In our latest newsletter, hear from the superintendent, a principal, and educators from Winchester Public Schools about how Opportunity Culture® teaching teams combine with a focus on small-group instruction to make a difference in student learning and school culture. Plus you’ll find the latest professional learning opportunities, webinars, tools, social media highlights, news, and more! Read the November 2024 newsletter here.
Public Impact
How Small-Group Instruction Improves Teacher Effectiveness
Team Reach Teacher™ Brian Tavenner of Daniel Morgan Middle School in Winchester, Virginia, says pulling four or five kids at a time into small groups allows him to work with more kids and be more effective with his time.
Why Small-Group Instruction is Worth the Effort
Working with kids in small groups takes more time and effort, but it allows you to see what they truly know and don’t know, says Team Reach Teacher™ Brian Tavenner of Daniel Morgan Middle School in Winchester, Virginia.
#15. How Small Groups Led to Big Middle School Math Growth
Math Team Reach Teacher™ Brian Tavenner discusses his wholehearted belief in the power of extensive small-group instruction to improve all students’ outcomes and the difference it makes in how he works with student learning data. He delves into reflections and how small groups work in his middle school classes, with 50 students split in half through Reach Associate™ support.
#14. Becoming a Student Growth State Leader: Lessons from Winchester
For the 2023–24 school year, Winchester Public Schools had student learning growth results to celebrate: Their seventh-grade math students were number 1 in the state for learning growth; fourth-grade math was in the top 10, and eighth-grade math was in the top 12. All three of these grades had 100 percent of their students reached by Multi-Classroom Leader® teaching teams. And across the district, 15 teams are now reaching 100 percent of students in a subject or grade, with nine teams students’ making high growth.
#13. A Superintendent’s View: Go All-In with Opportunity Culture® Teams, Small-Group
Viewing Opportunity Culture® implementation as a single, cost-neutral solution for multiple issues—student outcomes and educator career paths and satisfaction—Winchester Public Schools Superintendent Jason van Heukelum discusses why the district “jumped all in” and how that’s working out, with strong learning growth results.
Educators get first-hand look at ECISD Opportunity Culture
From Odessa American, by Ruth Campbell, November 7, 2024
Now in its fifth year of implementing Opportunity Culture, Ector County ISD got some visitors from across the state and country Thursday to see how it’s done.
Educators from Florida and Fort Worth and officials from the Texas Education Agency and Public Impact, which deploys the Opportunity Culture initiative, were in town.
The Opportunity Culture model multiplies the impact of highly effective teachers, thereby improving student performance. It also enhances efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified instructors by offering career advancement opportunities, sustainable higher pay, and on-the-job professional development and support, a news release said.
Click here for information on attending upcoming site visits to districts using Opportunity Culture® models.
MISD welcomes visitors to highlight strategic staffing initiative
From Odessa American, November 7, 2024
The visit included campus tours, observing classrooms at South Elementary and Alamo Junior High, and interacting with Multi-Classroom Leaders (MCLs). MCLs are high-performing teachers who are selected to lead and coach groups of teachers to train them on instructional strategies and ongoing mentorship. Aside from the leadership opportunities, MCLs also earn financial stipends of up to $17,000 per year.
Visitors also had the opportunity to learn how the Opportunity Culture model can be implemented in their own districts. Topics of discussion included training and selection of MCLs, instructional support, and strategic staffing all designed to improve student outcomes.
Click here for information on attending upcoming site visits to districts using Opportunity Culture® models.
Get Your Teaching Team Superpower: Cohesive Lesson Planning
How can teaching teams activate the superpower that is collaborative, cohesive lesson planning? If you’re a teaching team leader, how can you guide your team through productive planning meetings that create cohesive instruction for all the team’s students? If you’re on a teaching team, how can you get the most out of planning meetings, and help ensure great instruction across the team?
This two-part webinar series, led by two team leaders with a record of producing student learning growth, will help you be a hero for your students with powerful plans and a roadmap and resources to carry them out. Alex Tobin of Thomasville City Schools and Tameka Rover-Brown of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools will show you how, whether you use a scripted curriculum or bake yours up from scratch—or both. Useful for all educators, but especially for those at the elementary level, these quick-tip sessions will leave you powered up and ready to teach.
N.C. Districts—Including 5 Largest—Lead Nation in New Certification
Did you know that all of the five largest school districts in North Carolina use Opportunity Culture® strategic staffing models? With 10 other North Carolina school systems, these districts—Wake, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Guilford, Winston-Salem-Forsyth, and Cumberland—are also leading the first wave of schools nationally to receive Certified Opportunity Culture School™ status.