daycare

bus driver

speech language pathologist

certified occupational therapy assistant

psychologist

Heartland Agency & Educational Services

Working here, you can make a real difference for families who need help 
BUT
Senior management is all related to the founder, most upper management have family members working for Heartland, and if you can live with doing what you're told without asking questions then you may do well there.  

There is NO planning time during the day and you end up spending a lot of time driving a school bus or on home visits with families two times a year.  Classroom expectations are high which means most of the planning and prep work happens at home on your own time.  You will be working with very challenging children who come from very challenging backgrounds, expect to be hit, kicked, and bitten as a normal part of your day.  In-class support is inconsistent, not all staff are equally trained or experienced to deal with tough situations.  Teacher training is basic, you will need to be able to learn on your feet and not be put off by children who have high needs.  Support from management to deal with these situations is inconsistent, but generally they do try.  Heartland is trying to do a lot on a shoestring, this means that you will be asked to do a lot (jumping in to cover frequent staffing shortages) with almost nothing (for example being told not to colour photocopy anything because it's too expensive), it can be exhausting and despairing at times but it can also be very rewarding.

No training given. You’re expected to know how to deal with everything and constantly get blamed for things that aren’t your fault. As a previous leader my team was not cooperative and very mean to one another. A lot would be said when someone would leave the room. If you have medical needs or want personal days good luck getting them off and or not being judged for being away. This was not a good place to work, anytime anything got hard your supervisors leave because they say it’s “too stressful,” yet you’re expected to handle the situation without help. They are cheap and don’t give budgets for most programs or hire the help required for their own greed. They expect you to handle kids way out of ratio. Every new hire lasted about a couple of weeks and left. That’s why there is always an ad up. Save yourself the time and energy. Work somewhere that actually cares about you and the well being of the kids at the program. This place is a joke. 30 minutes unpaid for lunch and you have to work minimum 8 hour days.

Run by a family that never even shows appreciation or interest in their staff (this includes the EvenStart program). One small misstep and you're out - even though you are doing a job way beyond your competencies with little training. While the company promotes the "well-being" of a child, management is more concerned with running side businesses. I have heard of other staff working on the senior managers' personal projects, which is inappropriate. The front-line staff is the only reason this company is still standing. The teacher's and EA's are placed in difficult situations and work with complex children for 8+ hours a day and try their best to offer a safe and happy environment. 

If the company was smart, they would hire an external HR company to manage and deal with these concerns. Not having an HR individual that can be unbiased creates a toxic workplace. No wonder I have seen so many colleagues leave. 

Reading other reviews, I agree that the nature of the work is challenging and demanding. However, my experiences with the Agency have been very positive, with many of my co-workers having been with Heartland for more than 10 years. The management has always been fair, and has had to make difficult decisions with COVID and changes to funding. There are lots of little 'extras' that Heartland does for their employees that I appreciate...wellness days, staff lunches, professional development days, guest speakers, etc. The culture is very caring and nurturing, and staff and managers are there to support each other, especially during challenging moments. I have had the opportunity to work alongside a number of practicum students during my time at Heartland, and several have become employees after their placement because of their positive experiences. 

I’ve have loved my journey with Heartland. Over the years there have been great opportunities to move up within the agency and to experience different roles along the way. It’s a fast paced environment that provides a lot of variety throughout the day.  Along the way Heartland help to offset the rising cost of food and gas prices by providing grocery and gas gift cards to all staff. They also offer an amazing incentive to celebrate staff members 7 year milestone with the company. I appreciate the flexibility of the health spending account that is provided. The best part about working for Heartland is the relationships you get to build with the kids and team members. It's the best feeling seeing how far the students come by the end of the school year.

I have been an EA at Heartland for 8 years and am so happy to be part of this amazing team! The culture is very family-oriented and the people I work with truly care and work towards a common goal for children and families. I have been supported in my career growth through ongoing professional development and training opportunities, and I appreciate the trust my manager has put in me. Upper management is in touch with the program and often check in to get feedback from staff. I value the opportunities I have to learn and grow within my position. As a non-profit, the company is always finding fun and inventive ways to let the staff know that they care about them and value their contributions. 

If they had the right people with the right education running the place it could be a 5 star program and a 5 star place to work.  Their major downfall is the fact that it's family run and mostly government funded.  I do believe the people who run the program have (mostly) their hearts in the right place, but can be jaded.  

They do treat staff as terribly and you're basically disposable.  There is a lot of gossiping happening in the management offices and I could never recommend working here unfortunately because a majority of the people who are in charge either don't know what they're doing, dont have the education to be doing it or refuse to do it well.

Very toxic environment where recurring gossip happens. Management makes it perfectly clear that you aren’t important and can be thrown away like that. 
Half the time the management doesn’t know what they’re doing and do not know how to communicate important information to their staff. They do not give you the support you need to fully help these children, and for very little pay to work under these circumstances with such high expectations. Classes were also not able to be in ratio extremely too often from that lack of support. 

This place is a toxic nightmare with a shiny presentation. All of the staff works so incredibly hard and is just undervalued and talked down to, even with how tough the job is and how good many of them do at it! The whole place needs a reset. The management reminds staff of how replaceable they are continually, is making unqualified, nervous drivers drive buses and also reminds them of who they “might want to” be voting for in upcoming elections. And don’t forget that if you want to leave 10 minutes early, you make sure you booked yourself another tired overworked person, because they don’t have any subs (no point there, no one that ever leaves would want to come back). 

As a new teacher at Heartland, I can say that I have learned so much during my time here. I was lucky to work with 2 amazing EAs, and we had a very open and collaborative relationship within our classroom. The other staff, therapists and management team were very approachable and supportive, and answered all my questions as I was building my confidence. I love the relationships that staff are able to build with children and their families…it really makes the work I do so much more meaningful and rewarding. No two days are ever the same and I like that aspect of my job. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Daycare 2 salaries reported	$21.75 per hour
Bus driver 1 salary reported	$21.75 per hour
Speech language pathologist 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour
Certified occupational therapy assistant 2 salaries reported	$22.50 per hour
Psychologist 1 salary reported	$36.00 per hour

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