Post-Pandemic, this place became a literal nightmare. Working in any non-profit organization is going to have its woes but LEAP truly takes the cake, and eats it too. I want to break this down as cleanly as possible. Communication: This is the absolute worst and first thing you'll notice. I don't know what they do in that office all day but it's clearly wearing blindfolds and soundproof headphones because you will NEVER hear from these people. If you have an issue with anything, good luck hearing back in a timely manner. Unless they need something from you, you're not going to get solid communication from them. I have proof of some many instances where I needed assistance or feedback on a timed issue and nothing...yet they love to send out these fluffy e-mails about team spirit and unnecessary/stupid events. I'm STILL waiting on specific documents I requested months ago. Pay/Salary: The pay is trash. Especially if you aren't a Teaching Artist or have a Full Schedule. When I first started, I was earning $55/hr for a full work week but come to find out, that was extremely rare and one particular person was looking for me. Otherwise, you're getting paid scraps for a ton of work. They also have way too many, constant, issues with actually paying people on time. Culture: There is one dominating culture at LEAP. It's Whiteness and White-Minded ideology. The White Savior Mentality is certainly there as well. Yes, there are many Black folks and people of color employed by LEAP but quantity doesn't equal quality here. If you're Black, you're absolutely going to feel alone here unless you fall in line with the White Minded Ideology. It's basically like "We Got Y'all" from HBO's Insecure. "Allies" in their own way but not the way you need them to be. Management/Hiring Practices: I've had this theory that LEAP just hires anybody off the street, as long as they show up to work. Probably need those numbers for funding that go into the Director's pockets. They hire people that have poor skills in nearly every department, which brings down the quality of the programs overall. I've seen people let kids run wild, hanging out of school windows, fighting in hallways; barely teaching anything to students. Not putting together lesson plans and just doing whatever. I was able to witness all of these things because of my position as Lead TA, which enabled me to observe other TAs, Specialists, and Group Leaders. "Trainings": They have these little sessions where they want you to get on Zoom or come into the office for a weeklong "training". I put it in quotations because you don't learn anything. It's a complete waste of time, even though we do get paid for it. It's just egotistical coordinators and supervisors spewing uneducated nonsense just so they can hear their own voices. You don't learn practical tools to help you when you're actual on site, in a classroom full of REAL children. This is why so many people quit or request to change sites because they can't "handle" the kids; and to be fair I've seen this happen a lot for the majority Black schools. How can we succeed as Teaching Artists if majority of the TAs aren't equipped with useful tools and knowledge? Lack of Support: There are no benefits or resources given to you as a Teaching Artist. I've worked with other non-profits that help their TAs grow in their own careers, which in turn benefit the organization. LEAP doesn't have that, from my experience. Just like with communication, don't expect much here. No Upward Mobility: Don't expect to move up in this company. They love to keep people where they are. I started working with LEAP around 2017/2018 and since then, I've made many attempts to attain higher (open) positions, beyond Lead Teaching Artist. I've noticed this with other colleagues as well. Which leads me to my biggest point... Discrimination: Whatever I do, I put 125% into it. My work ethic is impeccable. I have been constantly and consistently praised by Supervisors and Upper Management for my skills, aptitude, and ability to keep not only students, but adults engaged (from being observed). That being said, regardless of this, I have not been able to move up in this organization. There would be emails sent out for additional sites to take on, weekend workshops, etc; as soon as those emails would go out, I'd be the first to reply within the first 5 minutes. No matter what, I would get "Oh, we've filled this already". How? You just put that out. I thought it was strange for it to happen consistently over the course of years; I felt I was discriminated against. Took it to HR and the Chief Equity Officer, they looked into it and that person was removed. But this would not be the first or final time I faced discrimination within this organization. The final time, led to a discriminatory termination. Where I was essentially pitted against a non-Black employee who had only been there a year, they kept that employee and let me go. I felt the situation could have been resolved in a better fashion for someone in the organization with high praises been sung.
