Digital Pioneers Academy Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty standard, but it was a bit tricky because a lot of the leadership team wasn't around when I interviewed, making it hard to chat with other administrators. Also, the CEO wasn't at the campus I went to, so I had to travel to a different campus to meet her.

I interviewed with Kate for about 30 minutes. She was friendly but made a promise she didn't keep. I followed up after a couple of weeks and was told they wanted to move to the next step, which involved a mock lesson with materials they said they would provide. I emailed a few times asking about the materials, and was told 'Oh, we of course are still interested and I will get the materials to you soon.' Two weeks later, I followed up again, politely asking if I missed an email. I immediately got an email with a big apology and a promise the materials would be sent by the end of the afternoon. The materials never came, and I heard nothing more. I'm upset because they could have at least had the courtesy to tell me I wasn't a good fit, especially given their talk about equity and equality.

This was an absolutely abysmal interview process. I was stood up twice for the 3rd and 4th round interviews after a long 7-week hiring process. They reached out to schedule Zoom interviews but never showed up or responded. Technically, I haven't been rejected yet. After the first no-show, I managed to get the 3rd interview done where I presented a teaching video that DPA had reviewed. The hiring manager, Mashea Ashton, and her secretary, Kate, were extremely unprofessional. Mashea calls her process 'Opt-In, Opt-Out' but showed no professionalism or respect for candidates. DPA is aggressively promoting this position on LinkedIn, with around 100 applicants, yet they seem disorganized in handling candidates once they interview. I'm fine with not getting the job, but it's basic courtesy to inform candidates of the decision. Based on this experience, I wouldn't feel welcome teaching at this school.

Due to COVID, everything was done over zoom and email. It involved several interviews, a live teaching demo, Q&A and reflection emails, and open talks about educational outlooks and philosophies.