Creative Minds International PCS -- all the teachers leaving???

[Anonymous]

My child is on the waitlist for Creative Minds. Now I've heard that they are losing their best teachers. Does anyone know why?

From what I heard, they lost at least one teacher or assistant in first, second, third, and fourth grade (which is the highest grade they have), and in some cases, more than one. They lost their music teacher and maybe others. Some teachers are finishing out the year but some are not. I have not heard about younger grades but it looks like they are hiring in those grades too.

As I make school decisions for next year, I would like to know what this means for the future of what looked to be one of the best schools in DC.

Was there a falling out with the Admin?

[Anonymous]

More pay?

[Anonymous]

They are expanding in PK3 (adding a class), so that would explain hires in ECE. Perhaps the move has made some teacher's logistics more difficult (current location is arguably more metro and bus accessible).

[Anonymous]

they pay their teachers terribly, from what I've heard.

[Anonymous]

Teachers do not leave over a commute. They leave because of differences with the administration, or for better pay.

[Anonymous]

Not saying OP is doing this necessarily, but it would be very strategic to spread this rumor if you're kid is on the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

Their small classes are great, but one of the costs/trade-offs of the small classes seems to be lower teacher pay, which could definitely impact teacher retention in the long run.

There are a bunch of charters transitioning from a start-up to a stabilization/maturity phase over the next couple of years, and I'm guessing some teacher turnover is to be expected.

[Anonymous]

Pay sucks....maybe they want to work for DCPS where the pay is the highest in the area.

[Anonymous]

It all depends on the reasons for leaving. If teachers are leaving to move out of the area completely, go back to grad school, promotion, etc., then not a big deal. It happens. If, on the other hand, they are all (most) moving for positions at other DC area schools, then that raises a flag.

[Anonymous]

I will add that teacher turnover is pretty high just about everywhere, even DCPS... even MCPS or Virginia. Teaching is a hard field that burns a lot of people out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not saying OP is doing this necessarily, but it would be very strategic to spread this rumor if you're kid is on the waitlist.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I just checked the website and they have a really robust offering of jobs right now, including elementary, assistant elementary, and early childhood assistant teachers. That seems concerning, to say the least. Hard to develop a culture and institutional knowledge when your teachers are very young and frequently being replaced

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not saying OP is doing this necessarily, but it would be very strategic to spread this rumor if you're kid is on the waitlist.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I just checked the website and they have a really robust offering of jobs right now, including elementary, assistant elementary, and early childhood assistant teachers. That seems concerning, to say the least. Hard to develop a culture and institutional knowledge when your teachers are very young and frequently being replaced

Don't know anything specific about this school, but job postings are sometimes left up on a website for a while after a position has been filled. It's the type of thing I have noticed some organizations not being totally on top of- they just put website updates further down on their list. Also, it doesn't say how many openings of each position there are, so again, hard to read too much into that.

There may be an unusually high number of job openings, but you would need to confirm directly with the school how many teachers are leaving. They may not be able to say until the school year is over, or may not want to say.

[Anonymous]

Current CMI parent here. The OP's statement is exaggerated. There is 1 PS3 teacher moving up to an admin position within the school, 1PK4 teacher is moving back to her home country, Spanish/Drama teacher will be solely teaching drama at the school. Music teacher was not a good fit for the school and will be leaving. 2nd grade teacher is leaving, but I'm not sure about the reasons. That is all. This happens at charters, DCPS, and private schools, guys.

[Anonymous]

As pp noted they are able to keep class size down to 17 by paying staff less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As pp noted they are able to keep class size down to 17 by paying staff less.

Pp has no relation to school. School is hiring because it is expanding not because an abundance of teachers are leaving.