I wish I had found this site before I had my unfortunate adventure with Upturn Arts, instead of after. As a black woman teacher, I also experienced abusive treatment, unfair pay, and unpredictable scheduling similar to a previous worker.
During the initial training with the director and both new and veteran teachers, I was singled out for demeaning comments that forced me to complain privately to the teacher trainer. She made no effort to address the unprofessional people, so I was left to avoid them and hope their hazing behavior faded out with time.
Sadly, when the actual camp started, the harassment then came from the director. Even though I pre-submitted lesson plans, she made critical comments after my lessons behind my back that filtered back to me from whispers from the teaching assistants. Besides that, we had been promised trained assistants in our classroom but were in fact supplied with untrained teenagers. They filled the room with shouting, interrupted children at creative play, left their water bottles and clipboards on the floor randomly underfoot while children were dancing, sometimes grabbed kids up to cuddle in their laps (so unprofessional!) refused to help with setting up the classroom, and generally created an air of not wanting to be there or help the kids. When I mentioned this to the director she confirmed that she had observed the same. Then I asked her if those teens could please not to be sent into my classroom as assistants anymore. Yet she continued to send them in the following days and even sent more of them (!)
Besides the chaos and lack of professionalism, there was also unpredictability with hours. We were first contracted to teach 12 weeks, then I was emailed that I was only booked for 8, and then I was reduced to exactly 2 weeks (suspiciously near to my complaints about the untrained teens).
CAUTION: Do not agree to work with Upturn if you're a teaching artist who values young children or a Black woman who values your self respect!
This was the WORST employer I’ve ever worked with. Ever. What were called micro aggressions pre pandemic can no longer hide as such and must be called out as bigoted and unjust! This nonprofit that prides itself in being equitable for the poor and undeserved community in New Orleans works in theory, but during my employment its practice never made a priority with the Black students or staff. For all future staff, the contract means nothing when the owner doesn’t get her way.
As a salaried employer I was told when hired that I can “work from the beach”, as long as my work was complete. Not true. During a 6-month period, at least 2 of my paychecks were reduced to an hourly rate when I wasn’t in office when the owner wanted, even though my work was ahead of schedule at times. One morning my electricity was out because of a neighborhood power outage and I sent the owner a message that I would be in the office at a later time when my power was restored; she replied “Get ready in the sunlight. That’s what I would do.”
When I wore my hair in an Afro I was given the owner complimented me by saying, “I wish I had fun hair like you.” When challenged on her equity practices by other staff the owner stated that she’s “still in equity training” and “we’ll address these equity issues after summer camp”.
I think you get the idea.