Pros
I've been an employee at Achievement First - the network support office - for the past 8 years. Achievement First currently operates about 30 high-performing k-12 schools in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Here are a few of the pros of working at AF: 1) Coaching and development - At AF, everyone has a coach and coaches frequently give feedback. At our schools, teachers are constantly given feedback and this rate of feedback is true for all levels of the organization. 2) Mission and purpose - The work that we do at AF is some of the most important work possible: closing the achievement gap and leveling the playing field for kids of all income levels and backgrounds. We are proving that demography doesn't equal destiny. 3) The people - We get to work with passionate, committed and talented people. Everyone here at AF has sharp minds and compassionate hearts. The organization really cares about people as well as about performance. For these reasons, AF is truly a great place to work.
Cons
To balance out some of the pros above, AF is a great organization but not a great organization for everyone. It requires people who have growth mindset - they need to want to work hard, get and apply feedback, and improve. They also need to have a "team before me" mindset.