Portal Login

Sharon Kebschull Barrett

As COVID-19 Forces Shutdowns, Resources for Teaching and Learning at Home

March 16, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 16, 2020

As many schools close and turn to online learning due to COVID-19, multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) can help smooth and lead the way for their teaching teams and students. Students need their teachers’ steadying hand even more when the world feels chaotic and parents face extra stress.

Public Impact published initial guidance on Friday, with more to come for schools using Opportunity Culture and those who have not yet used it. See here for that guidance and more resources–all free, as always. Read more…

Why Continue to Be a Multi-Classroom Leader? My Daughter

February 13, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, February 13, 2020

Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Multi-Classroom Leader Cherelle Sanders spoke on Wednesday night at the “Recognizing Top Talent: National Voices on Identifying and Retaining NC’s Best Teachers” panel discussion hosted by the Belk Foundation.

Watch the short video of her powerful talk–why having multi-classroom leaders matters, and the incredible student learning growth her team of brand-new teachers achieved last year. Read more…

Voices from Edgecombe: How Opportunity Culture® Affects an N.C. District

January 17, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, January 16, 2020

I’ve had the privilege over several visits last year to Edgecombe County Public Schools to interview Opportunity Culture educators in many roles, from the superintendent to a beginning teacher. Located in a rural county an hour east of Raleigh, North Carolina, Edgecombe schools face challenges in recruiting and retaining great educators who have many large-city options nearby.

But the enthusiasm, commitment, and all-in-this-together spirit of Edgecombe wins visitors over quickly, and even after long days of interviews, my colleague Beverley Tyndall and I leave feeling rejuvenated. Read more…

With Leandro Report, Hope for North Carolina’s Students

December 11, 2019

By Public Impact, December 11, 2019

As educators, legislators, business leaders, and others gathered for a summit on building a sorely needed pipeline of teachers of color for North Carolina, the long-awaited Leandro report hit the wires. Ordered by Judge David Lee, the report from WestEd spells out how the state can meet its constitutional obligation to provide a “sound, basic” education for every North Carolina child.

At Public Impact, we’re grateful for the work of so many who got the case to this point: for the judges who kept pressing to meet students’ needs; the lawyers and many state and local leaders who, often behind the scenes, fought for justice through this case; the numerous researchers who dug deep to find the best solutions; and the educators included in their research.

Spotlight: Spring Branch Independent School District

November 27, 2019

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, November 27, 2019

A quality teacher in every classroom, and powerful support for alternatively certified teachers: For Jennifer Blaine, those were two key elements that made Opportunity Culture well worth continuing to expand when she took over this spring as superintendent of Spring Branch ISD, located west of downtown Houston, Texas.

With about 35,000 students, the district includes 25 elementary schools, seven traditional middle school campuses, and four traditional high schools; more than half of those now use Opportunity Culture roles since beginning three years ago under Scott Muri, Blaine’s predecessor as superintendent. (Muri is now superintendent of Ector County ISD.)

In Memoriam: Opportunity Culture® Fellow Casandra Cherry

September 23, 2019

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, September 23, 2019

Each year, Public Impact announces a new cohort of Opportunity Culture Fellows–multi-classroom leaders, principals, and others in Opportunity Culture roles who have achieved strong results and been leaders in their schools and districts. This spring, Casandra Cherry, the multi-classroom leader for math and science in grades 6–8 at Phillips Middle School in the Edgecombe County, North Carolina, school district, was one of the 15 Fellows named for 2019-20. We’re saddened to share that Ms. Cherry passed away suddenly on August 21. The impact she made on students over her 20 years as an educator is incalculable, her principal at Phillips, Jenny O’Meara, said.