Back in 2022, Tiffany Fleming was a satisfied parent. Her two children – Makell (4th grade) and Deliah (5th grade) – attended Rocketship Public Schools. They enjoyed school, had lots of friends, and were making academic gains.

There was one problem – Rocketship only went to 5th grade. She needed to find a middle school for Deliah and Makell.

Tiffany had heard of Digital Pioneers Academy. She lives in the neighborhood so the school is an easy walk from her house. But aside from the location, she knew nothing about it. Tiffany attended an open house, where she got to tour the building, meet the teachers, and ask questions of the leadership. What sold her on the school was learning about DPA’s mission and its focus on technology.

Tiffany was thrilled that DPA has robotics, computer science, and a rich array of other extracurricular activities. Even as an elementary student, her son Makell was already thinking about a career in technology.

Transitions are difficult for young people, but it helped that nearly a dozen of her daughter Deliah’s friends from Rocketship, including her best friend, also went to DPA. Deliah is now thriving at the school, and last year she was selected as Scholar of the Year for her 6th grade class.

Tiffany attributes her children’s success at DPA to the relationships teachers form with students and families. They are always available. Parents can call them with a question, day or night, and they get back to the parent and work with them to solve any problems.

Last year, Deliah formed a special bond with Ms. Hudzick. Even though Deliah    is no longer in her class, Ms. Hudzick still greets her every morning. Part of          Deliah’s daily morning routine is a one-on-one chat with Ms. Hudzick that    usually ends with a pep talk.

“Today’s going to be a great day.”

“We’re not going to let anything get in our way today.”

Ms. Hudzick’s pep talks help Deliah start the day strong and stay motivated.

Makell is an honor roll student, and he also adores his teachers, especially          Ms. Martino. When Teacher Appreciation Week came around a few weeks            ago, both Makell and Deliah chose to give their teachers a rose and a card.

As Tiffany reflects on her experiences at Rocketship and DPA, she realizes the schools have a lot in common. Both schools have teachers who are a hundred percent committed to ensuring students are excited to learn and encouraged to reach their full potential.

Learn more about Digital Pioneers Academy or apply now.

Here at DPA, a public middle and high school in Southeast DC, the founding team is always challenging each other to think bolder and bigger.  One question we’ve been asking is “What would it really take to meet the social and emotional needs of all of our students and staff?”

While I started as a founding teacher, today I am the High School Social Worker and Wellness Coordinator, which means I’m responsible for DPA’s overall approach to mental health.  

Our founder, Mashea Ashton, has made improving mental health a priority and empowers me to lead. Her overall direction has been “You have the training. You got this. Do what you need to do.”  

And so I have.  

Here are 5 initiatives we have undertaken to improve mental health:   

“If the adults are okay, the kids will be okay.”

The stressors of teaching are self-evident, but what’s less obvious is that so much of student behavior feeds off the energy of adults. Simply put, investing in the emotional well-being of our teachers is an indirect investment in the health of our students. That’s why we have created a work culture that celebrates self-care and normalizes the use of mental health services, including therapy.  

All of our teachers have free access to therapy, and it’s not uncommon for our teachers to talk about visiting a therapist with the same level of openness as they would about going to the gym or seeing a doctor for a check-up. It’s just part of their self-care routine.  

Offering psychosocial groups at school  

Psychosocial groups are small group sessions where we bring together students with similar concerns in a supportive environment to develop skills in areas such as managing emotions, coping with grief, and building healthy relationships. The groups are facilitated by trained and licensed mental health clinicians and typically meet weekly for 6-8 weeks.  

At DPA, we partner with an outside agency, the WISE Center, that provides counselors to lead groups. In addition, we have built a wonderful relationship with OpenSeat, a platform that provides virtual wellness coaching in individual sessions, as well as in small group sessions. We’ve also been fortunate to continue our partnership with Paving the Way for a second year in a row. Across both our middle school and high school campuses, a total of seven groups have been implemented this year as a result of targeted efforts to increase this capacity.

Expanding access to after-school activities and programs 

We host Parent Cafes, which are monthly meetings dedicated to creating safe spaces for our DPA families and community partners to discuss curated topics such as emotional well-being, raising a family, and advocating for support. At a recent meeting, parents reflected on their childhoods growing up in DC, where they spent their teenage afternoons constantly busy, hanging out in rec centers or boys and girls clubs. The overwhelming consensus was that when young people are busy, they are less likely to get into trouble.  

Students feel a sense of belonging at school. They crave just being around their peers in a safe space that is not an academic setting. 

To give students more after-school opportunities, we decided to build out our sports offerings-including a football program.  

Teaching social-emotional learning 

At DPA, all students take a weekly Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) course. It’s a real class with a real grade that students take seriously. A major part of my job is preparing the weekly lessons. I design the content based on issues our mental health team observes happening around the school. For example, if students are confiding in us about a lot of relationship drama, I might teach a lesson on healthy relationships.  

As DPA evolves from a start-up to a mature organization, I’m pleased to share that we will transition to a new curriculum called Character Strong next school year.   

Bringing compassion to daily interactions 

Many of our kids are hurting, and that’s why it’s our job as adults to always be supportive. None of the ideas above work if there isn’t trust between the child and the adult. Each interaction we as adults have with students matters deeply. 

Throughout an 8-hour school day, educators have so many opportunities to build trust. The foundation of that trust is demonstrating that you care about them.   

Which brings me to my last big idea. It’s a resource that is free.  

More hugs. You can never give enough hugs.

We recently sat down to talk to 10th-grade English teacher leader Josh Roe. Last year, his scholars’ growth on the state test was 3 times the citywide average. Josh talks about how DPA has helped him grow as a teacher and as a leader, how one lesson can change the trajectory of a student’s life, and his love of literature and chocolate chip cookies. The conversation has been edited for clarity:

When did you first decide you wanted to become a teacher?

I’m from Alaska. After high school, I went into construction. I wasn’t ready for the rigors of college, and I wanted to start making money and living on my own. I first went to college at 25. I came across a tutoring opportunity at a local charter school. I realized I wanted to be a teacher the moment I started working with kids. Honestly, it was immediate. Working with kids is incredibly rewarding.

Your students demonstrated tremendous growth last year, outperforming the citywide average by 3 times. To what do you attribute your student’s success?

Our students are motivated, hard-working, brilliant, and thrive on teacher feedback. In ELA class we work with a rigorous Common Core aligned curriculum that prepares students for college-level work. I hustle every day to analyze student work in the moment address misconceptions as they arise and clarify using back pocket questions. I created PARCC-aligned questions to provide students with opportunities to grapple with high-level questions on a daily basis, which boosts students’ skills and confidence. Finally, we believe joyful classrooms are thriving classrooms and we always make sure that students are celebrated for their growth and achievement. What gets celebrated gets repeated!

Okay, you’re an English teacher. So what’s your favorite book to teach?

My personal favorite book – the one that got me into literature – is Grapes of Wrath. But my favorite book to teach is Lord of the Flies. There’s just so much symbolism. I’m able to teach philosophy through the lens of characters. I like it when you can use literature as a way to talk about big ideas.

Tell me about a student you have had an outsized impact on?

I recently had a student message me on Facebook to let me know she is now a graduate student at Yale. I taught her 10 years ago, my first year as a teacher. She said there was one day and one particular lesson where I helped her feel comfortable about her identity that changed her life. I would have never had a clue this lesson meant so much to her. You just never know the impact you have on kids.

How is DPA different from other schools you’ve taught at?

Because DPA is a start-up, I’m able to have a direct impact on the culture of the school. Everyone can shape the culture and how it’s implemented day to day because our traditions are not cemented. It’s very empowering to be able to have a hand in making a school what it will become. That power can be scary and unnerving at times. The work is hard, the hours are long, but that mentality helps everyone step up their game.

What do you enjoy most about working at DPA?

DPA lives the mantra of “do whatever it takes.” Our staff goes above and beyond in every way you can think of. We fix things that aren’t working. We problem-solve. A lot of schools talk about a culture of problem-solving. But we actually do it.

How does the leadership team support you as a teacher?

As a teacher, I get at least weekly observations according to a rubric. It’s all transparent. I’ve spent time with my coach going over my rubric. I’ve worked at many charter schools. This is the school where I’ve had the most consistent observations throughout the year.

Also, the school makes sure teachers have the resources they need to teach. If the speakers need to be replaced, or I need more copies of a book, I ask for it and then I get it.

How has DPA made you better as a teacher?

I first learned how to teach in an old-school manner that was not very oriented to social justice. DPA has taught me how to be trauma-informed and how to be culturally responsive in all of my interactions. It takes more skill. It takes more work. DPA has really expanded my toolkit of strategies for how to engage kids who are off-task. I look at every interaction now as an opportunity to either hurt or help a relationship.

How has DPA developed you as a leader?

At DPA, I have been given many opportunities to develop my leadership skills. The nice thing about DPA’s leadership team is I have direct access to everyone, including the CEO. If I have an idea or a plan, I share it with Mashea. And they have supported me in my ambition to develop my leadership skills. They’ve carved out spacefor me to go do observations and academic seminars. Over the summer, I was given the opportunity to be the vice principal of summer school. I got to lead the observation/feedback cycle and share my knowledge as a teacher with the whole team.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I would love to be an instructional coach. I’m passionate about the nerdy academic side of teaching. I love collaborating with teachers about the content. I’ve had a lot of experience and success, and I think helping new teachers would be rewarding.

What is something about yourself that would surprise your students?

I love to bake. I make delicious chocolate chip cookies.