Portal Login

Paola Gilliam

In a Texas Opportunity Culture® District, MCLs and Reach Associates Build Partnerships

November 11, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, November 11, 2020

After more than two decades in education, including stints teaching kindergarten and English as a second language, Elizabeth Fernandez had settled into a district role as a data specialist for teaching and learning—until the multi-classroom leader (MCL) role offered her the chance to lead while returning to the classroom.

“When you’re in central office, it’s great, and you do lots of great things,” Fernandez said, “but when you’re at a campus, there’s just an energy and a love—it’s just the kids. I love these kids.”

But the appeal of working directly with kids again would not have been enough on its own, she said. Read more…

Opportunity Culture® in the News

November 3, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, November 3, 2020

Opportunity Culture’s effects on teachers and students have been in the news recently; don’t miss these stories in Tuesday’s Education Dive:

  • Three Ways to Build Teacher Retention: Mentoring, professional development, leadership opportunities… A virtual webinar on teacher retention for the National Summit on Improving Effective Personnel for Children With Disabilities featured Public Impact’s Troy Smith, who noted how Opportunity Culture career pathways let teachers advance without having to move out of the classroom.
  • Rubric for Recovery: ELs Face More Hurdles Amid Lost In-Person Learning: Multi-classroom leaders and educators in Opportunity Culture schools in Texas, North Carolina, and Indiana shared what they are doing to focus on English language learners.

Rethinking School Staffing

October 8, 2020

From AEI, October 8, 2020, by Nat Malkus

As schools confront massive budget shortfalls in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it is critical that they examine how they might use existing funding more efficiently. On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus talks with Bryan Hassel about how districts might rethink their staffing models in a way that will increase students’ access to excellent teachers and create opportunities for advancement within the teaching profession, all without spending more money. Byran is the co-president of Public Impact and a contributor to the newly released volume, Getting the Most Bang for the Education Buck. Listen to the podcast…

Tracking fall reopening plans for all North Carolina districts: New database from EdNC and Public Impact®

October 7, 2020

From EdNC, October 7, 2020, by Beth Clifford, David Gilmore, Cole Smith, Preston Faulk and Molly Osborne

Since the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we knew it in March, North Carolina school districts have had to rethink how they deliver education. After transitioning online in the spring, districts could choose between a hybrid model with limited face-to-face instruction (plan B) and 100% virtual instruction (plan C) for the start of the 2020-21 school year this fall. Read the full article…

Report: Pandemic could spur new school staffing approaches

September 28, 2020

From Education Dive, September 28, 2020, by Kara Arundel

Overnight, it seemed, some teachers’ roles changed from being leaders in their classrooms to including broader responsibilities as mentors and coaches to other teachers, curriculum designers, technology facilitators, data coaches and assessment designers. What if that were the norm, asks the AIR paper.

One approach suggested by AIR, and developed by consulting group Public Impact, is the Opportunity Culture initiative. In this structure, an experienced and effective teacher leads a small, collaborative team of teachers in the same grade or subject. The multi-classroom leaders use student data to help the team of teachers prepare for instruction, evaluate each student’s educational progress and make adjustments where needed. Read the article…

Free Webinar: Coaching Teachers Remotely During Covid

September 8, 2020

By Public Impact, September 8, 2020

How do excellent, experienced multi-classroom leaders support their teaching teams remotely during a crisis? They and their teams face extreme challenges of helping students through the trauma of the pandemic, racial violence, and protests while delivering excellent instruction—all while balancing their own stress and personal needs.

Join us on September 15th at 4:30 p.m. ET to hear three multi-classroom leaders share their tips and resources for supporting and coaching teachers when some or all are working from home. This free webinar is open to anyone, not just Opportunity Culture educators. View the webinar and resources here.

Fall 2020 Newsletter

August 31, 2020

The fall 2020 edition of our newsletter for Opportunity Culture educators includes new resources for the fall, tools and resources for teaching during COVID-19, a column about one teacher’s journey from a reach associate to a teacher, recent Opportunity Culture videos, and more. Read the fall 2020 newsletter here.

Summer 2020 Newsletter

June 25, 2020

The summer 2020 edition of our newsletter for Opportunity Culture educators includes an announcement about new Opportunity Fellows, tools and resources for teaching at-home during COVID-19, summer planning resources, stories from Opportunity Culture educators, and more. Read the summer 2020 newsletter here.

What is an Opportunity Culture®? Broadening the reach of the most effective teachers

June 2, 2020

From Little Things First, June 2, 2020

Public Impact has been serving urban and rural schools for many years, helping them rethink what is possible in schools.  Opportunity Culture is a subset of Public Impact that explores ways to increase the reach of our best teachers.  is it time to rethink our model of instructional coaching?  Research shows that instructional coaches spend very little time working directly with teachers to improve instruction.  Opportunity Culture involves multi-classroom leaders who teach students and support teachers simultaneously, all within the constraints of a school’s regular budget.  In this episode of Little Things First, we discuss the potential of an Opportunity Culture with Public Impact’s Lucy Steiner.  Listen to the podcast.

Opportunity Culture® Year in Review 2019-20

May 28, 2020

By Paola Gilliam, May 28, 2020

As the 2019–20 school year draws to a dramatically different close, we’ve heard repeatedly from Opportunity Culture educators about the personal and professional difficulties and stresses of making the move to at-home learning.

But through the entire year, their compassion for students and drive to bring them the best education persisted. Opportunity Culture educators continued to provide one another and students with support, help their schools reach for high learning growth, and spread the benefits of excellent teaching and leadership in Opportunity Culture schools to more students and teachers. Here are just a few highlights of Opportunity Culture news and resources from this year that would not have been possible without the excellence of Opportunity Culture educators. Read more…