Job Discussion Forums

[Mercury Morris]

Hello All,

As a public service I want to warn prospective teachers about SPĚVAČEK Jazykova Skola located at Namesti Miru (and Dejvicka). This is a bad school to teach at for a variety of reasons.

Background information: this school was formerly known as St James Education Center up until 2010 and was then sold by its former owners to Spevacek. As is often the case, everything changed for the worst with the new owner.

Bad things about SPĚVAČEK Jazykova Skola for teachers are as follows:

1) The new owner continues to slash pay, slash what meagre benefits there were (no more 500czk metro pass fare benefit every month just imposed); end term contract completion bonus was approx 10,000 czk under St James; now approx 2,000 czk with new ownership. Where pay as St James was 320czk/60 mins, now is 290czk/60 mins---and going even lower, like 270 czk if you are non-native ESL teacher there.

2) Authoritative, hierarchical atmosphere: Management and DOS on top, admin-support staff comes next, and ESL teachers at the bottom. You may be barked at if you do something wrong. "Closed door" policy by management. There is now a rigid "Do as you're told or you will be terminated" management-teacher relationship style (and many teachers have been terminated). The DOS Ria is a total bitch with a nasty, passive- aggressive personality. Admin staff/front desk reception are a very cliquish, arrogant lot: an "us vs. the teachers" combative interactive style is most evident.

3) Double standards abound. Ever more stringent rules and deadlines for invoicing, for database entry, for bureaucratic this and that is demanded by management; but paying teachers late is commonplace and simply shrugged off.

3) Run more like a factory than a school: with over 200 teachers, this company is a numbers game.

4) Many teaching staff frustrated by low wages and poor morale is seeping in. Many teachers are complaining about the situation.

5) Stressed out administrative staff. Owner is too cheap to hire more administrative staff (in spite of buying several schools and adding loads of new teachers)---so administrative staff are overworked, short-tempered, often stressed out, and dislike many teachers. Way too much personality and people politics. Favoritism and nepotism abound.

All things considered, SPĚVAČEK Jazykova Skola is an excellent candidate for the worldwide "ESL school Hall of Shame".

[Czexpat]

Pretty much matches what I've been hearing about them lately.