Pros
Camaraderie with teachers and paraprofessionals is pretty good. The custodial staff and maintenance work very hard and are always helpful.
Cons
The pay is horrible and less than advertised. Don’t expect any pay increase and be very sure to check your pay stubs. There is no support from the administration and if you read the words “at will” in the job description take it very seriously. You’re going to be told often that you can lose your job for any number of reasons. They have a very high turnover rate of teachers and staff every year. My first year I was told it was a 76% turnover due mainly to resignations. A lot of the kids are good kids. Unfortunately, there’s too many who cause behavioral/discipline issues with impunity. The class sizes are large, also. Some classes are 30-32 students. You may think that’s okay but it does make it very difficult for teachers. Administration will do little to help teachers with student behavior. ISS is a great place to catch up on your sleep, btw. Students are allowed phones and electronic devices at high school. The students are very rude to teachers and staff because they know nothing will happen to them. The students word is always taken over the teachers when it concerns behavior. Teachers dread the end of the year because everyone gets an exit interview. Quite a few get fired no matter if they’ve been there 20 years or 2. Simply put, the work environment is like walking on eggshells and after seeing your paycheck you wonder why you even became a teacher to begin with.