I am someone who has worked with urban youth prior to this experience and loved it. I was quite certain that teaching was my calling. During my years with AUSL I loved my students and put in 110% in hopes that my kids would have learned and become better people in the year they have spent with me. I loved my kids and was passionate about education, but have decided to leave. Here are my reasons:
-AUSL is growing faster than they can handle. The schools they have supposedly "turned around" with an exorbitant amount of additional funds usually revert back to pre-turnaround condition by the third year. They take effective teachers and administration from "successful" schools and have them sent to schools that have been newly added to the network. Four out of five times, this teacher/admin drain have disastrous effects on the school the following year. A school that might have been calm, in less than one year's time, can become one where fights spontaneously break out multiple times a day from 8th grade down to K.
-If you are a critical thinker, this place is not for you. For most principals, their idea of an ideal teacher is a yes man/woman with great classroom management. They are even OK with teachers using mild corporal as long as they follow the principal in all decisions and can manage a class. My friends in the network and I have been accused of being insubordinate, "uncoachable," negative, etc, for simply voicing the "wrong" opinion. If that happens often enough, they will find a way to get rid of you regardless of your skill in teaching or dedication to the kids. In the end, the principals are in charge of the teacher reviews, and let's just say those things are pretty subjective.
-Test scores trump all in AUSL. You will be asked to do reading passages with multiple choice questions even if over half of your kids cannot read. You will be asked to fill out an analysis sheets on your "data" of mostly random guesses. You will be asked to focus on the students in the third quartile to get the most "bang for your buck" on test score gains. You may be asked to ignore the "lowest" students because they are so far from grade level.
-Students with special needs are not getting what they need in most AUSL schools. The paraprofessionals that have been hired with money that was specifically allotted for these students are often not in the special ed classroom or assisting students with needs. Often they are used as an extra support for behavior in the hallways, a sub, or recess and lunch staff. Basically, most AUSL schools are in gross violation of laws made to protect students with special needs.
AUSL has its priorities in the wrong places. They care more about their image than the growth and well being of their students and staff. I used to love teaching, but I am now on a indefinite hiatus due to my traumatic experience with AUSL. I leave AUSL unsatisfied, disillusioned, and in debt. Please let this serve as a cautionary tale for passionate individuals hoping to work for AUSL. If you want to keep teaching and love what you do, stay away.
