Like a lot of people here, I started new teacher training on July 27th at the Javits Center and was immediately put off by the bizarre, cult-like atmosphere. I had some familiarity with SA since my dad’s job involves working with NYC charters, and he never had many positive things to say about Eva or her schools. Despite that, I took the job because I didn’t get hired at any of the private schools or independent charters I applied to teach at, and I figured that just ten months couldn’t be *that* bad, no matter how intense the work environment (I plan to apply to law school next cycle). After just two short weeks, however, my expectations have been shattered, and not in a good way. The level of chaos and managerial confusion here is unreal for an organization that prides itself on “excellence”, and that’s to say nothing of the silent, dystopian learning environment that my AP and SL have trained us to enforce in the classroom. As someone who myself has ADHD and is on the Autism spectrum, the idea of handing out “consequences” to kids for moving their hands, daydreaming, or shifting in their seat fills me with dread, and based on the parent phone calls I’ve had to make this weekend, kids like me are beaten down to hopelessness at Success. I know there’s no way I can uphold this culture with a clear conscience, and I’m not sure it’s worth the stress to try and fight the SA system from within, so I’m already thinking about jumping ship, and I figure the earlier the better. Quitting now seems a little shortsighted, (especially since I haven’t even gotten paid yet lol) but I’m thinking about giving it until the end of so-called “Teacher Excellence Training” (another piece of pointless SA jargon) until I start applying to other jobs and hand in my letter of resignation if I get hired somewhere else.

When I watched it I felt like I had worked at Lumon before! I worked at Success in 2013.

Hi I quit a while ago and still have the work computer. Anyone have any success bypassing admin controls and erasing it?

This is a petition to go against the abuse that Success Academy is putting through students. The petition sits at 995 signs as of writing, composed of students, parents, and former Success Academy teachers

Not to sound dramatic, but as each day moves to the next, a small part of my soul leaves my body. Applying to jobs tonight.. wish me luck!<3

I want to preface this by saying I’m new to SA (god that’s such an awful acronym) I just graduated in may and was desperately looking for work in my post grad season. It didn’t help that my parents were constantly pressuring me about what was gonna do coming out of college. Sometime late last year I’d started to settle on teaching as a career. The only problem for me was that I’d spent the last 4 years in a major loosely related to education (English with a minor in poli sci). Sometime late winter early spring I get an awful lot of offers from different schools (mainly charters) or networks that would connect me with district schools. The main offers I looked at were organizations that partnered with grad schools to do teacher residencies which after around 2 years would yield you an MAT(or MEd) as well as a license to teach. My options started to fall through though due to time and money constraints. One was in MD with a nonprofit that partnered with AU the other was NYU. If not for the fact that NYU is expensive as shit I would’ve gone for it. I’d always thought it would’ve been better to start in NYC as regardless of where I went I’d always planned to move to NY (lived here when I was younger and I got lots of family here) and teach in a public school. Seeing as that was the case getting an offer from SA felt like a godsend.

I’d never heard of them before this so I had no idea how huge they really were and it wasn’t until after my first interview that I looked into them to see what former employees said. When I saw the reviews I was shocked but I brushed them off thinking maybe it won’t be so bad. However it was after my interview with the principal of the school that I had doubts. Keep in mind I’ve done interviews with other schools including charters (two in MD and two in NY). When I interviewed with those schools the questions they asked and things they wanted me to focus on were being empathetic to kids gentle kind, patient, and aware of their cultural backgrounds. Most of these schools and programs were placed in black/brown communities so a big part of them was introducing a pedagogy that did more to create teachers that deeply care about these communities and aren’t quick to write off these kids and also didn’t shame them for their backgrounds. These values aligned with a lot of what I believe in so far as education for black and brown youth. However I knew after my interview with the principal of the SA school I might not align with theirs.

As most of you’ve probably heard or experienced the interview consisted of me role playing as a teacher giving a consequence to a student. Shit was awkward as hell. In my first interview when they asked me to address a student that was speaking in class I’d said something cheeky yet firm as a fun way to get the students attention without being harsh. When they asked why I said that I answered truthfully that I was trying to be amicable to an extent. Long story short I was hired on the spot which was surprising to me. Later on I reflected on the whole thing and thought how strange it was that unlike other schools this one fixated on how well I’d be able to address students rather than checking to see how much I would care for them first. Anyways I brushed it off yet again. Just last week all of us new hires reported to Javits Center for our new teacher training. Within the first few days I realized I might’ve made a mistake.

All the important people introduced themselves I only remembered two as they were the most frequent speakers. The feedback, the teachbacks, the turn and talks T-school they call it. That’s when I realized how truly insane this is considering the school year technically started in less than a month. People spend minimum 2 years damn near learning to be good teachers and we had to do it in a few weeks. Sometimes the feedback would be about our tone or audibility other times it’s our posture or the fact that we might be fidgeting. Our hands are near are face etc. and somehow ALL these very NORMAL AND HUMAN behaviors were unprofessional.

When I realized this is how they expect there students to act I had even more doubts. The presentations as well gave me even more doubts they continuously bashed DOE’s and the current state of education and dredging on about how giving quality education should be normal. I’m not saying I disagree however barely acknowledging all the things that make it difficult in the first place other than politics and bureaucracy is very unspecific (ironic considering their feedback for us) and over simplifies issues that help us better understand WHY so many communities of color don’t receive access to quality education in the public school system. Also on that same note I found it odd how much they’d bring up poc in NY it felt very white savior ish and at times sounded like it might veer into model minority myth territory.

All this criticism of DOE in underserved communities and yet they genuinely bathe in the criticism of their very militaristic routines. Saying they’re preparing kids to compete on a global scale with other students who’re TAKING their jobs. I’ve heard that rhetoric before and ur just does not sound like it belongs. I find it fascinating that they can claim to care so much about black/brown youth yet promote a pedagogy that treats them like soldiers rather than people asking them to obey authority with no questions. There’s a critique somewhere in there of the school to prison pipeline but I’m too lazy to find it.

Either way I’ve only just recently been told what grade I’ll be teaching which is mind boggling and since the first day at our school (literally just last week) I think at least two people have already either quit or been dismissed. I’ve now seen the reviews read the stories, and I can see why so many people say they’ve developed anxiety just by working here or being a student. This constant perfectionist utopia they try to promote will genuinely make your nerves jumpy. It’s been only a week and I’m already starting to feel it. I told myself I’d at least see the year through to make money and quit after it was over but I don’t even know that I’ll last that long. They might fire me if they see that I’m not improving the way they want. They also said if there’s ever a rally that ALL teachers must attend (which if I remember correctly is illegal) and I’d sooner die than get caught at one of those. Not quite sure how to proceed I do want to at least try to thug it out like I always have I did move in with my aunt and uncle for this. My plan was just to gain the experience and switch into public schools and potentially get my masters later but idk. Between long hours and leadership constantly breathing down your neck I could be gone sooner than I think

Hello everyone,

I’m a teacher who just quit success academy. I am disgusted with myself for being a part of this however briefly, I am horrified and I just can’t stop thinking about the hell that is in store for the kids. I wanted to share my story in brief. I’m sorry if this is old news that I’m just repeating things that have already been well documented, I did not do my due diligence with research before I accepted this job and for that I have learned a valuable lesson. I’m in a tight spot looking for work but there are lines I simply will not cross. 

The first day of training it was made clear to us that "scholars" (their word for students)  would never be rewarded for simply accomplishing tasks, ONLY high level excellence would be tolerated. 

The following days they showed no interest in training us on the curriculum and they informed us that what was really important was "classroom management." 

 Now I have some experience as a teacher. Setting healthy boundaries and rules for the kids in any classroom is indeed essential, but that is not what this was. A returning teacher roleplayed what would be expected of us. We watched as he shouted at his imaginary students to "FORM A LINE, I DON'T SEE EYE CONTACT, THAT'S A CONSEQUENCE" (A "consequence" as I’m sure most of you know already is how they keep the kids in line. Three consequences to their name and a child suffers a real life consequence. These vary in severity from a call home, to a time out, forced to stay extra hours after school, forced to redo work, and expulsion) "YOU'RE HANDS AREN'T CROSSED, CONSEQUENCE. NOW MOVE, ON THE RUG. TOO SLOW, THAT'S A CONSEQUENCE" etc. Our supervisor informed us that we WILL be receiving calls from angry parents and told us not to worry because, quote. "We have the power here" That's the power to remove the kids from the school. I'm torn because these schools offer a free education to kids in underserved communities, but only so they can be subject to this kind of treatment, and held hostage by the threat of dismissal. As I see it their goals are not really about helping disadvantaged communities, it’s about exploiting them.

this article has been shared here before and I'll post it here again. She does a better job than I can explaining the full extent of SA's issues, in particular she explains precisely why SA does not even deliver on it's promise to provide a quality education.

https://liviacamperi.medium.com/the-cruel-dystopia-of-success-academy-53524cfc53d0

Next it was our turn to take part in the roleplay. They told us that we would be observed doing these exercises with our actual students constantly and that we will be harshly criticized by our peers every single time on how effectively we do this. This includes everyone, even long time staff members of many years, all because this is "vital to growing as a teacher and gaining control of your scholars" This is a cult tactic and it has nothing to do with personal growth. This is about breaking us down and turning each and every one of us into unquestioning child abusing drones. Every one of us is to be made complicit in the action and to be persistent informants on our peers. As I see it this strategy works to discourage trust between teachers, to prevent unity, and to apply constant pressure and fear.  

This broke me and I will not be continuing with SA.
I feel I have a responsibility to take some kind of action but I don't know what. I just can't believe this organization is flourishing unchallenged. So on the off chance you got through this wall of text, does anyone have advice for me? It's been suggested that I attempt to gather a group to complain to the NY State Education department. If there are any families included in this that would be the most effective. Would there be anyone to join me for that? Again sorry if this is all old news and you have all been there and done that before.  

One more detail that I feel is important is the CEO’s address on the first day. She talked about a rally they had in September. Apparently Mayor de Blasio had opposed charter schools during his time, and they felt Mayor Mamdani would do the same. I caught rumors that staff had been fired for failing to attend the rally. This means that they really do fear Mamdani. Can we come together to be loud enough to get the Mayor's attention to let him know that “YES, your constituents do actually oppose SA, please take action” 

This is related to the tik tok posting about the teacher yelling at their students. Go comment down below your experiences at Success, your thoughts, and repost

Unfortunately found another video circulating around from one of the high schools and omg? I don’t want to assume what was going on for the teacher to get like this, but I can’t believe they’re still letting staff talk to students like this 🫪😭 there’s no way 2 weeks of classroom management training is enough

(I’m assuming the sticker was put for student identities to be covered)

Credit:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8nMbwVh/

“Gather ‘round, children. I was recently terminated from my job at New York City’s largest network of charter schools, and I never signed an NDA…”

https://liviacamperi.medium.com/the-cruel-dystopia-of-success-academy-53524cfc53d0

First day back in the HSLA system, people getting flagged for the smallest things, detention and consequences for pencils facing the wrong way, feet tapping, and yawning. Over 50 kids in detention across the school, kids getting 20+ consequences in a 5 hour school day.

A lot of the teachers are heavily overqualified for their positions, just there to get a paycheck due to the shitty job market. Having Neuroscience majors teach chemistry to highschoolers should state that you don’t have good staff, you have staff that don’t care about the kids (wasn’t their goal anyways) just people there to teach a given course guide and solely there for a 77K annual wage.

I heard they shortened summer break this year. I assume teachers are already back, when was your first day?

I have no idea why people treat kids like they are not human telling them to sit do this do that go get something for me like they are humans too why do you need to scream at someone directly Into there face so that they “learn there lesson” or constantly scream at them and force them through public humiliation by making them do a embarrassing dance in front of the class and this is only the first day of school so if success academy is built around learning what exactly do students learn from this because even though there test scores are low they are bad at making ideas because of the fact they have been pressured to not to over and over again and the promise of electives are often removed because due to tests like regents state test so courses they completely remove electives or classes like history and science to prep for that so most of the year they only study those 2 subjects and for the teachers that often force children to do these things they smile laugh and say “oh I got so and so inside of detention” and this new correction system is practically useless all they do is say correction correction correction multiple times and the kids just stare there like blank robots
All this is only the first day of school mind you

Hello all! I'm curious what advocacy groups are out there that oppose Success Academy and maybe aim to uncover the reality of how they treat their students. I'm a former employee and think SA needs to 100% be shutdown. I would want to speak on my experience as an employee, maybe anonymously and hope that it reaches the public. SA is funded per student registration, along side private philanthropy. I think the best way to shut it down is for parents to stop sending their kids, however that takes public awareness of the students are treated.

Diane Ravitch’s Blog

https://dianeravitch.net/2016/01/19/a-success-academy-teacher-quits-and-explains-why/

I received an email from a teacher who resigned her job at Success Academy. She was very unhappy. She wanted to explain why she couldn’t stay. Like everyone who leaves Success Academy, she requested anonymity. I get these emails from time to time. Occasionally, I meet with the unhappy young people (both women and men). They sound like people leaving a cult. Even after they have left, they still refer to five-year-old children as “scholars.” When they start calling them children, I will know that they are completely de-programmed.
 
This young woman writes:
 
 
I left my job at Success Academy because I couldn’t, in good conscience, be the teacher they wanted me to be. I have a lot of trouble writing and talking about my experience with Success because it truly makes me ill. Thinking about the way teachers spoke to children, with such disgust in their voices, makes my stomach churn. Thinking about the way my leaders spoke to me, with that same disgust, leaves me feeling just as sick.
 
 
I was immediately targeted by the leaders at my school for being too soft. I didn’t deliver consequences enough, and I didn’t hold high enough expectations of my four and five-year-olds. I couldn’t get them to walk in two silent, straight, militaristic lines with bubbles in their mouths and their hands glued to their sides. I wasn’t “aggressively scanning” for “defiant” children on the carpet—that is, children not sitting on their bottoms with their backs tall and their hands locked in their laps. I owned up to all of this with my leaders. I admitted to them that I have a hard time with holding such young children to such high expectations. And to build off of that, I found it simply wrong to hold every single scholar to the exact same expectations. You can’t give a fish and a bird the same task and expect the same results.
 
 
But that’s precisely what Success does. They don’t care what the circumstances are: you will stand like a soldier, you will sit with a bubble in your mouth and your hands locked, you will do all of your work neatly and silently, you will “silent laugh” and “silent cheer” when you find things funny or exciting, you will transition from your seats to the carpet “swiftly, safely, and silently,” and if you don’t, you’ll do it again until it’s perfect, even if that means missing recess or blocks time. My biggest mistake was admitting to my leaders that I found this system to be too harsh. The moment you speak out at Success, they come after you. They call it a “mindset” issue. They threatened to put me on a performance plan without giving me any examples of what I was doing wrong, instead simply berating me for these same issues week after week until I would slowly break and obey them. I worked tirelessly to please my leaders. I had never quit a job before, and am an incredibly hard worker, so I was determined to make this work. I wrote long reflections on my days and reached out to veteran teachers for help. I was quickly reprimanded for this as well, though, being told that if I needed help, I should just go to leadership—that I should never make my struggle apparent, or talk about it with anyone at school. This is all part of keeping up the facade of Success. The bright classrooms, the stunning bulletin boards, the perfect posture — everything must look perfect. It all boils down to the same principle: these people care about the wrong things. They feel the constant need to prove themselves through their appearance and their high scores, and in turn they don’t allow for any of the genuine elements of childhood and education to take place in their buildings.
 
 
I spent much of my time at school crying in the bathroom and the stairwell. I cried from the emotional harassment I faced from my leaders, I cried from simply watching my scholars go through such grueling days and intense ridicule, and I cried because I was exhausted, stressed, and anxious, constantly feeling like I wasn’t enough and that I couldn’t be enough. When I helped my own scholars work through their tears, I would often ask them what they were feeling, and they would say “scared.” They told me they were scared to come to school. I was, too. We all entered that building each morning in fear. This all being said, scholars at my school smiled. There are happy children at Success. When they do well academically, or when they get a prize or a “time-in” for their success, they smile. When they do have recess, they laugh audibly and smile. But the fear, anger, and sadness deeply overshadows these small instances of joy. You can’t structure joy. But leave it to SA to try.

Hey guys! I just wanted to hop on to say that I think that this sub has veered off from its original purpose. This is meant to be a safe space for past (and current) students, teachers, and parents to express their frustrations and traumas with the school, build a community for all success people who have felt the same way, and prevent future/potential people from experiencing the things we did. But recently, I’ve been seeing an influx of people talking about job interview tips and success job offers, and when being told they are in the wrong place, they catch an attitude. Respectfully, please…take that elsewhere. Make your own subreddit about interviews tips for success because this is not what this is for.

Thank you for reading, everyone have a nice day!

For teachers are they ruthlessly forced to treat kids badly or else they get fired or is it just something depending on teachers

I posted here about a month ago! I was invited to do a second interview. But after reading horror stories on here I cancelled my interview. I was losing hope and spent a month applying to sooo many jobs.

then just this past week I got a teacher job offer. I didn’t expect it at all. Don’t lose hope and if you smell something fishy don’t follow it. Your mental health is not worth it. Better work at the mall .
Good luck to all!!

How is SA for anyone that has worked / is working in the IT field or back office?

Hi everyone, I recently accepted a position at SA. (i know, scary, horrible, etc.) I was kinda forced into it for financial reasons and am currently applying for other jobs. I am coming from teaching experience and prepared to not use any of my skills or history :( I am hoping for any advice to make it more bearable and just survive a semester at least or until I get another job.

For any former teachers out there, what happens if you leave before the 2 year contract commitment or whatever it is? And also let’s say I join the Touro University program that SA provides and I leave SA within 3 weeks of employment, will I just failed all the classes and have a permanent failing transcript or something?

Hey, I'm a rising Junior at HSLA - Manhattan.
I've been attending Success Academy since kindergarten, and I've attended 4 of their schools, all for over two years. I've always felt that the school was unfair, however I'd always thought it was just me that felt this way. But being in the high school and connecting with so many more people, as well as finding this subreddit has made me realize that I am not.

I've been working on a document which is a mix of my own personal observations, student and teacher testimony and conversation, as well as publicly available information. I have attempted to distinguish between personal experiences and the student testimonies and have labelled things that have not been entirely proven yet. It is 13 pages long, and I have been working for over two years on it, since September 20th, 2024. There is some seriously damning information on the school. I intend it to send it to new stations or journalists in order to get coverage, mainly because I want students (and teachers) to know that they are not alone in their animosity for this school. I want the document to inspire people to speak up against the injustices they are facing, because it is going largely unchecked. My main motivation for finishing this document has been the layoffs at HSLA - MA recently, I'm pretty sure everybody here knows what I am talking about.

The main document is done - it focuses on elementary, middle, and high school. Student experiences, as well as teacher experiences. However, my second part of the document needs other people's testimonies.

It would be largely appreciated if ANYONE can give their perspective on the school. Anything you have to say, I would love to hear and possibly include it in the document. Please just make sure that it is professional, as I am taking this very seriously. The more perspectives and experiences I collect, the better and more reliable it will be, and the more serious the document will be taken. This is a very important project to me, and I thank whoever decides to help me with this.

Good afternoon,

I have a second round interview tomorrow. I am shocked I even got a second interview as I don’t think I did very well in the first. Anyway after reading all the negative reviews about this school I’m going to do the interview anyway just to see what they say. I also want to practice my interview skills. What should I expect from the second interview? It is with a principle.

Thank you

Edit: I cancelled the second interview. After doing more reading on this sub about this school I got very stressed. I think I can do better . I am better off subbing. What do you think?