February 21, 2025, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—In a year of bleak NAEP outcomes nationwide, the latest data on schools using Opportunity Culture® teaching teams provides hope for scaling up student learning results nationwide. Title I schools that had Multi-Classroom Leader®...
Public Impact
New Data, Big Results: Opportunity Culture Roles Outpace Others in Learning Growth
In a year of bleak NAEP outcomes nationwide, the latest data on schools using Opportunity Culture® teaching teams provides hope for scaling up student learning results nationwide.
Both experience with Multi-Classroom Leader® teams and the percentage of students reached by them affected schoolwide outcomes.
Title I schools that had several years of experience with these teams, which can include new educator roles, and reached students schoolwide showed the best growth results—boosting their odds of high-growth learning schoolwide by 83 percent over schools without the roles.
Multi-Classroom Leaders help to improve MISD student success
From First Alert 7, by Rachel Fortunato, February 12, 2025
MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) – Over the past few years, MISD has been teaching its teachers how to be Multi-Classroom Leaders otherwise known as MCLs. The district says teachers that have become Multi-Classroom Leaders have led to student success overall. The program allows teachers to serve as coaches and mentors for other teachers and train them in proven instructional techniques.
“What a great way to help other teachers,” said Emily Terry, an MCL and 6th Grade Math Teacher for Midland ISD.
February 2025 Newsletter: Certified Schools Show Their Stuff
In our latest newsletter, learn which schools using Opportunity Culture® models have received certification at several levels for the 2024–25 year, as well as the first schools nationally to receive “validated” status; read our co-presidents’ response to the latest NAEP scores; register for upcoming professional learning sessions and site visits; get updates on the portal and certification (including the chance to order a banner for your school); and check out videos, blog posts, and news from districts across the country using Opportunity Culture® models. Read our latest newsletter here!
A Sure Fix for NAEP Woes
By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel, co-presidents, Public Impact® The latest NAEP scores are no surprise, despite educators' hard work to support students, but this is not just an educational crisis; it’s an economic one. Education outcomes determine students’...
Tips to Grow On: Leadership and Team Support
What tips do educators at Aycock Elementary in Vance County, N.C., have for maintaining Opportunity Culture® staffing models—so both students and teachers can thrive? Provide Strong Leadership Support and Trust the Power of Multi-Classroom Leader® Teams.
Tips to Grow On: Embrace Flexibility and Redesign
What tips do educators at Aycock Elementary in Vance County, N.C., have for maintaining Opportunity Culture® staffing models—so both students and teachers can thrive? Continually Analyze Learning Data, Then Take Action and Meet Students’ Needs with Annual Data-Based Redesign.
Tips to Grow On: Talk It Up!
What tips do educators at Aycock Elementary in Vance County, N.C., have for maintaining Opportunity Culture® staffing models—so both students and teachers can thrive? Continually Communicate the Roles and Share Your School’s Story.
Opportunity Culture® Design + HQIMM +Training & Coaching
For a decade, the Opportunity Culture® initiative has been advancing a vision in which teacher-lead teams are the conduit for high quality instructional materials and methods (HQIMM). Teacher leaders need guidance and support to bring this vision to life with the teams. Read our brief deck on this topic, and look for more in 2025.
District of the Year: Ector County ISD
From K-12 Dive, by Anna Merod, November 27, 2024
Five years ago, Texas’ Ector County Independent School District was significantly underperforming, said Scott Muri, the district’s superintendent emeritus. Today, it’s a different story.
When Muri joined as the district’s superintendent in 2019, he said, students were “struggling academically in school,” and “all the metrics were heading in the wrong direction.” That same year, the Texas Education Agency gave Ector County ISD an F accountability rating.
But now, Ector County ISD, with about 34,000 students, is on the upswing. Signs point to significantly improved student achievement, and the district earned its first-ever B rating from TEA in 2022, the most recent year rated. …
Tutoring is not the only effective strategy that Muri says has helped shape students’ rising success. Strategic staffing through the district’s Opportunity Culture program has significantly influenced student growth, too, he said.
In this program, the district’s most effective teachers instruct half-time and then coach and mentor other educators the rest of the day. Ector County ISD’s program launched over four years ago in partnership with Public Impact, a staffing organization based in North Carolina, Muri said.