The September newsletter includes new Opportunity Culture audio and video posts, tools and resources, a video playlist, Opportunity Culture news, and more.
Public Impact
New Opportunity Culture® Audio: Becoming a Committed Opportunity Culture® School
In the annual, anonymous survey given to Opportunity Culture educators, Ross Elementary in Ector County, Texas, received high ratings despite the stress of another Covid year. Susan Hendricks, an Opportunity Culture Fellow who was the school’s principal until she became the district’s director of leadership in August, describes the communication needed to become a committed Opportunity Culture school in the latest Opportunity Culture audio piece.
Kicking Off the New School Year: August Opportunity Culture® Newsletter
Welcome to all the new sites and schools beginning to implement their Opportunity Culture designs this fall! Educators at 116 more schools—in both new and established Opportunity Culture sites—are about to see their plans in action. It takes a lot of hard work, deep thinking, and extensive communication to bring these plans to life, and we at Public Impact wish all of you the best! Read the full newsletter here.
Teacher-Assistant Partnership Helps Students Grow
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 28, 2022
In August 2021, Angela Caldwell, an Opportunity Culture expanded-impact kindergarten teacher at Montlieu Academy of Technology in Guilford County, North Carolina, found herself unexpectedly on her own with a classroom of 22 students, after her teaching assistant left just as the school year began.
So she felt relief that fall when interviewing Lora Terry, who had worked for many years in day care settings. The two clicked, Caldwell said, with Terry making it very clear what she would need to do the job of an assistant well—clear expectations, communication, and clarification. Read More…
Hear Opportunity Culture® Principals Reflect: February Opportunity Culture® Newsletter
Public Impact, February 28, 2022
The February newsletter includes audio reflections from former principal and Opportunity Culture Fellow, Jenny O’Meara, profiles of two Opportunity Culture educators named regional Principals of the Year, and much more:
Connect with Your OC Community and Share Strategies! January Opportunity Culture® Newsletter
By Public Impact, January 27, 2022
The January newsletter includes opportunities for community, a reflection from educators on continued pandemic challenges, tools and videos for educators, Opportunity Culture news, and more.
Harness the Power of Small-Group Tutoring with Opportunity Culture® Staffing
By Public Impact, January 27, 2022
We, like Opportunity Culture educators, believe that students can make dramatically more learning growth than they typically do—with the right instructional approaches and adult support. So we continuously look for new, research-based ways to achieve this vision.
Tools for Teaching and Leading; Language Barriers in Remote Learning: December Opportunity Culture® Newsletter
Public Impact, December 13, 2021
We wish you all happy holidays and a rejuvenating winter break; we continue to hear from Opportunity Culture educators across the country about how very challenging this school year has been for many of you. If you would like to share your story, please email me so we can chat briefly, to include in a future newsletter. Thank you!
Personalize learning for educators, not just students
By Casey Jackson, first published by EdNC, May 18, 2021
“Can you please be my coach?”
With tears rolling down her cheeks, this was what a young, second-year teacher asked me in the middle of a professional development session in 2018.
I was sitting at a table with new faces, in a new state, in a new role as a multi-classroom leader (MCL) in Vance County, North Carolina. The session presenter had asked us to role-play a guided-reading lesson, and this young woman had bravely volunteered to play the role of teacher. As the others played the students, I played the teacher’s coach. Although I had some administrative experience helping teachers, I had not yet gone through MCL training to learn how to appropriately coach the teaching team I would lead. Read more…
The Support Baltimore Teachers Deserve—Now and Post-Pandemic
By Sidney Thomas, first published by The Baltimore Times, April 30, 2021
A tweet I saw asking teachers to share one book they would recommend for new teachers jolted me back to my first year of teaching in 2008. My school gave me a copy of The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher by Harry and Rosemary Wong, told me to read it, and then released me into the classroom to figure out how to be an effective teacher.
The book was my only “support” that year. Whenever I asked for additional help to become a better teacher, I was told to go back to that book. Yet, even after rereading it, I still struggled. Read more…