At Public Impact®, we feel the “kids can’t wait” urgency—we know all kids deserve the learning results that our Opportunity Culture® strategic staffing models have been proven to produce. So we are taking steps to make our support for school systems more accessible. With a new online platform and certification process, schools and districts can spread the results to many more students and educators…
Sharon Kebschull Barrett
Because Kids Can’t Wait: Use Proven Teaching Teams Throughout Schools and Districts
With a decade of successful implementation behind us, here’s one thing we know: Opportunity Culture®strategic staffing is long past the pilot phase. Studies show the power of Opportunity Culture®roles and teaching teams, along with our own continual data tracking. That research and data focuses us on a key to success for 2024–25: reaching all students with Multi-Classroom Leadership™ teams…
Because Kids Can’t Wait: Follow 5 Crucial Strategic Staffing Principles
We’re closing out our celebration of the first decade of the Opportunity Culture® initiative—going from a few pioneering schools and districts to the nearly 200,000 students who will be reached next year by excellent teaching. We rejoice over the student learning growth seen so far, the $57.9 million in extra pay that has gone to educators, and the teacher support and collaboration that has been a hallmark of this initiative since day 1…
Keeping Advanced Roles Alive and Thriving: Vance County’s Experience
Before Vance County Schools began designing its Opportunity Culture® staffing models in 2017–18, the district struggled with teacher turnover and higher pay supplements offered by nearby districts. Based in Henderson, N.C., the district began implementing the models in three elementary schools the following year to serve as “incubators of innovation” before expanding into four more schools…
TN SCORE Case Studies Highlight Strong Results for Four Districts Using Opportunity Culture Models
“Despite the state’s recent investment in salaries and new pathways into the [teaching] profession, these strategies in isolation, while important, are asking Tennessee’s current students to ‘play the long game.’ “While Tennessee’s most recent initiatives are...
Quick Tips Webinar: Planning Ahead for Next Year
How do great educators use the results of one school year to plan and launch the next? In April, two excellent teaching team leaders shared how they first do a deep review of the hits and misses of the current year; join us for two more free, 30-minute webinars to...
“Reflect to Prep” Webinar: Using This Year’s Results to Plan Ahead for the Next School Year
How do great educators pause to review the hits and misses of the current year to set themselves up for planning and launching the next year? In the first of our three-part, quick-tips series, excellent teaching team leaders will share how they both do this themselves...
Prep for the Testing Homestretch with Data: March Webinar
As schools prepare for end-of-year testing, how can teachers and teaching team leaders use data to motivate students and teachers and celebrate learning growth? Join us for a free, 45-minute webinar on March 14, led by Erin Burns Mehigan, a former teacher-leader...
For Strong Educator Recruitment, Start Now: Tips from Opportunity Culture® District Leaders
For Nicole Hayes, recruiting educators to Nash County Public Schools means facing some stiff competition. Nash County abuts the much larger—and much wealthier—Wake County Public Schools in North Carolina.
And yet, “we’ve been able to retain teachers and bring some back to our district who left to go to Wake because their [pay] supplements are way higher,” she said.
Hayes, Nash’s Opportunity Culture director, and her peers in other districts of varying size have successfully improved their recruitment efforts for Opportunity Culture educator roles using some of the same strategies—garnering their districts not only more, but also stronger, applicants.
Succeeding—and Paying It Forward—as an International MTRT
When Raissa Renacia arrived from the Philippines in 2019 to teach math in Ector County, Texas, she had a lot of questions.
From where to find rice to how to manage an American classroom, Renacia found herself wishing she had one person to give her answers. Today, in her third year in the Master Team Reach Teacher (MTRT) role, she’s become that mentor for other international teachers.