Exploitative Company but One of the Better Ways to Get Your Teaching Credential and Kind Consultants
Pros
Pros: 1) The Consultants are wonderful to work with; they are very patient and they answer all your questions. The Consultants are also very generous with their time. The Consultants are probably the best part about this company. Additionally, they help with any classroom management issues you may have, and they will advocate to the school for you. 2)This IS one of the easier/faster ways to get your teaching credentials, it is also one of the Most Inexpensive ways to do so, as they help defer some cost of schooling. (this just goes to show how difficult acquiring a credential is, and this company certainly exploits that fact) 3) The schools the company work with are also pleasant schools to sub at 4) They prioritize Long-Term Sub Positions, so you get good hands-on teaching experience
Cons
1) It Does Not Pay Well OR Fairly. The Pay is exploitative. In a Long-Term Sub Position, the company has you doing the Exact Same Job as the other Contracted Teachers and pays you SIGNIFICANTLY Less to do so. Keep in mind, a long term sub position involves grading, lesson planning, parent teacher conferences, etc... You are doing every aspect of the job the other teachers are doing, but you are paid a great deal less AND you are given less than half the PTO/Sick Days. For example, Teachstart only gives you 3 days PTO (and paid holidays, but the teachers are also getting that) And where I was working at, the teachers got 11 Days PTO that I did not get. Additionally, they only give you about one week for Winter Break, even if you are in a long term sub position, you Do Not get the same breaks as the rest of the staff. This company is Extremely Stingy with paid time off and with holiday breaks. Even if you are assigned a school with 2 weeks spring break, they will make you work one of those weeks. 2) Do Not Be Fooled when they say they base your salary off of 50,000/year. They are trying to act like they pay you more than they do. First of all, the most recent Teacher's Strike won Unionized Teachers 60,000/year, so you are already underpaid. Secondly, in reality, you are paid 3000/month After Taxes. Thirdly, they Do Not pay you for the summer months, so be sure you are saving so you can support yourself during that time. Finally, if you do Scholar+, you will need to pay about 300$ per class to Alliant + a 50$ clearance fee to apply. They are Very Evasive in giving you these numbers when you sign the contract.
