KIPP NYC Teacher Interview Questions
& Process

This was honestly the worst interview process that I’ve ever had. First, it took forever to actually meet with a school leader (I had been in communication with a recruiter for MONTHS). I finally got an interview with a school leader & it was EXCESSIVE. I had to do a demo lesson which is typical, then I was directed to randomly pop into classrooms “on my own” for an hour. I then had an interview with the LT, where I was only given critical feedback about my demo lesson (which I will be the first to admit was FAR from my best teaching, but there were MANY things that could have been celebrated/named) and told multiple times that we were crunched for time/Prinicpal said she had another meeting. I felt like questions were meant to catch me up, rather than trying to authentically get to know me, my skill set, and if I’d be a good fit. We role played fake scenarios (one about receiving feedback & another about interaction with an assistant teacher)—not doing this could have possibly saved us some time to further dig into my background, etc since it seemed we were so pressed for time. After the 30 minute conversation with LT, I had another 1:20 of self-led observations. Lastly, I met with a couple teachers who asked a few questions and then asked me if I had any questions. The most important part of the process was rushed, while I was at the school for almost an ENTIRE school day. Overall, the school seemed like an OK place to work & a lot of the staff left a very positive impression on me. Most likely won’t get an offer & I am perfectly okay with that. Prinicpal definitely gave me an extremely bad taste in my mouth.

I knew the KIPP NYC regional director of music from previous work and told them I was interested if there was an opening. I then had a phone call with the recruiter, which went well. After that, I spoke with the principal of the school where the job might be. I had a successful on-site interview, and then I taught a mock lesson to 15 students. The principal and students liked the lesson. Finally, the regional director, principal, and I had a Zoom meeting to discuss vision and specifics. They said they were excited about me from the start and kept getting more excited.

Applied through portal, then had a phone screening with a recruiter. Recruiter said there were no openings and she'd connect if any opened up, which felt like a waste of time. A few days later, I was connected with a school leader from KIPP NYC. Had an interview and demo lesson with school leaders. Then it got crazy with over 10 people on the Zoom interview, including a gym teacher, which felt excessive and interrogative. Different people kept joining and leaving, asking questions unrelated to my interests. The principal was making faces during my demo/answers. Given the recruiter's initial screening for a closed position, the overwhelming interview panel, and the negative vibe, I don't expect a callback.