8 set 2016
Risposta di Achievement First
9yWe really appreciate you sharing your experience. Giving all of our teachers the opportunity to grow a ton, and providing the support and structures to make sure they can focus on their classroom is a big part of the promise we feel the responsibility of delivering, and so it felt affirming to read about your experience.
Plus, you hit the nail on the head with some of the things we're working on. Making sure our school day includes not just "play" opportunities but opportunities for kids to socialize, cooperate with each other, and even learn from each other is something we've tried to bake more into our classrooms and create time outside the classroom. We've grown a ton since I've been at AF, but we're not satisfied. It's part of the reason we're innovating with our Greenfield model (www.afgreenfieldschools.org).
And thank you for naming the importance of being a place where parents can work. You're right that this should be our standard when we think about teacher retention. The number of parents who work here has increased, but I think we have many teachers who assume they will have to "put down the chalk" when it's time to start their family, and the parent perspective is too important to lose from the classroom.
-Tom Kaiser, Chief Talent Officer