By Public Impact, November 18, 2020
Why and how should you use Opportunity Culture? Watch our two-part video to get the scoop!
What barriers keep teachers and students from experiencing great support and strong learning outcomes? Part 1 highlights barriers that an Opportunity Culture can remove.
Part 2 details how an Opportunity Culture provides on-the-job, consistent support for all teachers to reach many more students with excellence, learn more, and earn more!
Watch the videos here.
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…
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:
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…
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…
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…
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.
Some parents are creating home-based, closed groups of a few families’ children to learn together under the rotating supervision of parents or a paid supervisor. Pods could keep students’ learning and social-emotional development on track while helping protect their and their teachers’ health. Read more…
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.
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.