Democracy Prep Public Schools Interview Questions
& Process

So I got to the school and the receptionist greeted me. I waited a tiny bit and then went to the principal's office where the leadership team greeted me. First, they had me do a 20 min observation of the school, which means I went into each grade/class for about 5-7 mins. You should definitely bring your own notebook and pen to take notes. After the observation, we talked about the pros and cons I saw in each class/grade and I gave some recommendations. I also briefly introduced myself. Then, we did some role-playing where they presented scenarios about how I'd handle student challenges and what supports I could offer students/staff. We also discussed my strengths and areas I want to develop. They asked me some questions about the school's overall vibe - like how satisfied students, staff, and families are, and what ideas I had for making things better.

I've been trying to get the Special Assistant position for two months, and HR promised an interview but then kept me waiting and ignored my emails. I had to resort to texting her and emailing executives to get any information, which was unprofessional. Turns out, after interviewing, submitting a long job assessment, and being ignored for months, they're hiring someone internally. This was a major disappointment and a waste of time for everyone involved. It makes you wonder what HR is actually doing.

I had a screening call for this role that lasted about 30 minutes. After that, they told me I'd get some tasks to do to move forward. There were 4 tasks, and one wasn't even related to the job. I had to basically propose a whole new program and location for their high schoolers, covering all the details like budget and curriculum. Plus, I had to design a pre-departure lesson for it. If you know anything about study abroad or international programs, you know these two things take a LOT of time, even for someone experienced like me. All 4 tasks took me over 7 hours, basically my whole Saturday. I sent them in and heard I was moving on and should be ready to talk about them. The next interview was with the program director. She said upfront we probably wouldn't have time to discuss the tasks because she had a bunch of questions. She mentioned everyone at Democracy Prep has to do tasks, she did them 12 years ago. She also said the tasks are just to see if you can do the job, not really a big part of the interview unless it gets you to the next stage. I wish I knew that before wasting 7 hours on high-quality work that wouldn't even be looked at closely. After that interview, they said there might be one more or maybe not, and they'd let me know in a week. I got an email a week later saying I wasn't moving forward. I asked for feedback, but HR never responded.

It started with a quick recruiter call asking general stuff like why Democracy Prep and what you want to teach. Then there was an online HireVue interview where I had to answer five student-asked questions in a timed setting, with one redo allowed. After that, I had an in-person interview and demo lesson at a Middle School in Manhattan. The demo lesson was brief with well-behaved students. I then observed classrooms for about 30 minutes before a debrief where I reflected on my lesson and gave feedback on my observations. The school leaders were nice and open about their school and expectations, giving feedback on my teaching. I got the offer about a week later but went with another school.