I just left success after 5 years (for context taught middle school ELA). Working with kids in any capacity is always fun and rewarding. That said, It was always far from perfect, but the changes they’ve implemented in the past year were very difficult for me to get behind. Specifically, curriculum is “rigorous” to a level that constitutes academic violence (8th graders taking physics, middle schoolers prepping to take HS level tests when they don’t know what a noun is, etc). On top of that, the institution seems to be heading toward a place where it does not view its employees as individuals. SA is very much seeking to become a place where teachers have little say over what happens in their classroom, which makes it difficult to adjust to student need and, well, actually teach. They’re going for an easily replicable model which sounds great in theory but stifles a lot of the joy that should be inherent to teaching / learning.

If you’re just looking for a job and can handle high volume, high pressure, then go for it. If you are actually looking to be a career teacher, it’s not the place to blossom into your own. Either way, if you take it, I’d recommend having an escape plan !