It's that time of year again, and they are short staffed. - Teacher Achievement First Employee Review

Thank you for your feedback. We are committed to creating an environment where people grow and push each other, but one that is also inclusive and overwhelmingly supportive, so I was very sorry to read about your experience working at Achievement First. I had the privilege of leading an AF school for 7 years, and we relied heavily on dissenting voices and promoted debate and conflict to make the best decisions for our kids. Your descriptions are certainly not the environment we strive to create. And we know that you are not our only team member that feels critical voices are not encouraged. In an anonymous survey that every employee at AF fills out every year, we ask if they feel comfortable sharing their feedback about their school with their school leaders, and last year 13% of our staff said they did not feel comfortable, which may not seem like a big number, but that means there are well more than 100 people within our schools who don’t feel that they have the agency and voice that they should. We know we have work to do. I would benefit greatly from hearing more about your experience and how we could prevent other valuable team members from having a similar one. Please email me at the contact below so that I can better understand, and learn from your perspective. The charged language you used when describing our kids (e.g., that we treat them like “convicts”) greatly disheartened me. You shared your view that our students are not capable of independent thought, but we are beyond proud of AF scholars who were the first in the family to attend college and are currently excelling in some of the top-ranked universities in the country. Our students have spearheaded social justice campaigns and organized protests. They have won citywide chess and Latin competitions, and we’re proud of our championship quiz bowl teams. Though we certainly do not take all the credit; our kids are incredible thinkers. (Admittedly, we might be a little defensive about our kids) Lastly, in regards to your advice for management, I’d be remiss not to point out that several of our leaders do send their kids to AF schools, including our founder and co-CEO, Dacia Toll, pictured above. Both of her boys love attending their Achievement First school. Best, Tom Kaiser Chief Talent Officer, Achievement First Tomkaiser@achievementfirst.org