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Florida Virtual School

Engaged employer

Very easy and rewarding place to work if you are well-organized - Instructor Florida Virtual School Employee Review

5.0
9 Mar 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Many of the reviews here discuss being overworked. I have worked here as an instructor full time for a year now and I have not experienced this. I have definitely had very busy days-usually Mondays-but I have never felt like I am being tasked with too much. Teachers are available to students from 8-8 Monday to Friday; however, you are not expected to work more than 8 hours a day. We are given 24 hours to respond to any incoming communication we miss, and 48 hours to complete incoming grading. This means I can schedule work time and family time and not worry that I am ignoring my students for family or vice versa. I schedule my work hours and I stick to them. If I miss incoming calls or texts from students, I return them during the next chunk of work time I have scheduled. It is not a difficult balance to maintain if you are well-organized and self-disciplined enough to work from home and motivate yourself. We are also not given "hundreds" of students as someone mentioned. Sometimes we do have quite a few; I had 180 once. However, this was comparable to the number I had in my classroom during my last year in a brick and mortar school. At least now my students turn in maybe 3 assignments a week apiece, so my grading is actually much less, even though I can sometimes have more students. We are supposed to talk to each of those students once each month, at least...that is not difficult to do. We DO work year-round; however, we get two weeks PAID off for Winter Break, one week at the 4th of July, and THREE weeks of vacation time to use whenever we want. We also get most bank holidays paid off. That's still over 6 weeks of paid vacation time each year. Brick and mortar teachers are NOT paid over summer vacation, although people outside the field still don't seem to realize that. Additionally, we accrue sick and personal days each pay period, which we NEVER have to use. I have not had to take one sick day since I've worked here. When I had a bad cold and migraine, I texted the students I had appointments with on that day and explained the situation to them, and I was able to reschedule those appointments and instead focus on feeling better, even though it was a Wednesday. Further, when I told my Lead I had done this, she helped me clear my grading so I could do even LESS work that day! My principal and Lead (like a department head) are very caring and helpful; they never make me feel like I need to meet impossible expectations, and they are SO knowledgeable in their field. I feel like I am actually learning from them, and I did not feel that way in my 7 years in a brick and mortar school, where principals seem like they are running a business and there is a sense of elitism with the APs. FLVS has been amazing, and I will never leave by choice. Really guys, if you can make a schedule and stick to it, and motivate yourself from home, this is the perfect job. You'll actually get to know your students, too. Mine at least are much more open in one-on-one conversations than they every were in the classroom. You have real, meaningful teaching moments here.

Cons

If you know you struggle with organization, time management, technology, or talking on the phone, this is not the job for you. Self-discipline and self-motivation is a must, and the teachers here I know who DO struggle do so because they are not innately "type-A." I have also seen people struggle who are not tech-savvy. You don't have to be a tech. genius to do this--we have an awesome tech. help department--but you do need to have basic computer skills.

Explore other reviews about Florida Virtual School

5.0
22 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I am valued as an educator and treated as a professional. I love my principal and my co-workers. They encourage work life balance and listen to feedback.

Cons

I wish we were paid more but that is education as a whole. I do think FLVS flex pays competitively and I have got a raise every year.

5.0
13 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexibility! Ultimate flexible schedule. Day to day I use calendar to schedule appointments and can block out lunchtime, time for a gym class or to pickup or drop off at car line at school. Ability to work from home office in comfort! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️You can set up your space to be most comfortable for you. Coffee breaks and yoga pants all day 🙌🏻Summers are slower in flex so allows more time to do personal summer activities like sit at the pool. Access to email on phone (with a communication stipend) so I can “work” from anywhere. I check email and Teams from grocery store, etc. More time to get to know students during welcome calls and DBAs but I often feel so rushed to complete so many appointments each day that I sometimes don’t feel like I can give each family the time they deserve.

Cons

Can be long hours in front of a computer. Some days I’m stuck in front of my computer for 6-8 full hours with back to back Zoom appointments. It can be REALLY tiring. Heavy workloads pouring peak enrollment times: May/ August and December. Your evaluations are based on your data so parents that do not follow learning expectations and don’t submit coursework affects your negatively. It feels very unfair and frustrating. Monthly classroom walk throughs with your principal feel like a formality and waste of time for high performing instructors. For the workload, I do think salary should be higher. Student loads can be really high in August and December with over 180-200 enrollments at once to balance. It’s a lot. Work-life balance is grossly unbalanced during these times.

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