Paola Gilliam

From K-12 Dive, March 22, 2021, by Kara Arundel

School system leaders are cautiously optimistic that the 2021-22 school year will see more students learning in-person and that the school day will resemble pre-pandemic routines, but with safety protocols in place. Increased vaccine administration for adults and the hope of childhood vaccines this fall, winter or early in 2022 are helping drive this confidence.

Superintendents, however, say it’s difficult to predict the status of the pandemic five months from now. That uncertainty is pushing them to prepare for multiple scenarios as COVID-19 continues to be a major health crisis. Read more…

From OA Online, March 22, 2021, by Ruth Campbell

A program to place effective teachers in front of more Ector County ISD students is expanding this coming school year to more campuses.

Executive Director of Talent Development Ashley Osborne said 10 campuses are going to be added to the Opportunity Culture arsenal. The district currently has eight Opportunity Culture campuses.

The ECISD website says Opportunity Culture is “an innovative approach to staffing that multiplies the impact of highly effective teachers, thereby improving student performance.” No longer available online.

From The Hill, March 13, 2021, by Thomas Toch and Lynn Olson

From Chiefs for Change, March 11, 2021

Chiefs for Change is grateful to President Biden for his leadership and to Congress for approving emergency relief aid that is commensurate with the tremendous challenges America’s schools are facing amid Covid-19.

As K-12 leaders prepare to receive their share of the $123 billion included in the American Rescue Plan, we developed this memo for states and districts. It is based on relevant research as well as insights and practices from our members’ systems. The memo outlines the areas systems should prioritize in order to best support students during the pandemic and prepare them to thrive in the years to come.

From The 74, March 10, 2021, by Lynn Olson

The coronavirus crisis is prompting schools and districts to embrace innovative staffing and scheduling strategies that are extending the reach of great teachers, leveraging co-teaching models in new ways and providing more support for students and educators. Read more…

From Issues Now! Podcast, February 24, 2021, hosted by Hannah Gray

From Future Ed, February 3, 2021, by Lynn Olson

Amid the profound disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, some schools and districts have responded with highly innovative staffing and scheduling strategies. They are extending the reach of great teachers, leveraging co-teaching models and teacher teams in new ways, and creating more flexible student groupings and more student-centric classrooms—all with the goal of playing to teachers’ strengths, better serving students, and providing more support for educators.

A new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel, Teaching Innovation: New School Staffing Strategies Inspired by the Pandemic, explores these new staffing strategies, the conditions that enabled them, how educators have overcome barriers to the innovations, and what it would take to sustain and scale them post-pandemic.

From The Evening Times, February 1, 2021

 As part of its commitment to implement Opportunity Culture in schools across the state, the Arkansas Department of Education is supporting its third cohort of school districts this year joining the national initiative to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams, for more pay, within regular school budgets. The school districts of Brinkley, Crossett, Earle and Osceola will begin implementing Opportunity Culture roles in the 2021–22 school year. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) committed to spreading Opportunity Culture in its Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan; Arkansas districts already using Opportunity Culture roles are North Little Rock, Forrest City, Gentry and Lincoln Consolidated. Read more (article behind paywall)…