Beverley Tyndall

Building Space for Collaborative Instruction

In this short video, see how one school’s room designs, including moveable walls, proved “perfect” for Opportunity Culture teams and their students. While such design is not needed for Opportunity Culture implementation, it has made collaboration even easier for multi-classroom leader teams in this Midland, Texas, school.

Connect Opportunity Culture® Work to Mission and Vision

Beth Thompson, principal of Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte, N.C., before becoming the district’s assistant superintendent, explains the importance of regularly reminding school staff of the “why” behind the work they do.

#7. Making the Most of Opportunity Culture® Innovations

Superintendent Scott Muri, a finalist for state superintendent of the year in Texas, has Opportunity Culture experience in multiple districts; hear Muri’s thoughts on the impact of Opportunity Culture innovations in areas including teacher residencies, teacher leadership, and other district offices, and the importance of staying faithful to the model.

#6. Becoming a Committed Opportunity Culture® School

Susan Hendricks was the principal of Ross Elementary in Ector County, Texas, before becoming the district’s director of leadership in August. Under her leadership, Ross Elementary received high ratings on the annual, anonymous survey given to Opportunity Culture educators. Henricks credits that success to having structures in place that the whole school understands and committing to the belief that the Opportunity Culture initiative is “who you are.”

We can rethink training, recruiting, deploying teachers

From Indianapolis Business Journal, August 12, 2022 by Claire Fiddian-Green

Indiana, like the rest of the nation, is grappling with a shortage of teachers. Although shortages are more acute today due to the impact of COVID-19 on labor markets, this challenge has existed for decades. Addressing teacher shortages for the long term will require us to rethink how we train, recruit and deploy teacher talent—and how policymakers can support these efforts. …

One idea is to live-stream lessons so that the same teacher can reach more than one classroom. Another idea is to restructure teacher teams, with some focused on lesson planning and others focused on teaching or tutoring. Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture resources have been used in schools nationwide to help educators revise staffing models. These creative approaches address staffing gaps, while also helping schools retain their highest-performing teachers.

Read the full article…

Muri: Good news on the teacher front

From OA Online, August 11, 2022

Armed with more than 400 new teachers and a pool of 500 substitutes, Ector County ISD is raring to go for this school year.

Superintendent Scott Muri said teachers from 25 countries are represented in classrooms across the district. He added that there is a member of the Human Capital Department who oversees all of the recruiting, retention and support of those individuals. …

He added that the district has made a “significant investment in our human capital strategy over the last three years.”

“We’ve increased teacher compensation. We provide some incentives for teachers to earn more money. We’re developing the professionalism of teachers in our own organization through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, building the quality and caliber of teachers that we have, providing leadership opportunities for teachers through Opportunity Culture.

Big Welcome: Community pulls out the stops for new ECISD teachers

From OA Online, August 2, 2022 by Ruth Campbell

Topping off its best recruiting year in more than a decade, Ector County ISD welcomed about 450 new teachers to the district Monday.

The Teacher Welcome Event, held at the Odessa Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, is organized by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce. Vendors, welcome signs, mascots and cheerleaders marked the occasion, along with prize drawings, food and plenty of swag. Superintendent Scott Muri said there were “450-ish” teachers who were either brand new to the district or teachers who have taught elsewhere.

“We’ve had the best recruiting year in over 10 years, so we’ll have a great start to the school year because of that,” Muri said. He said the recruiting success is a result of a combination of factors such as ECISD’s investment in talent, which is part of its strategic plan, pay raises, the Teacher Incentive Allotment and Opportunity Culture.

It’s Time to Rethink the ‘One Teacher, One Classroom’ Model

From Education Week, July 20, 2022, by Irene Chen & Stephanie Banchero

The last few years have taken a toll on our teachers. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing cultural divisions, and the Uvalde, Texas, massacre all weigh heavily. Morale is at an all-time low. Now is the time to rethink the teaching profession.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some districts are struggling to find teachers. According to federal data collected in January, 44 percent of public schools reported at least one teaching vacancy, and 61 percent identified the pandemic as a cause. Rural and urban districts are having a particularly tough time, especially finding special education and bilingual teachers. Students of color and those from underserved communities are more likely to have uncertified or inexperienced teachers. Read more…

Education Matters: Advanced Teaching Roles

From Education Matters, July 16, 2022

In this episode of Education Matters, a weekly television show about the state of public education in North Carolina, host Mary Ann Wolf, President and Executive Director of the Public School Forum, interviews Public Impact Co-President Bryan Hassel about the Opportunity Culture initiative and Advanced Teaching Roles. Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) is a state grant structure designed to help retain and expand the reach of highly effective teachers in North Carolina. Most of the North Carolina districts receiving ATR grants use Opportunity Culture roles.