Opportunity Culture® News and Views
By Margaret High, November 7, 2019
Imagine opening the first all-staff email from a new principal or superintendent that clearly shows a lack of understanding or support for the Opportunity Culture your district has in place. What do you do?
Opportunity Culture Fellows closed the 2019 convening by brainstorming solutions to this scenario in a session on the keys to effective advocacy—one of their most-requested topics.
By Margaret High, November 4, 2019
Leading change and developing leaders: Opportunity Culture principals must know how to do this for student and teacher success, and Opportunity Culture Fellows are hungry for tips from their colleagues who do it well. At the Opportunity Culture Fellows Convening, a panel of principals highlighted strong hiring and communications as two keys among many to success.
By Margaret High, October 30, 2019
How can multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) build the cohesion of their teaching teams? A panel of five Opportunity Culture Fellows tackled this question—a hot topic among MCLs—with suggestions that focused on the joy of team leadership as well as how to address challenges with team members.
“My two things are genuinely caring about the people as individuals and as teachers. …And then really not being a know-it-all,” one panelist said. “I’m not coming into the classroom to make you into me. I’m coming in here to make you a better version of you.”
By Margaret High, October 17, 2019
As CEO of the Mississippi-based Barksdale Reading Institute, Kelly Butler doesn’t mind saying schools teach literacy all wrong. Condensing the science of reading into a one-hour overview presentation for the Opportunity Culture Fellows Convening, Butler issued a clarion call for educators to to follow the science of reading, focusing on phonics, brain development, the five components of reading, and the simple view of reading. Butler’s efforts to spread the word have helped move Mississippi’s reading growth to the top of state rankings.
By Margaret High, October 9, 2019
Educators know they can’t design their instructional approach for one “average” student—but finding the right resources to make true personalization possible can be a time-consuming struggle. At their 2019 convening, Opportunity Culture Fellows tested one free tool that can help. Digital Promise, an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit, created its Learner Variability Project to translate the growing body of research on learning for educators and parents. Digital Promise created a whole-child framework that feeds into its free tool, the Learner Variability Navigator, which guides users through the factors they need to address for each student and strategies to match.
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, October 9, 2019
Watch the short video and check out the Opportunity Culture website to learn why this movement continues to grow 50 percent each year. Then share with educators, parents, and policymakers you know who would benefit from the higher student learning growth and educator career opportunities of an Opportunity Culture!
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.
By Brandon Warren, September 3, 2019
Teachers, how many times has this happened to you?
The classroom door opens, and in comes the principal, maybe with an assistant principal in tow. Your stomach plunges as you think, “Oh my goodness, they’re here, what are they looking for, what do they like, what don’t they like?” Your purpose in teaching that day flies out of your head, and it’s all downhill from there.
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, August 1, 2019
What if far more children ages 0–5 who are in early childhood education and care settings had consistent access to excellent teaching? In these critical developmental years, young children—especially those who have fewer educational and developmental advantages outside of formal settings—need excellent teaching every year to fulfill their potential.
By Paola Gilliam, June 24, 2019
Congratulations to all educators for completing another great school year or reaching a summer intercession in Opportunity Culture schools! It’s always exciting to watch what schools using Opportunity Culture do to improve schooling for their teachers and students.