A Cult Masquerading as a “School” - Learning Associate Valor Collegiate Academy Employee Review

There is a very “cult-like” mentality to the way it’s run and what students and staff must participate in. On the surface, their mission and culture seems admirable and advantageous until one becomes a part of it. Before applying as an employee or considering sending one’s child there, research the fundamental principles of most cults and then search the web for an article that Valor has buried in a few pages of web search to learn more about the twin brothers’ who left California and a now defunct “church” to open their own vision of a “school” in Nashville. Get ready for “The Circle,” which students and staff must participate in; think of it as a forced public group “therapy.” Their curriculum is purely based around passing state tests to make themselves look successful, thereby achieving more donors and a fake facade of high achievement. Keep in mind, they are a charter school, so they skirt the rules of state public schools—they make their own versions of benchmarks and “state” examinations. Each class block is regimented to the minute, leaving little time for the instructor to actually teach, or a student to learn (e.g.: being given 1 minute to read and respond to a prompt question). Because there are few consequences outside of losing “compass” points, which are akin to an absolutely meaningless tallied demerit, students learn that their negative actions mean nothing aside from the possible liberty of getting to miss class, play with a fidget spinner, and talk about their feelings, which many students find to be quite an advantage over having to sit in a class and follow rules. Furthermore, the sp ed department is ignored, but thankfully had teachers that cared, even if their hands were tied and the students were pushed through the system and sequestered away from gen ed.