We’re excited about our latest news! Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Fort Worth ISD, and Montgomery County Public Schools have been awarded a $7.7 million federal TSL grant for widespread implementation of Opportunity Culture® innovative staffing models, which CMS pioneered with Public Impact®’s support in 2013. With the grant, CMS will expand its use of these models to all of its schools over three years, while the Fort Worth and Montgomery County districts will launch and expand the models over three years.
Montgomery County and Fort Worth are the nation’s 15th- and 46th-largest districts, respectively; they’ll visit CMS, the 17th-largest district, to see Opportunity Culture® schools in action.
With a total of 529 schools and more than 375,000 students, the districts have committed to reaching at least 98 principals, 1,650 teachers, and 46,000 students during the grant period.
CMS will reach its remaining 67 campuses not already using Opportunity Culture® models; FWISD and MCPS will begin in 31 high-need campuses.
The TSL program supports districts in implementing, improving, or expanding their human capital management system. Intended to primarily serve educators in high-need schools who raise student academic achievement and close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students, it may also apply to high-need subject areas in other schools.
The districts’ objectives include ensuring equitable access to highly effective teachers and their instructional teams, attracting and retaining top educators in high-need schools, and providing job-embedded professional development for all educators.
CMS, MCPS, and FWISD will be using Public Impact®’s new online design platform by the 2024–25 school year, along with receiving substantial school design coaching. The platform, which helps decrease the cost and complexity of moving to Opportunity Culture® models, will soon become available for states to purchase as well as individual districts.