both a "CURRENT TEACHER" and a "LEAD TEACHER."

A common refrain is that the 60-80 hour weeks make it utterly impossible to have any kind of personal life or "work-life balance", and how they "work you until you are sick" and don't care about your well-being.  

Oh, and the workload and lifestyle make it impossible to have a family or children.  But hey, wait a sec.  Eva was allowed enough time that have and raise her three kids.  As Orwell put it in ANIMAL FARM... "All of us are equal, but some are more equal than others."  And she makes over $ 480,000 / year.

Perhaps my favorite comment came from a teacher comparing Eva’s personality and behavior to that of a Meryl Streep movie villain (from a few years back).  "FORMER TEACHER NO. 14 compared working at SUCCESS ACADEMY to...

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" 'THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA' --- except not funny and you actually can damage hundreds of kids lives in the process.

"Any advice will fall on deaf ears because hers is a method that works well. Google 'sick system' and you will find SUCCESS, in its shiny, primary colored glory."
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To jar your memory, here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zicgut4gpwU

And the sad thing is… Eva would be flattered by this comparison, taking it as a compliment… "You’re damn right I’m like that, and if any o’ you teachers, parents, or kids got a problem with that, you can all go SUCK IT!" (not an actual quote... just a little humor)

The reviews have three criteria:  PRO’s, CON’s, and ADVICE TO MANAGEMENT.  I omitted the PRO’s as they were so trivial (i.e. healthy snacks and the printers work”)

I can just picture Eva in her posh Upper East Side digs reading this, and thinking, "What a bunch o' lazy wimps and whiners!  I don't want them teaching at my schools, anyway.  I wish there was a way to find out who those "CURRENT" teachers posting are, so I could fire all of 'em!"

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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 1:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The most miserable experience I've ever had. ”

CON's:

"One personal day, horrible work-life balance,
--- micromanagement of employees,
--- no chance for professional or personal growth,
--- dictator-like school."

ADVICE to Management:

"I think it's too far gone."

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 2:

“Do your research before accepting a job here.”

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON's:

"Unethical treatment of students and teachers,

 --- competition at all costs,
 --- little support for students with disability,
 --- retains an average of less than 50% of students,
 --- retains an average of 30% of staff,
 --- leadership and staff are replaced with no communication or explanation,
 --- humiliation used as main motivational tool for both students and staff,
 --- students struggle with anxiety,
 --- very little emotional or social support
 --- students stay silent 80% of the day, silent hallways in upper grades,
 --- young students told to stop crying when dealing with personal trauma,
 --- no work-life balance,
 --- CEO is in constant conflict with city government which causes ongoing location uncertainty,
 --- network is rapidly opening new schools while neglecting to fix all of the other dysfunctional sites first."


Does NOT Recommend --- Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 3:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Toxic Enviorment, Developmentally Inappropriate Abusive Culture of Fear ”

CON's: "Worked for one of the highest performing schools in the network in the Bronx.

"--- Entire school focused on remaining at top of network schools assessment wise while pushing students in completely developmentally inappropriate and emotionally ABUSIVE ways.

" --- When I brought up that Eva and the network and research disagrees with practices at my location, I was told the network didn't know what they were talking about, haven't I seen our top assessment scores, and that my primary responsibility was to make sure my classroom assessment data was up.

" --- Teachers openly MOCKED 6 year olds with learning disabilities telling them they would see them in the same grade again next year because they were neither smart nor hard working and hopefully would not be in their student again- in front of the entire classroom.

" --- Left work every day feeling angry at the school until I left permanently."


ADVICE to Management:

"Teacher culture needs to be totally reformed-
 --- experienced total lack of professionalism by newer teachers in front of children we were meant to be models for."

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - No Opinion of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 4:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The mission provides so much potential, but falls short in practice ”

CON's:

"Employees are seen as dispensable and the environment is toxic.
 --- Leaders rule through fear and intimidation.
 --- At the network office, pay is low for the hours worked.
 --- Turnover is extremely high.
 --- The organization has grown too fast.
 --- There are other rewarding education organizations that treat their employees better."

Does NOT Recommend --- Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 5:

“Will not shape you into the the teacher that you want to be. ”

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON's:

"Lack of support.
 --- Militaristic style of teaching to the test.
 --- Students did not learn content.
 --- Teachers had no work-life balance."

Does NOT Recommend --- No Opinion of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 6:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Great mission, terrible culture ”

CON's:

"The leadership team is more interested in making political statements than about choosing the right growth strategy for the organization."

Does NOT Recommend --- Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 7:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“I was an Associate Teacher ”

CON's:

"Everything.
 --- Extremely high turnover due to many reasons, just a few of which are listed here.
 --- Hours are insane,
 --- management doesn't care about the employees,
 --- the style of teaching and discipline is horrifying,
 --- I didn't like who I became after working here,
 --- there are unrealistic expectations of teachers (like I need to log every phone call I make to a parent!?),
 --- and the feedback is ALWAYS negative without any sense of "you can do it" or "we can do this together",
 --- it's "Get your f*cking sh*t together!"

ADVICE to Management:

"You'll have a much happier staff if you recognize that employees are PEOPLE who want to have lives outside of work, don't want to be micromanaged, and will see better results if you approach criticism in a more constructive way rather than beating up your teachers."

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 8:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Overworked and unreasonable expectations on staff, micromanaging”

CON's:

" --- 1. Micromanaging by leadership

"--- 2. No autonomy in your classroom, it's like they're making all their teachers into replicas of the one model they're looking for

"--- 3. Overworked school day - I would arrive by 6:45 am and I felt like I was running behind already.

 --- I would work till 5:00 pm at school, then bolt out the door to get home to my family.
 --- I would tirelessly grade papers while on the subway, try to respond to the absurd amount of emails and constantly changing meetings, expectations, etc.
 --- I would work on school work for extra hours at night and it was never enough.

 --- If this had been my first teaching job out of college, I would have hated teaching.

 --- Luckily I had 6 years experience in a great school district in a different state.

"The stories I had to tell about this job made everyone in my life tell me to quit. There was so much stress and anxiety going into each week of the job."


Does NOT Recommend --- No Opinion of CEO
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CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 9:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Very low morale”

CON's:

"All teachers are extremely overworked.
 --- 12-hour work days are the norm.
 --- Very, very little prep time during the day, as meetings are held during "prep" periods.  --- Management encourages bizarre competition between teachers, and as a result, morale is low.

" --- Students are pushed out of the school if they exhibit any negative behaviors or if their data is low.
 --- In either case, management will meet with the family to tell them that this school is 'just not the right fit for them'.
 --- If that doesn't work, they will suspend the child ad nauseum or even push them down into a lower grade, so that their exhausted parents give in.
 --- It's absurd that this school is publicly funded when it does not serve the population it purports to serve.
 --- It is honestly more a school for gifted students than a school working to close the achievement gap.
 --- I include this in my review because it contributes to the low morale of the school - your students who you love are constantly being kicked out."

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 10:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON's:

"

ADVICE to Management:

"Value your teachers more by making their workday more manageable.
 --- This will lead to teacher retention.
 --- 6:30am - 6:30pm is not sustainable, as the teacher turnover rate clearly attests.

" --- Also, value the children who are told they don't belong at our school.

"If we can't help them, what are we doing in the education business?"

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 11:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Not fulfilling, will not help you with career. ”

CON's:

"I worked exceptionally hard and efficient, and they rewarded me by not hiring me after the internship ended saying "There was not enough work to be done". There was not enough work to be done because I completed all the tasks. 1 month later surprisingly they found enough work again to open up the position.

" --- They will not give you reference letter, its against company policy.

" --- You spend days working on projects that they themselves do not want to work on. Some of which include creating thousands of addition and subtraction problems.

" --- You're supposed to work with the Math team however they are never in the office, and you are left alone to do meaningless tasks.

" --- You get paid terribly, and not treated as part of the company or team.

" --- They exclude interns from meetings, both company and team.

" --- Terrible pay despite working you to the bone."

ADVICE to Management:

"Recognize talent and hard work.
 --- Be honest about work performance instead of hiding behind HR."

Does NOT Recommend --- Positive Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 12:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“High Turnover, Poor Work Life Balance, Unprofessional Managers ”

CON's:

"Unprofessional Directors and poor work-life balance. Focus on test scores and nothing else.
" --- Staff usually stay less than one year.
" --- There are so many HR/Recruiting positions available because the staff turnover is so high,
" --- they are constantly searching for other candidates."

ADVICE to Management:

"Look at the Enrollment and Talent/HR Team and Teacher Dept turnover. Why do certain directors have extremely high turnover and are not being held accountable?"

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 13:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“High Turnover, Poor Management ”

CON's:

" --- 1. Poor Management: Management tends to fire those who voice opposition. Look at the turnover data for the Network office...team Ops, team Enrollment...etc.

" --- 2. Mostly young, inexperienced staff. The poor management is directly reflective of inexperienced staff.

" --- 3. Unrealistic work expectations with no additional compensation or concern for staff well being. In a "no excuses" environment, even being ill with cancer is no excuse for taking a day off.

" --- 4. I cannot stress enough how poor the management of department directors and other senior staff is. My manager was the most unprofessional, unqualified person I had worked with in my career.


ADVICE to Management:

"Examine the high turnover rate and be honest about it. There are several directors whose turnover rates for their departments should be analyzed."

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 14:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Abusive, panic-driven environment justified with high reward potential ”

CON's:

"--- Erosion of any work/life balance - actually highly, HIGHLY discouraged in culture
 --- Constant environment of panic maintained to encourage high effort and self-doubt
 --- Eva is abusive and no one is willing to admit it
 --- Recommended to young individuals who believe in giving 115% for "the cause," and have not yet developed concept of "self-boundaries" or "self-care"
--- Upon school visitations, their very strict classroom rules for students also border on abusive
 --- While building critical reading and writing skills in kids, also severely stamps down on self-expression or autonomy (punishments are plentiful, harsh, and unexplained)
 --- Absolute silence in hallways, even teachers are discouraged from speaking
 --- Teachers are kept in constant fear of surprise visits and sample collections for evaluation."

ADVICE to Management:

"To management? Why bother? The network team waited weeks to "introduce me" to the Director, waiting for the right moment. WEEKS. I began to wonder if I should chew on a leaf in an office corner until she became accustomed to my scent. This is how afraid her staff members are, or at the least, this was the culture they tried to project.

"Her direct inferiors are constantly insulted, sent to run on impossible tasks, validated for their submission to her, or ridiculed/fired if not. I had extreme difficulty maintaining any hard boundaries -- much less soft ones -- during my time there. The literacy team is stressed out beyond belief; they put so much work into what they do but it is never good enough. It was incredible to watch.

'THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA' --- except not funny and you actually can damage hundreds of kids lives in the process.

Any advice will fall on deaf ears because hers is a method that works well. Google "sick system" and you will find Success, in its shiny, primary colored glory."

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"My advice goes out to the staff.

" --- The high turnover occurs because those able to identify the system for what it is and recognize that when faced with self-respect/self-care vs. 'the cause,' they should choose to protect what's left and move on.

" --- In addition, once you step quietly back from the whole thing, you will learn that 'the cause' has gotten lost in politics, panic and upkeep. 'The cause' is potentially damaging to the students that attend the school.

" --- If 'the cause' is yourself -- meaning, you are a young, vibrant, 20-something year old who wants to feel that you've single-handedly changed the world -- this is probably a better place for you than the ACTUAL NYC education system, which can be disheartening, without guidance or such ripe upward mobility. Here you've got micromanaging overhead, and if you 'survive' long enough, you can really take your experience everywhere.

"Dear prospective employee: In many aspects, teaching is like social work. Social Work institutions highly, highly encourage you to maintain self-boundaries and self-care. Otherwise you will burn out in a ruthless, demanding, draining career of unrequited love.

"The same way many social-work industries can take advantage of the big hearts and self-validating determination, so can 'well-intended' charter schools. Once you find yourself in a position where you have to negotiate your 'non-negotiable' (I highly recommend you walk in with one) on a consistent basis, consider stepping back for a long, long moment. Breathe. You will probably ride a cycle similar to breaking up from an unhealthy relationship, but I promise you your quality of life is not worth it.

"In any case, they can replace you so quickly. I think that is what scares everyone the most."

Does NOT Recommend --- Positive Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 15:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

CON's:

"---Culture - the tone of the organization is driven top-down. Eva and her direct reports are unafraid to bully others and do not show appreciation for those working for them. That trickles down through the organization in a very significant way.


" --- Highly-political / not-business minded - Though the organization is a non-profit there is ZERO business sense in making decisions which is sorely needed. Decisions are almost always motivated by political motives.

" --- Physical work environment - the actual office is pretty terrible. They signed a 10 year lease on a space that they outgrew in about a year and a half. Some of us were in the former storage spaces with no actual desk phones or any natural light. Some people are in satellite offices with significantly longer commutes.

" --- Extremely high turnover with no institutional memory - because people leave so often and the organization does not do a good job of standardizing procedures or capturing information there is a lot of reinventing the wheel that happens when someone comes into a job."

ADVICE to Management:

"Listen to what your employees are telling you - both current and former - and actually try to take some steps to make a change!"

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 16:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“The worst---I repeat---The WORST teaching job I have ever had in my life! ”

CON's:

" --- Long hours (minimum 60 hours a week...if your lucky). They have no regard for work-life balance.
--- Awful management-Management (Principals, Vice Principals, etc) are trained to run schools like factories and they do.
--- Employees are treated like they are just another number not like human beings.
--- They have no intrest in teacher retention.
--- If you don't believe me, Google the turnover rate for thier schools.
--- Some are at 60%! Lastly, at time the expectations are unrealistic."

ADVICE to Management:

"Learn how to manage people in a way that makes them want to work for your company for the rest of their lives. I have seen some of the most passionate teachers quit this job.

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 17:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Too miserable to stay, no matter how much you are there "for the kids" ”

CON's:

"--- Arrogant young management
--- ZERO personal AND ZERO sick days
--- little prep time when accounting for extra meetings
--- leadership talks to teachers like they are students


ADVICE to Management:

"I LOVE the mission of Success Charter Network. I love the kids there.
--- But I simply cannot stay on board with the unprofessional tone of leadership and the unrealistic demands on us as teachers.
--- Working 80 hour weeks and still not completing my 'assignments' at a high level tells me there is something wrong with the model. \
--- I actually wish the work environment was better so I could stick around for the kids and their families. I am a well educated professional and a highly effective teacher that should not be talked down to by a 26 year old supervisor.

"Until major changes are made, I will look for another charter network... "


Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 18:

1 * STAR (out of 5)

“Bad Work Environment”

CON's:

"Working longer school years, longer school days (7 AM - 5 PM is mandated... and that includes a flexible prep time... some days you have all of your prep, other days you have none), with less pay.

"Couple this with no tenure, no unionized safety, no days off.
--- There are no substitute teachers; if a teacher is absent, you lose your prep time to cover a class.
--- And there is no compensation (of time or money) for this. As a result, the average worker sticks around till 8 PM. 7 AM-8 PM = a schedule that is not conducive to most people's lifestyles.

--- Clubs are practically mandated for certain teachers. No choice in this privatized industry.

"This job is not good for anybody who wants to do anything outside of Success. This includes having a family."

ADVICE to Management:

"Consider changing your mentality towards teachers. Yes, students come first, but so do our personal lives. Make it more family friendly, and maybe there will be less of a teacher turnover in future years."

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 19:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Great Company...if you prefer ambiguity and lack of work/life balance ”

CON's:

"Few standard operating procedures
--- Unclear organizational structure
--- Poor work/life balance
--- Zero opportunities for mentorship and coaching due to youthful management, which leads to
--- Young managerial staff with limited experience

ADVICE to Management:

"Stop reinventing the wheel.
--- Develop basic policies and procedures.
--- Hire competent, experienced staff."

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 20:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Good schools, terrible work environment (unless you are a teacher). ”

CON's:

"Toxic work environment
--- culture of fear
--- you could lost your job at anytime, work harder.

Does NOT Recommend --- Disapproves of CEO

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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 21:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Mission driven, but a cult of personality ”

CON's:

"High turnover,
--- low employee satisfaction,
--- incredibly top-down,
--- poor upper and middle management,
--- over-promotion,
--- young workforce that exudes professional immaturity,
--- heavy test prep that no one speaks of outside of the organization,
--- layers of mismanagement and heavily politicized environment,
--- doesn't care about teacher turnover.

"Teachers are not trusted to do their jobs,
--- staff on all levels are micromanaged,
--- scaling and expanding too quickly without an adequate strategy or plan in place.

"The CEO, while an incredibly dynamic and intelligent woman, is too heavily involved with the day-to-day instead of focusing on higher level strategy and management of the organization. The organization runs on a cult of personality that revolves around pleasing her, which makes me skeptical that they can truly scale this model of education."


ADVICE to Management:

"Change your policies towards teachers:
--- Try to retain them,
--- give more flexible time-off/sick day policies,
--- place more trust in their abilities and truly develop them.
--- Improve internal communication skills,
--- treat employees like they are human,
--- stop micromanaging and empower employees to do their jobs well.

"When you are leader and you constantly complain about the incompetencies beneath you - well, the apple never falls far from the tree. The culture starts at the top."


Does NOT Recommend --- Disapproves of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 22:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Great benefits and salary, good mission, poor execution ”

CON's:

"Not a lot of autonomy;
--- conflicting feedback and management styles;
--- too many managers;
--- poor work/life balance;
--- poor employee culture (encouraged to backbite and compete rather than collaborate)

ADVICE to Management:

"Streamline management of lower level employees:
--- teachers do not need and suffer under 4 different managers, particularly when they have varying styles of management and conflicting advice;
--- too frequent observations actually contributes more to stress than to accountability."

Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Approves of CEO
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CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 1:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Very Low Morale.”

CON's:

"Depressing environment.
--- Unreasonable workload.
--- Teachers have low morale and are stressed.
--- No work/life balance.
--- Uncertain how much school cares about kids (it's more about the numbers).

ADVICE to Management:

"The turnover rate is high.

"There are people who want to quit, but can't because they
---  1) care about the kids,
--- 2) need the money,
--- 3) signed a 2 year commitment contract,
or
--- 4) can't get a day off to go on another interview.

"Management should be worried about the long-term viability of this organization.
--- No one can work at this pace for 10 years.

"Management should invest in retaining their employees instead of hiring new ones constantly.
--- Intellectual capital cannot be replicated.
--- The hours are terrible. 6:30 am- 7pm stresses everyone out, including the kids.
--- One has to wake up four or five am depending on commute and try to get to sleep early for the next day.

"However, the work never ends so there is never enough time to get everything done. You never feel as if you're doing your job well enough. Ever."

Does NOT Recommend --- Negative Outlook - No Opinion of CEO
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FORMER SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER (& LEAD TEACHER) NO. 23:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“Well-funded, high expectations, don't value their employees ”

CON's:

"I felt completely taken advantage of as a teacher.
 --- Way overworked (even relative to a prior career that was extremely demanding),
 --- felt very little respect from network.
 --- Didn't care about my work-life balance, personal health, emotional well-being.
 --- Was assigned way more tasks than what I believe a teacher should be asked to do (which resulted in lower quality work in the classroom).
 --- Extremely micromanaged, which was forced upon me in my work, and forced upon students as well.
 --- Little creativity encouraged in learning."


ADVICE to Management:

"It's been noted that the network doesn't care about employee turn over--but this school turned me off from teaching.
 --- Literally worked me until I was sick.
 --- Actually care about your employees well-being and sanity--work smarter, not harder.  --- Allow kids to be kids, and let the teachers teach.


Does NOT Recommend --- Neutral Outlook - Disapproves of CEO
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 CURRENT SUCCESS ACADEMY TEACHER NO. 24:

2 ** STARS (out of 5)

“The Reality is Nothing Like the Image ”

CON's:

"Employee happiness is on the bottom of the priority list.
 --- The model seems to be based on bringing in young, idealistic men and women ready to put up with anything and asking them to work around the clock and devote their lives to the job.
 --- Few last longer than a year, which weakens the culture...some people don't bother learning colleagues' names since turnover is so high.

"Vast majority of senior staff are not good managers.
 --- Just so many terrible management practices that make no sense.
 --- Management seems to have no respect for employees.
 --- We are kept in the dark about major issues affecting us,
 --- management does not solicit employee opinions,
 --- huge discrepancies in salary between the top tier and the rest.

"Huge focus on testing and test scores.
 --- The image of multi-disciplinary 'whole-child' curriculum just isn't true in Grades 3 and up, when the students spend months on end preparing for the state tests."

ADVICE to Management:

"Employee happiness might not seem like a pressing problem, but a model based on constant turnover undermines the organization.
 --- Some respect toward the employees goes a long way (and I don't mean casual Friday or free snacks).

Does NOT Recommend --- Approves of CEO
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Citizen Jack's analysis of Michelle Rhee's recent mendaciousness

"In an even more disturbing revelation heard on the tape Rhee laughs about when the tape was removed hurting the children and some even started to bleed." — John Kugler

"Jack," a frequent commenter on Professor Ravitch's site, sent me the following analysis in which he compares various sources on Michelle Rhee recent deceitfulness. Jack's commentary takes the original guest post on NYC Educator, combines it with other information from The Frustrated Teacher, and makes several salient points. What struck me the hardest was the reminder of how Rhee's fellow neoliberal corporate reformers found her glib account of her child abuse amusing. I suppose when your entire life has been dedicated to harming young children through high-stakes testing, constant stress, inhumane expectations, and all other forms of cruelty that corporate edreform imposes, bloody lips are really no big no deal in comparison. Aside from her pathological inability to tell the truth in any venue, the fact that Rhee revels in her acts of barbarism really speaks to the theories that she might be a sociopath. Given that the plutocrats paying (read investing) for the neoliberal corporate education reform project are all sociopaths themselves, it makes good sense that they'd hire someone just like them.

---

"NYC Educator" today made a nice grab of an October 2013 interview—in the on-line Financial Times—where Michelle Rhee lies (shocking, I know!) and totally changes the details of the now infamous story where she taped the mouths of her students.

He points out the inconsistencies of her October 2013 version VS. her August 2010 version:

http://nyceducator.com/2014/04/rhees-two-takes-on-her-taping-incident_17.html

Background:

We all know the true details from Ms. Rhee's original (August 2010) telling of the story.

As heard in an audiotape of Ms. Rhee which is still available on-line, Ms. Rhee told all her 35 third-graders (ages 8-9) to remove the tape from their mouths—the tape that she had earlier chosen to put on their mouths as a way to shut them up.

This mass removal led to:

— all 35 kids' lips bleeding;

— all 35 students' lip skin being ripped off, 

and 

— all 35 kids' crying.

This was, of course, back during Ms. Rhee's heroic teaching days. (you know... when her brilliance enabled her students to move from the 13th to the 90th percentile... oh, yeah... I forgot... that was a lie, too.)

However, on the October 2013 interview, she was singing an entirely different tune. (SEE BELOW)

Unfortunately for Ms. Rhee, there remains a problem with her changing her story:

the audio of her original telling of the story remains on-line for all to hear how bogus her later rendition is.

Listen to it HERE: (among other on-line locations)

http://www.thefrustratedteacher.com/2011/01/michelle-rhee-taped-mouths-of-students.html

"NYC Educator" then compares the two versions:

(my summary of the "NYC Educator" article follows)

---

Lie Number 1:  Whose idea was it?

October 2013: Rhee claims that one of her students asked her for the tape to be placed on his mouth, and with that child—and also with the rest of the students who also asked for the tape—she complied... which she now regrets.

"One of the boys asked for a strip of Scotch tape instead and suddenly everyone wanted the same thing.”

August 2010:  Rhee claims that she came up with the idea herself, without any child asking her to do so.

Looking back, Ms. Rhee claims no regrets, but instead, she enthusiastically, proudly, and humorously (?!) reflects on having done so:

"So, I decided, OK, kids, we are going to do something special today.  I lined everybody up and I was like, 

" 'Sshh, gotta be really quiet on our way down to the cafeteria.'

"And then, I took little pieces of masking tape and put them on everybody's lips,

[laughter begins]. 

"And I was like, 'You can't break the seal. Don't move your lips.' "

---

Lie Number 2:  How many kids in Ms. Rhee's class had bleeding lips, and had lip skin getting ripped off? Just one, or all 35?  A little bleeding, or a lot?  Did any lip skin come off when the tape was removed, or no lip skin at all come off?

October 2013: Rhee claims that only one of children's lips bled—"That's all that happened"—with no kids' lip skin coming off.

(underlining is mine)

“And when I removed the strips, one of the boy’s dry lips bled a little. That’s all that happened. Now it’s turned into, ‘Michelle Rhee duct tapes children!’ But the only reason anyone knows the story in the first place is because I told it.”

August 2010:  Rhee claims that every child in her class (all 35 !!!) had lips that were "bleeding," and "skin coming off": (provoking uproarious laughter from the audience)

"And I realized that I had not told the kids to lick their lips beforehand. So, and like the skin is coming off their lips

[big laughs] 

"and they're bleeding.  And so I had a class of 35 kids who are crying... 

[more big laughs] 

"... and other teachers are walking by and are like, 'What are you doing/' "

---

Lie Number 3:  In what context did Rhee tell the mouth-tapingstory? In an interview, or in a speech? Underpressure from journalists, or under no such pressure?

October 2013:  Rhee claims that journalists pressured Ms. Rhee into telling the story, back when she was too eager and willing to answer any all questions posed to her.

Ms. Rhee now claims "I was stupid" for having been so open. Back then, she was not yet "particularly media savvy."

"I think when I took the job in DC, I was not particularly savvy about the media.  People asked me for interviews, I answered the questions and because I was so honest about my thoughts, it gave them the material.  I can’t blame anyone other than myself for that. I was stupid.”

October 2010:  No one pressured Ms. Rhee to tell anything. This story was told in a speech to new Washington D.C.P.S. teachers, a speech over which Ms. Rhee had total editorial control over what she was saying.

Washington Post: "This audio recording is an excerpt of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee talking to first-year teachers about her early misadventures as an educator. She spoke at the Columbia Heights Education Campus on 16th St. N.W."

---

One more thing to note:

At some point after including the audio of Ms. Rhee's speech on its website, the pro-Rhee Washington Post  later removed the audio of this from its coverage.

Go to the link here:

Rhee talks about her early misadventures in teaching

The audio is now gone, baby, gone.

Thankfully, dozens of others saved it, including "Frustrated Teacher" from the above link.