Paola Gilliam

First Look: Remotely Located Teacher Leadership

From EdNC, May 8, 2019, by Sharon Kebschull Barrett

This semester, the College Board and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) joined with Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative to test the remotely located Multi-Classroom Leadership model: An excellent NCSSM teacher would lead a small team of teachers spread across rural North Carolina districts, which often lack enough teachers who are prepared to ensure student success in advanced classes.

Doing Teacher Residencies Right: Yearlong, Well-Paid, and Led by Excellent Teachers

By Sharon Kebschull Barret, May 2, 2019

We know that in traditional student teaching today, incoming teachers are eager to learn and help students, and some “cooperating teachers” help their student teachers tremendously. But we also know that most student teachers are in the classroom for a short while, unpaid, and not necessarily learning under the school’s strongest teachers. Alternative residency programs, while a great idea, reach only a very few student teachers, at high cost—often funded through temporary grants.

Paying It Forward By Supporting New Teachers



Multi-Classroom Leader Lara Harris remembers how lucky she felt at the start of her own career to have a mentor who provided deep support—something Harris is thrilled to provide as an MCL at a high-poverty, high-needs school.

Dr. Anitra Wells: Opportunity Culture® Comes to Lexington City Schools

From The Dispatch, April 6, 2019, by Dr. Anitra Wells

It is every parent’s expectation that the children they send to us every day are being prepared for success after high school. Through our efforts with Public Impact, an organization that began developing ideas about how to best prepare teachers to support other teachers in 2009, we are embarking on a journey to transform teaching and learning in Lexington City Schools.