DPA families! Attendance Matters: Every Day Counts!

At Digital Pioneers Academy, strong attendance is one of the most important building blocks for scholar success. Every day at school gives scholars access to direct instruction, meaningful relationships with teachers and classmates, academic feedback, and important school-based supports. When scholars miss school—even for excused reasons—they miss valuable learning opportunities that can be difficult to replace. Our goal is for at least 95% of DPA scholars to maintain 90% or higher in-seat attendance throughout the school year.

Families are essential partners in helping us reach this goal. DPA monitors both excused and unexcused absences, and a scholar is considered chronically absent when they miss 10% or more of the school days in which they are enrolled. If your scholar must be absent, please communicate with the school promptly and submit a valid excuse within five school days after your scholar returns; otherwise, the absence will remain unexcused. Most importantly, we want families to know that our approach is rooted in partnership and support. When attendance concerns arise, our team will work with scholars and families to identify barriers, reconnect scholars to school, and develop solutions that help them get back on track. Every day matters, every class matters, and every scholar belongs at DPA!

See the DPA Attendance policy HERE.

School Year 26-27 Calendar LINK

Here’s What’s Coming Up…

Arrival to School (Middle School)

We believe in consistency and routine for our scholars so that they can maximize their learning time, feel a sense of safety and community, and be set up for a successful day.  To this end, arrival to school begins promptly at 7:45 AM.  Students have time to enjoy socializing and activities in the gym with their teachers and peers from 7:45 – 8:05 AM, and then move swiftly to class with their teachers to begin their day.  We appreciate your support ensuring your scholar arrives to school no later than 8:15 AM (and ideally at 7:45!) so that we can support them in having a strong, positive start to the day.

Uniform Expectations (Middle School & High School)

Digital Pioneers Academy is a mandatory uniform school. Championship teams wear uniforms, and at DPA, we are one team across both campuses. Therefore, all scholars are expected to arrive in the proper school uniform every day.

Please note that loaner uniforms will no longer be available. If a scholar arrives out of uniform, they will be dismissed to return home, change into the proper uniform, and then return to school.

Cell Phone Policy (Middle School & High School)

To create a focused learning environment, DPA has a strict no cell phone policy. All scholars are required to turn in their cell phones upon arrival each morning. We believe that eliminating distractions allows scholars to fully engage in learning and maximize their academic success.

If a scholar refuses to turn in their cell phone or attempts to bring and conceal it in the building, the following consequences will apply:

• First Offense: The scholar will spend the remainder of the school day in In-School Suspension (ISS), limiting access to classroom instruction. A staff member will contact the family to inform them of the policy violation and the consequence.

• Second Offense: The scholar will be subject to our “No Phone, No Entry” policy. Scholars who refuse to turn in their phone will not be admitted into the building and will be sent home. A staff member will contact the family to explain the situation.

If there is ever an emergency, scholars will always have access to a phone in the front office or may use a staff member’s phone to contact a parent or guardian.

 A Partnership for Scholar Success

At Digital Pioneers Academy, we are committed to ensuring every scholar is on the path to our 4 C’s: College, Career, Community, and Computer Science. Achieving this vision requires a strong partnership between home and school.

Families, we need your support by ensuring your scholar arrives at school every day on time, in full uniform, prepared to learn, and ready to meet our expectations. Together, we can make the 2026–2027 school year our best year yet as we move from good to great!

Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to the success of every DPA scholar.

DPA Middle School Cheer Clinics & Tryouts

Hello DPA Families,

We are excited to officially kick off DPA Middle School Cheer Clinics & Tryouts!

Students interested in joining DPA MS Cheer should attend our upcoming clinics to learn the tryout material and prepare for tryout day.

CLINIC & TRYOUT SCHEDULE

Monday, August 31st– Cheer Clinic
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Tuesday, Sept 1st  – Cheer Clinic
4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

Wednesday, Sept 2nd – TRYOUTS
1:15 PM – 6:00 PM

What to Wear

Students should arrive dressed and ready to participate:

• Black or white top

• Black bottoms

• Athletic shoes — no designer sneakers or boots

• Hair pulled back and away from the face

• No jewelry

What to Bring

• Labeled water bottle

• Positive attitude

• Energy & confidence

Important

The Google Form must be completed before participation. Link is below:

https://forms.gle/WdBPXMqbdBhwXBmM7

DPA Cheer is about more than learning cheers and performing on the sidelines. We are looking for student-athletes who demonstrate leadership, teamwork, commitment, strong attendance, and academic responsibility.

We look forward to seeing our future DPA Cheerleaders at clinics!

Please Follow our Social Media Page for More Info.

IG : @DPAMSCheer

Thanks,

Coach Kim

DPA Middle School Cheer
Building Athletes. Building Leaders.

We are so excited to welcome our DPA middle schoolers back to school!  As we begin the new school year, we want to share key reminders to support student safety, learning, and success.  We look forward to working with you this school year.

👋Hello from DPA’s MS Principal, Ms. Desai!

Welcome, DPA Families! It has been a pleasure to meet so many of you and to begin getting to know your brilliant children!  My name is Neema Desai and I am DPA’s Middle School Principal.  I am here to support you & your child’s journey throughout this academic year, and am grateful for your trust and partnership as we embark on this new year together.  If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out at any time.  I understand it is a tremendous choice to choose DPA as your child’s school and I am committed to supporting an excellent start of the year for your scholars & for you as their greatest champions! Happy 26-27!

🍏On Time & Present Each Day

It is critical scholars are on time (before 8:15 AM) and present for each day of learning.  Each day of learning accumulates, and it is essential scholars receive consistent instruction across all parts of their day.  This consistency and predictability supports scholars’ sense of belonging, confidence, and efficacy.  Thank you for your support in this critical endeavor.

Student Valuables

We strongly ask families to ensure scholars do not come to school with valuable items such as laptops, ipads, or other materials.  Students are often transitioning to activities and items can be easily lost or misplaced in the movement to and from school.  This includes a current favorite, the Spray Ground Book Tags.  DPA will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items or for replacing them.

Our High School scholars have been made aware of several changes for the 2026–2027 school year, and we want to ensure that all HS families are also aware of these expectations. These updates are designed to support scholar safety, minimize distractions, and create an environment where every scholar can be fully present and engaged in learning.

👋Hello from DPA’s HS Principal, Ms. Pearson!

Families: I am thrilled to join Digital Pioneers Academy as your Interim High School Principal and to lead our scholars into an incredible year of learning, growth, and innovation. I am especially excited to meet you and look forward to partnering and collaborating with families throughout the year to support each and every scholar. We have set lofty goals for our scholars and our school, and I know our scholars and staff have the commitment, determination, and talent it takes to meet each and every goal. Together, we will nurture our scholars as innovators, empower them to think boldly, and prepare them to make a meaningful impact on the world. I cannot wait to see what we accomplish together—this is going to be an amazing year!

Lockers, Book Bags & Coats

HS scholars were assigned lockers on Thursday, August 20. Moving forward, all book bags and winter coats must be placed in lockers upon arrival and should not be carried throughout the school day.

For the safety of our scholars traveling to and from school, the following high-value coat brands are not permitted at DPA:

Moose Knuckles • Canada Goose • Helly Hansen (HH) • The North Face

We strongly ask families not to allow scholars to wear these items to school. If a family chooses to allow a scholar to wear one of these items to school, DPA will not be responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items or for replacing them.

Clear Water Bottles Only

Scholars may bring water bottles to school; however, all water bottles must be clear/see-through so that staff can easily identify the contents.

Stanley cups and other non-see-through bottles or containers are not permitted in the building.

Meta Glasses & Vlogging Cameras

To maintain a distraction-free learning environment and protect the privacy of our school community, Meta smart glasses and vlogging cameras are not permitted in the building.

If your scholar wears prescription Meta glasses, families must provide appropriate documentation from a medical provider so that DPA can verify the need for the glasses.

Face Masks

Face masks, including surgical masks, are not permitted to be worn in the building unless there is a documented medical need. If your scholar has a medical condition that requires them to wear a mask, please provide documentation from their medical provider so that we can verify the accommodation.

Removing Barriers to Learning

Families, we have big goals for our HS scholars this year! To reach those goals, we must work together to remove barriers and distractions that prevent scholars from being present, focused, and fully engaged in learning every day.

We appreciate your continued support and partnership as we hold our scholars to high expectations and prepare them to become the next generation of innovators.

One Team. One Mission. Moving from Good to Great!

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