employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Great Hearts Academies

Engaged employer

Only if you are desperate - Teacher Great Hearts Academies Employee Review

1.0
3 Jun 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Small school. You get to know everyone. No tuition paid by students, although they will eventually get what they paid for.

Cons

You are expected to work all the time including evenings and weekends for a very small pay. You are disposable and get very little respect from the headmaster and administration. Most teachers are very young and don't stay more then 1-2 years. Most have very little experience and don't know how to teach, or how to control students. You are also expected to sub for free during your prep hours once or twice per week, sometimes more. You are expected to be on campus from 7:30 to 4:30 PM, do lesson reviews, contact parents, attend 504 meetings, meet with colleagues, and also attend sport events, fine art night events, etc. The list is never ending. The "library" is for elementary school kids only. There is no library for middle school or high school. Computers are at least 8 years old and incredibly bad. There is no cafeteria. Students eat outside, rain or shine. Student plays, talent shows, and dances are also done outside, in Phoenix weather. The so-called Socratic method is a joke among faculty, and seniors, despite their "classical education" are incapable of writing any basic research paper (the "senior thesis" is a joke), speaking about art movements, discussing history or geography, or making any old-fashioned logical argument. Great Hearts functions like a cult: they have this glossy, superficial appearance to the outside world, but the sad reality is that the more students they enroll, the more money they get from the state. They are not interested in instruction quality, SAT scores, or where students will end up (most of them go to community colleges or in-state colleges, if they attend college at all). Their obsession is growing and building more Great Hearts schools, like a disease.

avatar
Great Hearts Academies Response
1y
Thank you for taking the time to address such an important issue for employees, which impacts our overall health and wellbeing. Finding balance in a work environment is a collective effort on the part of administration and the employees, and that partnership is not always aligned at times. We appreciate your input on this issue, and we have in recent years made it our goal to eliminate the non-essential burdens on teachers. As a public education model, Great Hearts yearns to provide access and community for all students and faculty, and we are disappointed to learn that you have not experienced that sense of community at our academy. We acknowledge that school culture may vary from academy to academy, and as a network, we see the culture as guiding force in its overall adherence to the mission to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. Please know that your comments are valued and reviewed to help us ever improve in this very human endeavor. Please send your specific concerns with this academy to us at hr@greatheartsaz.org.

Explore other reviews about Great Hearts Academies

5.0
29 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Intentional and caring work with children.

Cons

Demanding work, but ultimately fulfilling.

3.0
9 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1) Hard to get fired 2) Lowest monthly premiums for benefits I’ve experienced 3) There are busy and slow seasons. Some times you have far too much work to complete in 40 hours and other times you may only have 20 hours of work

Cons

1) Low pay 2) Leadership could be better mainly HR/People Ops, individuals seemingly put into higher up positions based on tenure at the company rather than job experience. 3) Little to no room for growth in HR/People Ops. 4) No annual review process formal or informal and no raises based on individual merit 5) a standard company wide increase each year is in place but it’s typically 2% so not even an amount that keeps up with the cost of living 6) it can feel cliquey

avatar
Great Hearts Academies Response
2mo
Thank you for your feedback. We will share with our leadership your comments. We strive to set a standard of excellence for our students with a focus on a rich liberal arts curriculum and emphasis on moral formation. Great Hearts does provide excellent benefits (medical, dental, etc.), with employee premiums that are significantly below the national and regional averages. We have been engaged in ongoing work on this issue for several years despite no significant funding increases from the states in which we operate, and simultaneously we must balance the need to maintain smaller class sizes, robust network resources, and safe and welcoming campuses. Great Hearts does provide excellent benefits (medical, dental, etc.), with employee premiums that are significantly below the national and regional averages. We have increased our salary ranges in certain regions over the past year. We will continue to work to improve in these areas.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All