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Opportunity Culture® News and Views

Opportunity Culture® Year in Review 2019-20

by | May 28, 2020

By Paola Gilliam, May 28, 2020

As the 2019–20 school year draws to a dramatically different close, we’ve heard repeatedly from Opportunity Culture educators about the personal and professional difficulties and stresses of making the move to at-home learning.

But through the entire year, their compassion for students and drive to bring them the best education persisted. Opportunity Culture educators continued to provide one another and students with support, help their schools reach for high learning growth, and spread the benefits of excellent teaching and leadership in Opportunity Culture schools to more students and teachers. Here are just a few highlights of Opportunity Culture news and resources from this year that would not have been possible without the excellence of Opportunity Culture educators. Read more…

Multi-Classroom Leaders Provide the “First Line of Defense” in Guilford County, N.C.

by | May 27, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, May 27, 2020

Across the country, multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) continue to help smooth the transition to online learning not only for their teaching teams, but beyond—reaching their entire schools, even their entire districts.

When Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina, went to all-at-home learning, district leaders worried about how to get all teachers the support they needed. “We have more new and lateral-entry teachers than we’ve ever had in Guilford County,” said Chief Academic Officer Whitney Oakley. “Teachers who needed support before need support teaching remotely, and even teachers who didn’t need support at school now need support teaching remotely.” Read more…

3 Model Options Give Schools Budget-Neutral Plans, Schedules, Roles for Partial School Closures

by | May 15, 2020

By Public Impact, May 15, 2020

Districts and schools are confronting the learning loss caused by missed school time so far. Opportunity Culture schools—90 percent of which are Title I—have a special responsibility and opportunity to reverse that learning loss with the same method they’ve used for years: highly connective, high-standards instruction that helps more students achieve high-growth learning. Multi-Classroom Leadership by teachers with a high-growth track record is the foundation.

What can that look like if some students and teachers need to stay home, or if schools open, then shut, in waves in the coming school year? Read more…

In Mineral Wells, Texas, Opportunity Culture® Brings Academic Gains, Discipline Reductions

by | May 15, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, May 15, 2020
Part 3 of 3

At Travis Elementary in Mineral Wells Independent School District in Texas, “we have made some big strides over the past three years, and I 100 percent directly credit that to Opportunity Culture,” Principal David Wells said.

In student learning gains, Wells cites the number of students reaching the “passing standard” of the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness). He also looks at the performance gap between his school, with about 80 percent of students classified as low-income, and the Texas state average. Read more…

“In Love With Opportunity Culture®”: How Mineral Wells, Texas, School Found an Answer

by | May 14, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, May 14, 2020
Part 2 of 3

In 2016, Travis Elementary, in Texas’s Mineral Wells Independent School District, faced a challenge: Administrators knew that Travis, which had struggled for years, had an especially low-performing group of students coming up from the lower grades, so they would need to work even harder to meet these students’ needs and guide them to academic gains.

Elementary schools in Mineral Wells each serve only a few grades—one serves pre-kindergarten and first; another second and third; and, at Travis, fourth and fifth. Hearing about Opportunity Culture models piqued the interest of David Wells, then assistant principal at Travis. Read more…

Why Would Teachers Drive Past a Higher-Paying District for a Job That Pays Less? This Texas District Knows

by | May 13, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, May 13, 2020
Part 1 of 3

“I’m not in this for the money,” teachers routinely say. And yet, money and the respect of being decently paid matters—witness teacher protests across the country in recent years. So why would a teacher drive (pre-COVID-19) through a wealthier, better-paying district to head for one that pays less and serves a higher-need student population? One Texas district can answer that with two words: Opportunity Culture. Read more…

Top Tips for Teaching and Leading at Home from Opportunity Culture® Fellows

by | May 1, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, May 1, 2020

As the COVID-19 crisis sent students and teachers home, we shared the stories of Opportunity Culture Fellows—educators chosen for their leadership and success helping students make high learning growth—as they were making the shift to at-home teaching. We listened during their interviews for their tips for others focused on helping students learn—and supporting their social-emotional health—no matter what challenges they or their students face, especially if at-home learning continues into the fall or recurs sporadically. Read More…

How NC Districts Handle Closures, and Next Steps—New Database From Public Impact® and EdNC

by | April 24, 2020

By Public Impact, April 24, 2020

To understand how North Carolina’s 115 school districts are dealing with school closures, Public Impact and EducationNC joined forces to develop the NC District Response to COVID-19 School Closures Database. Read more about the database below, as well as an opinion piece on what the data tell us so far from Public Impact’s co-presidents. Read more…

District Policies for At-Home Learning; Stories & Tips from Top Educators

by | April 10, 2020

By Public Impact, April 10, 2020

As students and teachers shift to working from home, many district policies need to shift as well. In a publication released today, Recommended District Policies for At-Home Teaching and Learning, Public Impact provides recommendations with a focus on: What policies are both feasible and most likely to produce strong learning outcomes for all students, especially disadvantaged learners? Based on a review of policies of virtual schools and districts in response to COVID-19 and on Public Impact experience, these recommendations will be updated as districts, schools, and Public Impact continue to learn during the shift. We welcome your feedback. Read More…

In Arizona, Turning Vulnerabilities Into Strengths as Teaching Goes Home

by | April 10, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, April 10, 2020

“Really, everyone’s a first-year teacher at this.”

When Christina Ross’s small Arizona school shut down for COVID-19, educators knew they needed to move quickly to meet students’ immediate needs. Fifty miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, Desert Oasis Elementary is one of two schools in Nadaburg Unified School District, which Ross describes as “half-rural,” serving a total of 1,200 K-8 students. Read more…