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

[Anonymous]

And definitely after year 3. Please do tell in 3 years...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High turnover in charters is well known. The system was deliberately set up to create this dynamic in the name of competition and union busting. Don't go charter if you don't want high turnover.

I don't know about this. My kid's school (DCB) is moving next year, and I was pleased to hear only one teacher is leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers leave schools ALL THE TIME. I have a DC at Beauvoir and they have at least ten teachers leaving this year. Some for unknown sketchy reasons. All part of the process.

Hmm. My kid is at assign awesome new charter and I thought it was a pretty good indication of the success of the first year of the school that there is zero turned into the second year.

Get back to us in year 2

... And it's been around for 10 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But, but... isn't it just like going to private school, only free?

No. It's a public charter school that takes everyone who is lucky in the lottery. That fact alone makes it very different from private schools.

This line is definitely one of the most precious in the HRCS parent's sales pitch. The barriers to entry make privates what they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe that last year Sela, Appletree, and Shining Stars had openings in August for at least some grade levels. I do not know about this year.

I believe that both K teachers at CMI are leaving, as well. I did not know about the other teachers or staff. I do know the director and she is a wonderful human being and an inspiration. I doubt that she would be a reason for anyone to leave (more like a reason to stay). DC is a very transient city.

Last year and this year for Shining Stars are vastly different. Last year there was a moving nightmare (and communication nightmare) that damaged the school's reputation terribly. It's actually a sign of the strength of Shining Stars that this year has been pretty quiet, it looks like the majority of parents are returning, and I'm pretty sure they went into round 2 of the lottery this year with very few slots. Totally different picture for Sela, which has had very high turnover of families and staff from the start. It makes no sense to have them in the same category for the point you're making.

And Appletree has different things happening at different campuses, but their model pretty much expects high turnover from teachers. You can contact them for more info on their model, but what is amazing about it is how well they train their teachers even though such a high % of them are new. Our child had excellent teachers at Appletree, and I work in education and probably had a more specific, higher bar than most parents.

Bottom line point is, these schools are each in a pretty different category from the other and the post lumping them together didn't make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe that last year Sela, Appletree, and Shining Stars had openings in August for at least some grade levels. I do not know about this year.

I believe that both K teachers at CMI are leaving, as well. I did not know about the other teachers or staff. I do know the director and she is a wonderful human being and an inspiration. I doubt that she would be a reason for anyone to leave (more like a reason to stay). DC is a very transient city.

Last year and this year for Shining Stars are vastly different. Last year there was a moving nightmare (and communication nightmare) that damaged the school's reputation terribly. It's actually a sign of the strength of Shining Stars that this year has been pretty quiet, it looks like the majority of parents are returning, and I'm pretty sure they went into round 2 of the lottery this year with very few slots. Totally different picture for Sela, which has had very high turnover of families and staff from the start. It makes no sense to have them in the same category for the point you're making.

And Appletree has different things happening at different campuses, but their model pretty much expects high turnover from teachers. You can contact them for more info on their model, but what is amazing about it is how well they train their teachers even though such a high % of them are new. Our child had excellent teachers at Appletree, and I work in education and probably had a more specific, higher bar than most parents.

Bottom line point is, these schools are each in a pretty different category from the other and the post lumping them together didn't make sense.

Thank you for this post! I also thought that lumping them together did not make sense. Also, the director being a wonderful human being and an inspiration is irrelevant. People are different and different people affect people in different ways. One person's inspiration might be another person's nightmare. So a teacher could very well leave the school because of the director. Let's just disregard this post altogether.

[Anonymous]

Aghs. I was the person who said CMI was the greatest ever. Was not a troll or stirring anything up -- sincerely like it. Now it looks like I was causing trouble but I was just giving the other side for OP considering it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers leave schools ALL THE TIME. I have a DC at Beauvoir and they have at least ten teachers leaving this year. Some for unknown sketchy reasons. All part of the process.

Hmm. My kid is at assign awesome new charter and I thought it was a pretty good indication of the success of the first year of the school that there is zero turned into the second year.

Get back to us in year 2

You're missing the point here. Year 1 in a new school is extremely difficult. 100 percent retention is very impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers leave schools ALL THE TIME. I have a DC at Beauvoir and they have at least ten teachers leaving this year. Some for unknown sketchy reasons. All part of the process.

Hmm. My kid is at assign awesome new charter and I thought it was a pretty good indication of the success of the first year of the school that there is zero turned into the second year.

Get back to us in year 2

You're missing the point here. Year 1 in a new school is extremely difficult. 100 percent retention is very impressive.

No I'm not, CMI had 100% retention in year one. As I said, DC is a transient city, and teachers at charter schools are young and will tend to move. Also, schools that incorporate additional specific programming (immersion, international curriculum, etc,) have difficulty with retention because there are multi-levels to what they are teaching then straigh curriculum.

Congrats on your 100% retention but as I mentioned, you are newlyweds. Come back when your admin is in year 3 and struggling for funding. When your founding parents are burnt out. When you have gone through a move. When you have done ANYTHING.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers leave schools ALL THE TIME. I have a DC at Beauvoir and they have at least ten teachers leaving this year. Some for unknown sketchy reasons. All part of the process.

Hmm. My kid is at assign awesome new charter and I thought it was a pretty good indication of the success of the first year of the school that there is zero turned into the second year.

Exactly how does this have anything to do with CMI?

[Anonymous]

CMI did not have 100% retention its first year; a number of teachers in one of the upper grades didn't even make it through the whole year.

[Anonymous]

OP, please give up your spot. What grade?

[Anonymous]

I am a CMI parent and the turnover does not concern me. I am glad some of you like the music teacher, but I've heard many folks say she was not a good fit, and I had mixed feelings. The school is expanding and several current teachers are moving into new roles. I am excited about the staff additions and it's nice to see the school maturing. I will miss one teacher who is returning to her home country. She taught my children and is lovely!

No school is perfect but CMI is pretty fabulous for a tuition free school.

[Anonymous]

I am a CMI parent and must say I am a little stressed out about all the people leaving. I know turnover is not unusual in schools especially new ones, but it does make me wonder if there is some common issue (difficult administration? Low pay?) that will continue to drive away good employees. Here's hoping not.

[Anonymous]

An important question to ask is where are they going?

Are they staying in teaching and going to a different charter? (bad fit / not aligned with administration)

Are they moving to DCPS? (Money)

Other? (life event)