From News West 9, December 8, 2019, by Leatra Hernandez
Ector County ISD and MISD will now have help with the struggling teacher shortage that has plagued the school districts. With the assistance of the University of Texas Permian Basin and US Prep, the school districts will introduce Opportunity Culture with paid teacher residencies. Opportunity Culture is a model that will provide teachers with greater support as well as give teachers a chance to lead small teams for higher pay and helping with developing new teachers. The model will be for strengthening the teacher pipeline for better education nationwide.
Paola Gilliam
Winter 2019 Newsletter
The Winter 2019 edition of our newsletter for Opportunity Culture educators includes free online training tools on the science of reading, a column by a Charlotte principal who saw Opportunity Culture dramatically lower suspensions in his school, an announcement about new Opportunity Culture districts, a spotlight on Spring Branch ISD in Texas, and new resources for Opportunity Culture advocacy. Read the Winter 2019 newsletter here.
Suspending student suspensions: How teaching teams created calm classrooms
By Philip Steffes; first published by EducationNC, December 5, 2019
How can kids learn when they’re not in the classroom? That’s the issue I confronted when I arrived at Albemarle Road Elementary in Charlotte four years ago. Despite teachers who truly cared about their students, we had far too many suspensions. And students were struggling. When I first came here, 95% of our teachers had been in the red — not meeting student growth targets — in literacy for multiple years.
Understand and Act on the Science of Reading: New Resources
By Public Impact, November 21, 2019
The debate over how to teach reading has heated up in the face of discouraging NAEP results, and more education groups are calling for educators to use the science of reading in classrooms. As always, dedicated teachers feel urgency to get reading instruction right, but educators are busy and need simple, research-based guidance. Concise resources that Public Impact has published today help teachers learn the basics of reading research and turn it into simple, actionable steps to boost standard curricula.
Opportunity Culture® Improving Mineral Wells ISD Education, Rotarians Told
From Mineral Wells Rotary, November 1, 2019
Mineral Wells Rotarians on Wednesday heard how Mineral Wells ISD’s two-year-old Opportunity Culture initiative is benfitting teachers and students in its elementary school classrooms. Mineral Wells ISD school board member and Rotary program chair for the week Scott Elder brought Travis Elementary School Principal David Wells, who in turn brought with him campus educators Carla Watson, Patti Newsome and Lindsey Wells, who all serve as Multi-Classroom Leaders (MCLs) for the school under the Opportunity Culture program.
Stephanie Dean: Opportunity Culture®—Extending the Reach of Excellent Teachers
From The Principal Center, October 28, 2019, by Justin Baeder, PhD
Stephanie Dean, vice president of strategic policy advising and a senior consulting manager, discusses Opportunity Culture for the Principal Center Radio. Listen here.
Stephanie Dean, vice president of strategic policy advising and a senior consulting manager, discusses Opportunity Culture for the Principal Center Radio. Listen here.
‘Opportunity Culture®’ Schools in Guilford County Bested Overall District Improvement in Reading and Math
From News and Record, October 12, 2019, by Jessie Pounds
Nine local schools that added a new staffing model for teachers last academic year saw student performance on key subjects improve more than Guilford County Schools as a whole, state test data show. Taken together, the schools that implemented “Opportunity Culture” last year improved more than the district as a whole in both reading and math at the fourth-, sixth- and seventh-grade levels.
What Could You Do in an Opportunity Culture®? New Opportunity Culture® Video
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, October 9, 2019
Watch the short video and check out the Opportunity Culture website to learn why this movement continues to grow 50 percent each year. Then share with educators, parents, and policymakers you know who would benefit from the higher student learning growth and educator career opportunities of an Opportunity Culture!
What Could You Do in an Opportunity Culture®? (Intro)
What could you do in an Opportunity Culture, and why do educators like it? Hear their thoughts in this brief video.
Fall 2019 Newsletter
The Fall 2019 edition of our newsletter for Opportunity Culture educators includes free resources and action planners for multi-classroom leaders and principals, a column by an Indianapolis multi-classroom leader about how multi-classroom leaders can smooth teacher-administrator communication, a spotlight on a rural North Carolina county in its third year of Opportunity Culture implementation, and highlights from the new multi-classroom leader Facebook group. Read the Fall 2019 newsletter here.