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Opportunity Culture® News and Views

In Charlotte, Keeping Connected to 212 At-Home Students

by | April 3, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, April 3, 2020

How do you teach 212 students from a distance? Expanded-Impact Teacher Jimmel Williams says you listen carefully to your students’ needs, and keep your teaching—and your high expectations—largely the same.

Williams, who teaches eighth- and ninth-grade math in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and was a 2017-18 Opportunity Culture Fellow, is still figuring out exactly how he wants the “live” teaching component to work with so many students, but he has a wealth of materials—and individual connecting with students—to draw on meantime. Read more…

Keep Doing What Worked: Advice for At-Home Learning

by | March 31, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 31, 2020

Keep doing what works: For Erin Burns Mehigan, that message has been central to her school’s shift to at-home teaching and learning. Now an assistant principal at Jay M. Robinson Middle School in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Mehigan was a multi-classroom leader at West Charlotte High School and a 2015–16 Opportunity Culture Fellow.

She took what worked for her as a multi-classroom leader (MCL) to her role at Robinson leading the team of science teachers, as well as all seventh-grade teachers. That includes regular team meetings, which now gather on Zoom twice a week to continue their work to use data-driven instruction, discuss how to hold small-group instruction virtually, and develop at-home schedules that support students without overwhelming them. Read more…

In Georgia, Leading a Team on Distance Teaching and Caring

by | March 27, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 27, 2020

For Tu Willingham, distance teaching and team-leading are already well underway. A history multi-classroom leader at Banneker High School in Fulton County (Georgia) Schools, Willingham has tackled the early weeks of the school shutdown with strong team leadership and ideas about what can make distance learning work.

Everyone needs time to adapt to the reality now, Willingham said, noting that he felt inundated by the news until this week, when he felt better able to “move on and just accept the fact that this is a difficult situation that we have to get through.” Read more…

Annual Dashboard Update: Reaching Ever More Students with Excellent Teaching and Teachers with Excellent Career Opportunities and Support

by | March 27, 2020

By Public Impact, March 27, 2020

With little time to prepare for at-home teaching and learning, Opportunity Culture educators are bravely and innovatively doing what’s best for students.

We’re not surprised: Each year, we report the latest Opportunity Culture statistics in our online dashboard. Opportunity Culture—currently composed of 90 percent Title I-eligible schools—continues to expand Multi-Classroom Leadership, growing 50 percent annually, on average, and empowering well-paid multi-classroom leaders to help a wide range of teachers produce higher-growth learning. Read more…

For This MCL, A Week of Team Planning and Parenting

by | March 22, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 22, 2020.

We’ve heard from teachers nationwide what a busy, anxious week the past one was, preparing to do all teaching and learning at home. But we’ve also heard how so many multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) are forging ahead, preparing to continue strong team leadership from afar.

As the week wound down, MCL Fred Hoffmann, science MCL at Fairview Elementary in Guilford County Schools and an Opportunity Culture Fellow, took a few minutes while driving with his father and young children to tell me about what he’s done to prepare for coming weeks with his team, and the stresses and positive signs he’s seen. Read more…

New Slide Deck—Recommendations for Shifting to Home-Based Multi-Classroom Leadership

by | March 20, 2020

By Public Impact, March 20, 2020

How can Multi-Classroom Leadership work when both students and teachers are at home?

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new slide deck from Public Impact provides considerations and recommendations for Opportunity Culture schools to continue achieving high-growth student learning, developing students’ critical social-emotional skills, and providing strong support to teaching teams. Read more…

Putting Data In Its Place: How Strong Teaching Teams Use Data To Achieve Student Growth

by | March 18, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett; first published by EducationNC, March 18, 2020

Can deep dives into large flows of student learning data actually lower teacher stress? Successful multi-classroom leaders, who lead small teaching teams in data analysis, say yes. When schools focus on small teams led by highly successful teachers, they help address the concerns North Carolina teachers expressed in a recent EdNC.org survey about professional development on using data and about having time to analyze and use data. Read more…

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

by | 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

by | 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…