When you sign up to work for JPA/PSM you sign a contract that isn’t called a contract, but a “letter of agreement”. You agree to have no rights and agree to sacrifice your career for a greater mission. You do so, trusting that you will be working for reasonable people. That you won’t be harassed by egomaniacs who take offense at the slightest inquiry. Show up to work every single day, do as your told, and it won’t make a difference. You can be demoted on a whim. You signed up to teach one grade, and now you’re the teacher’s assistant for another. You can be fired in an instant. All of these scenarios fall under the pretense of “accountability”. There’s nothing inherently wrong with keeping teachers accountable to achieving results in the classroom. However, what happens when there is something seriously wrong with the school leadership? When your administrator becomes so paranoid, that a single comment can start a chain of events where you will be harassed until you quit, or be fired.
Unfortunately, there is no accountability for the leadership. The letter of agreement is a joke that guarantees no protections. You have to be very careful to not air any concerns, even when prompted to. Team meetings where you’re discussing new policies make you feel that as teachers, you might have a say in what happens in the classrooms and the students, but in reality what you say will come back to haunt you. It shouldn't be this way, but it is. Leadership at these schools will comb through your most mundane emails and draw inaccurate conclusions about the measure of your loyalty. If they find it lacking, beware. You may find yourself without a job.
Your loyalty will also be questioned if you leave work at the time you’ve agreed to leave work. The letter of agreement states “contract hours” which can change at any given time at the discretion of leadership. If you have family obligations, evening classes, be ready to sacrifice it all if you think you can leave work at the designated time. Leaving at the end of your workday, at the agreed time shouldn’t be used against you, but it is.
Finally, and this is directed at future teachers of Jay Pritzker Academy, make sure you don’t have any issues with the racist school policies, because if you do and dare ask any questions, you will be targeted. These are reasonable concerns to have, especially when educating and empowering Cambodian students. A reader asked for specifics, here are a few of those questions to tip-toe around:
Why aren’t Cambodian teachers allowed to speak in English at the school?
Why aren’t Cambodian staff members allowed to sit more than three persons at a table, when foreign teachers can sit eight to a table?
Why can you never be a head teacher if you speak English perfectly, but have an accent other than a British or Australian accent?
Why do Cambodians have extended workdays, slaving away from sun-up to sun-down, 6 days a week?
The children in these underserved communities deserve better. They deserve stability and not have their education short-changed because of the insecurities of the current leadership. The questions above are specific to JPA, but there are teachers at Providence Englewood Charter School who have been unfairly targeted after attending public board meetings for their school. I hope they find a voice and share their own stories.
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