Mashea Ashton

The Commanders’ Rookies stopped by Digital Pioneers Academy to run drills and inspire our scholar-athletes.

 

As a founding educator at DPA, Tarneil Miller has worn many hats: middle school teacher, high school teacher, and dean of students. This spring, the 6th graders he first recruited in 2018 will receive their high school diplomas. We sat down with Mr. Miller to talk about what brought him to DPA, what he’s learned over the past six years, and what his hopes are for DPA’s founding class.

What brought you to DPA as a founding teacher?
I first met Digital Pioneer Academy founder, Mashea Ashton, in 2017. I was teaching at another DC charter school, and she visited our campus to observe. She told me about her vision for this new school, and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. We’re living in a whole new world, with a huge tech focus. The idea of scholars from Wards 7 and 8 being taught computer science starting in 6th grade was mind-blowing to me. The school’s values of integrity and optimism were already aligned with how I go about my day. That made it easy to jump on board.

What is the most rewarding part of being a founding teacher? I love seeing students grow from where they were when they first came to DPA to where they are now. For sixth graders, they don’t see themselves going to college. They think it’s so far away. Seeing them now as sophomores, juniors, and seniors, college is becoming real to them. It’s rewarding for me to see our founding class writing college essays, filling out applications, and getting acceptance letters.

How have you grown as a teacher at DPA?
My big area of growth is patience. It’s a lot of hours and time that you invest in trying to set students up for success. It’s not one of those things where you do something one week and you see results the next week. Some days you feel like you’re pouring things into your students and don’t see it clicking as fast as you would like. That’s where patience comes in. I can say this now because I’ve seen my students grow. Things I said to my scholars in 8th grade, I’m seeing their gears turning now in 11th and 12th grade.

What has kept you at DPA all these years?
I want to see it through. I have to see the results of all these years of investing in my scholars. I’ve been promising to be at their high school graduation, to be there when they go to college, to be at their college graduation. I’ve been telling them these things since 6th grade.

Your first class of DPA students has grown from 6th graders to high school seniors. They are now applying to colleges and making plans for life after high school. What has it been like to watch them grow?
We’ve taught students the importance of working hard and having the will to overcome setbacks. We emphasize that they should see failure not as the endpoint, but as an opportunity for growth. Before, when they were presented with a difficult task, they would say, “I’m not even going to try.” Now, they try. And if they fail, they ask themselves, “What do I need to do differently to succeed next time?”

What is your favorite moment or memory from the Class of 2025?
At the end of our first year, we had an end-of-year celebration in the cafeteria. There were all sorts of activities, including a robotics competition with three different teams. We let the students choose which teachers they wanted to pie in the face. I got pied, of course. I remember wiping the whipped cream out of my eyes and watching a bunch of kids celebrating, just being on cloud nine. That was one of the first and most memorable moments for our founding class.

DPA’s football team had an incredible season their first year. Many of your founding students are on the team, or the cheerleading team. What do you think that means to DPA?
It’s beautiful, and I think it’s needed. Many of our students have been looking forward to playing football for years. And it brings a sense of community. Everyone in the building – staff and scholars – has a connection to the players and the coaches on the team. This is ours. We’re rooting for them. They’re representing DPA, and we’re letting them know that we’re all behind them.

What are your hopes for DPA’s founding class as they prepare for life after high school?
I want them to be able to get into a career that they love. I want them to find something where every day doesn’t feel like work. And I hope they will come back and invest in their community. To give back to the next young boy or girl who’s coming from where they’re from, and to tell those children how they took their path to get where they are. It would be amazing to have students come back to teach at DPA. I already have one scholar who wants to come back and work at Digital Pioneers Academy.

How do you think you will feel on graduation day?
I’ve already told my students, I’m not holding back the tears. It’s going to be a very emotional night. I feel like it’ll be a release of all the energy and emotion we’ve poured in – just an explosion of joy. I’m really looking forward to it!

Mojoko Esu is a literacy interventionist at Digital Pioneers Academy. She recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Howard University. In this interview, Mojoko shares her journey to becoming an educator at DPA, her teaching philosophy, and what makes DPA a special place to grow as a leader.

Q: What brought you to DPA?

What attracted me to DPA was the mission. Through some teacher friends, I got a chance to meet DPA founder Mashea Ashton and even visit the school and meet with students. I learned DPA was not just about preparing students for academic success, but also about supporting students in developing the strength of character to thrive in this world as a Black person. Then I saw a posting for a teacher opening on Indeed.com. Even though I knew I eventually wanted to become a leader, I wasn’t quite ready to leave the classroom. I wanted to continue to strengthen my teaching muscles.

Q: What makes DPA a great place to grow?

Digital Pioneers Academy is a community that believes in Black excellence. Everyone’s North Star is building the next generation of innovators. It’s not just words on a mission statement. I’ve seen how powerful this is for our students. I can tell them “I was just like you” and they get it.

Q: What exactly does it mean to be a “literacy interventionist?”

I’m an English teacher with a specialized focus. I help those students who need the most support through small-group instruction.

Q: How would you describe DPA’s approach to special education? 

At DPA, we ensure all students are receiving the services required by their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). We also have some scholars without an IEP who require extra individualized support. I am equally committed to meeting these students’ learning needs. I teach the same lesson to each student but with different levels of structure and support. My goal is to ensure all of my students achieve at high levels.

Q: What does this look like in practice? 

As a literacy interventionist, I work with students in small groups to make sure they all believe they can master the material. In my experience, the secret is cultural competence. Many of my students see themselves in me. I meet the scholars where they are and make content relevant to them. Take Romeo and Juliet, for example: my students may not immediately relate to life in 16th-century Italy, but they sure can relate to love and rivalries.

Q: Do you have any achievement results you can share?

Yes! Following the implementation of our newly piloted intervention program, 80% of scholars on my caseload displayed significant growth from their ANET 1 to ANET 2 scores. I am excited to see how much growth our students make on DC CAPE results this spring.

Q: What made you want to become a teacher?

Growing up in Detroit, I didn’t have to put forth much effort to get decent grades. But something happened my senior year that put me on a path to becoming a teacher. My Detroit public school received an award for being in the top 100 public schools in terms of achievement in the state of Michigan. Being top 100 didn’t seem particularly impressive until I realized my school was the only top 100 school in the City of Detroit! I was shocked. My school didn’t have basic resources. Students often had to sit on desks because there weren’t enough chairs, textbooks were falling apart, and bathrooms were in disrepair. From this experience, I became awakened to the reality of how desperate the conditions must be in Detroit for public schools to not rank in the top 100. And I wanted to do something to address this inequality.

Q: Was there one moment when you knew for sure this was your destiny?

My first experience teaching K-12 students was during my junior year in college at Howard University. After only a few weeks, I realized I could see myself as a teacher. At the time, I was considering some other careers in public service. But I realized if kids can’t read, they would fall short of achieving their potential. I decided to become a literary specialist.

Q: You recently graduated from Howard University with a Master’s degree in EducationalLeadership and Policy Studies. How has this degree influenced the way you approach teaching? 

My teaching has certainly been enhanced as a result of my Master’s program at Howard University. Since my first classroom experience 8 years ago, I have always leaned into the principles of servant leadership, but I now think more about the waysin which I can revise policies and build systems that are able to serve scholars best, as opposed to just my own individual practices.

 

Q: What have you learned so far at DPA that you expect to take with you on your leadership journey?

Special circumstances require special solutions. In the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, there is always a world of possibilities. We just have to be willing to be creative, open to growth, and focused on expansion opportunities for all.

Learn more about Digital Pioneers Academy or join our team.