By Philip Steffes; first published by EducationNC, December 5, 2019
How can kids learn when they’re not in the classroom? That’s the issue I confronted when I arrived at Albemarle Road Elementary in Charlotte four years ago. Despite teachers who truly cared about their students, we had far too many suspensions. And students were struggling. When I first came here, 95% of our teachers had been in the red — not meeting student growth targets — in literacy for multiple years.
What’s Happening
Opportunity Culture® News and Views
Spotlight: Spring Branch Independent School District
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.)
Vance County Schools’ Jackson Named N.C. Superintendent of the Year
By Margaret High, November 22, 2019
Congratulations to Vance County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson, named the 2020 A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year! Jackson, who has led Vance County Schools since 2015, brought Opportunity Culture to the district in 2016–17.
“Dr. Tony Jackson has developed a culture of innovation and excellence at Vance County Schools,” Jack Hoke, executive director of the North Carolina School Superintendent’s Association, said at the awards ceremony Tuesday night.
Understand and Act on the Science of Reading: New Resources
By Public Impact, November 21, 2019
The debate over how to teach reading has heated up in the face of discouraging NAEP results, and more education groups are calling for educators to use the science of reading in classrooms. As always, dedicated teachers feel urgency to get reading instruction right, but educators are busy and need simple, research-based guidance. Concise resources that Public Impact has published today help teachers learn the basics of reading research and turn it into simple, actionable steps to boost standard curricula.
Advocating Effectively for Opportunity Culture®: The Key Elements
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.
How Opportunity Culture® Principals Lead Change and Develop Leaders
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.
Building Team Cohesion: Opportunity Culture® Fellows Share Strategies
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.”
To Teach Reading Right, Understand the Science of Reading
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.
Strategies for Personalization: Learner Variability Tool Can Help
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.
What Could You Do in an Opportunity Culture®? New Opportunity Culture® Video
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!