A noble cause gone horribly south - Teacher ACE Ed-Venture Employee Review

What started as a genuine noble cause: that of making a difference in education through innovation and fostering development of student personalities in addition to real life skills needed for the ever changing working world, has currently dissolved into a corporate nightmare, where safety, welfare and morale of staff are constantly trampled on as the company seeks to continue to stay economically relevant in a competitive education market. Among some of the contributors to this dangerously toxic environment include: - Horrible salary policies that are not clearly defined and lead to poor salary growth. No annual bonuses are given as it is not a provision made in the company's policy and increments are few and far between and based on vague policies relating to time of service and performance quality. New incoming teachers are paid far below the minimum rate for a company of its reputation and are made to work just as hard as veteran teaching staff. - Promotions within the company are highly affected by nepotism. Close friends or family of upper management get promotions to positions of management easily despite repeated evidence of incompetence on their part. Other staff members who have demonstrated loyalty, dedication and most importantly, competence are often pushed aside. This also extends to hiring of new staff members who are often considered and hired through word of mouth. Some are appointed immediately to positions of authority upon hiring just because of their loyalty and friendships with management from previous job experiences, despite highly questionable and suspicious practices and decision making. - Founders and management are highly ambitious and always looking for opportunities to expand and launch new schools and programs often without concrete planning and support. Those in charge of such expansion projects are often blamed when plans do not come to fruition. - What started off as a fantastically established work environment and culture, where staff members could feel part of a well supported and honored family has devolved into a nightmare as the founders and management have become increasingly disconnected from the realities and struggles of their staff. Staff are made to take on more work responsibilities without monetary compensation at the very least and are blamed when things do not turn out as they should or when standards set by the company are not met. Staff members are also the first to be blamed and even censured with stiff punishments the instant any complaints or concerns are raised by students or parents, all which are done with minimal investigation and biased decision making on the part of management. This increase in unethical practices and workplace harassment has resulted in many resignations and those who still work there do so in fear and with massively decreased morale.