Village Tech Schools
About Village Tech Schools
Village Tech Schools is a tuition-free, public charter school serving grades PK-12 in Dallas. They opened their doors in 2012 after a group of teachers from two schools serving the Duncanville community came to believe they could “do this better.” Sana had the pleasure of speaking with Amber Robinson, CFO / HR Director, and Lori Crysdale, HR Specialist, to get the scoop on how their innovative school ended up with our innovative health insurance plans. In 2011 the founding members of Village Tech put together a charter proposal and got unanimous approval from the state. Charter schools in Texas get less funding than independent school districts (ISD), so Village Tech would need to get creative with their benefits to help entice great teachers to sign on.
Intro to Sana
After a few years in operation, Amber was on the lookout for a new health insurance plan for Village Tech. They’d been dealing with constant rate increases from the previous plan, causing them to have to drop other employee benefits to make up for the difference. “I had a history of going into open enrollment with an apology on my lips,” said Amber.
Village Tech’s broker attempted to get better quotes for the group, but none hit the mark for quality plans on their shoestring budget. Then Amber got a call from one of Sana’s sales reps offering plans that were exactly what she’d been looking for. Amber and Lori wanted employees to be involved in decision making, so they put together an “action team” of employees that interviewed Sana in-person. The team came into the conversation as skeptics. According to Amber, “Many times it’s overpromise, underdeliver.” After grilling Sana for a few hours and getting honest, satisfactory answers to their questions, the “action team” began to build trust.
Village Tech Schools chooses Sana for affordability, breadth of care offerings, and more:
Affordability of Sana plans:
The biggest factor for Village Tech was cost. When Amber’s team got their quote, they were pleased with their quote and the deductibles for each plan.
Level of coverage and network:
Several Village Tech employees, pleased with the affordability of Sana’s plans, selected plans with the highest level of coverage.
Personalized and attention and support:
Sana’s willingness to come on-site during open enrollment was proof that we’d be there to support the Village Tech team throughout the plan year. Check.
Breadth of Sana offering:
Village Tech employees can visit their own doctors and take advantage of various low-cost virtual care options, including primary and pediatric care, mental health care, and more.
The action team compared Sana plans to the best of the other plans their broker had provided. There was no contest. “If you look at what employees are actually getting with Sana, the savings are huge,” says Amber, adding that they were so affordable that “people actually chose fuller-featured plans.”Village Tech voted YES to Sana and 68 of their 121 full-time employees enrolled in a Sana plan on September 1st of 2019.
Positive experience
Fortunately, since starting with Sana, Amber and Lori have had nothing negative to say. They say that every time there’s been room for growth, Sana has really listened to their feedback. “We have been so pleased with our experience with Sana so far,” says Amber who frequently recommends Sana to other small and medium businesses.“What we are experiencing right now is very very positive.”
According to Amber, “Sana takes a hands-on approach. I have never seen an insurance company have this level of customer service and deliver to this extent.” And as for the plans? “I haven’t felt like we were oversold on anything,” she says. We’re honored to be working with other forward-thinking businesses like Village Tech and helping them to make life a little easier for their valued teachers and employees.
