National Math and Science Initiative reviews

NMSI continues to be an organization greatly misaligned from its mission and stated core values. Because of this misalignment, the organization operates in a directionless and performative manner. The organization has been on a financial and ethical decline for some years now. There has been a desperate attempt to stay afloat by focusing on increasing revenue. However, there is no sustainable plan for this shift. They surely will be restructuring (again) to hide the fact that they are at a precipice. The financial decline is because of its resistance to building innovative products, top-heavy organizational structure, poor internal operations, cumbersome technology, loss of credibility with donors, and rapid decline in training attendance. The ethical decline is due to the fact that many decision-makers frequently ignore employee complaints about micro-aggressions and other discriminatory behavior. There is also a lack of interest in supporting efforts that positively impact BIPOC teachers and staff. Additionally, there are staff who consistently have senior-level positions created for them. This place does not meet the needs of the people and school systems they claim they want to support and they do not appreciate being called out about it. NMSI’s leadership team, especially the COO and President, lack accountability and will protect their ego at all costs, even if it is to the detriment of the entire organization. They’ve been able to keep their circle tight by hiring and promoting friends into senior leader roles. Again, they do not meet the needs of the people and systems they claim they want to support. I caution you to join this organization if you are genuinely committed to supporting school systems. I joined hoping to make a real impact, but as my time at the organization progressed, it only worsened. The few folks remaining who genuinely care, despite their best efforts, cannot carry out the mission of this organization. Do not join thinking you can either because you will be fighting an uphill battle. You will not be set up for success. They will gaslight you.

When joining NMSI, I was driven by the stated mission to reach those furthest from opportunity. However, in my time there I have not seen that mission in action. In the latest of many reorgs, every Black women who spoke up about micro-aggressions they experienced in the workplace at the last all staff convening was let go. To further cement the retaliatory nature of this restructure, both written and verbal communication stated that that one department spoke about lack of leadership accountability and clarity, therefore that department was cut and reimagined. In the reimagining of that department, the ones who were honest on our staff engagement surveys did not find their names appear on the new org chart. When confronted with this, the new CEO tried to say there were other reasons for the restructure but failed to specifically name other departments as the impetus for the “streamlining.” The overall diversity of the staff of took a huge hit with the last restructure and those who were able to get new jobs were not the ones “displaced”, but ones who already had confirmed jobs. When the vocal parties attempted to apply for new roles, they were told they were unqualified despite having held hiring paying positions in the org before all of this making it very clear that they were not displaced, but fired. In this process, NMSI lost every BIPOC and all but 1 female senior director and not a single one was rehired for ANY position they applied for. Yet we now have newly appointed “directors” who do not manage people despite the newly adopted “equitable” metrics that qualify directors as those supervising managers and senior directors as those supervising directors. As another former employee posted, this is the sunken place. With the erosion of internal trust and moral, the very bloated leadership team comprised of 10 c suite employees for a staff of 60, did not take a pay cut, nor reimagine their roles. To give the illusion of caring, they hired a DEIJ director who was onboarded after the staff was given the news of the organizational change. This strategic timing allowed them to ensure that marginalized staff had no safe space to turn to during this process. If you like unsafe, hostile, and retaliatory work environments, NMSI is the place for you. If not, look elsewhere.