This column is by Stacie Bunn and was published on EdNC.org, November 9, 2017 Editor’s Note: Stacie Bunn is an Opportunity Culture® Fellow. Learn more about the Opportunity Culture® initiative here. In 2012, after 15 years of classroom experience and a year as an...
What’s Happening
Opportunity Culture® News and Views
From Action Plan to Teacher of the Year—in One Year
By Staci Bunn; first published by EducationNC, November 9, 2017
“You didn’t give up. And you listened a lot—you understood where I was coming from.” Multi-Classroom Leader Stacie Bunn interviews her team teacher, Expanded-Impact Teacher Kenyetta Davenport, about how Bunn’s support helped her zoom from being put on an action plan to becoming teacher of the year. Read More…
Opportunity Culture® + Summit Learning: North Little Rock Pilots Statewide Plan
To kick off a statewide Arkansas initiative to reach all students with excellent teaching, North Little Rock Middle School will begin creating an Opportunity Culture® for teachers and students this fall, using teams led by multi-classroom leaders—experienced,...
How My West Texas School Elevated Struggling Young Readers (and Their Teachers)
By Maina Cisneros; first published by The 74, June 19, 2017
“Finally, I had an aha moment! We had to unchain ourselves from our one-teacher-one-classroom setting.” After her school incorporates Opportunity Culture models, the boost in planning time and collaboration allow Multi-Classroom Leader Maina Cisneros and her team to develop a small-group strategy to increase literacy—and great student growth follows. Read More…
Advanced Teaching Roles: Guideposts for Excellence at Scale
For the growing number of Opportunity Culture® schools—and schools using accountable teacher leadership and other advanced teaching roles—Public Impact® provides a new suite of tools. They guide districts and schools to achieve excellence in teaching and learning with...
How to Lead and Achieve Instructional Excellence
Opportunity Culture® schools nationally achieve far more schoolwide high growth than comparable schools, on average. How have teachers who reach more students than is typical—directly or by leading teams—gotten that high growth? They pursue instructional excellence...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: When Students Own Their Academic Results, They Transform Their Schools
When you’re not sure where to start, ask your students! Well, not always, but when I came to Charlotte, North Carolina’s James Martin Middle School as a multi-classroom leader in 2014, I felt overwhelmed. I started as the MCL for sixth grade, where for the previous...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: Extending Great Teachers’ Reach in Turnaround (or Any) Schools
What does the start of a school turnaround look like? When Mark Johnson left West Charlotte High School as his Teach for America stint ended, he likely could not have imagined a bright future for the school. I arrived a year later, in 2009. The high-poverty, highly...
ICYMI: Opportunity Culture® Columns on Class Size, Multi-Classroom Leadership
In today's Education Next, Public Impact® Co-Directors Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel take a look at the seductiveness of the concept of reducing class sizes--and why policymakers should resist temptation. "The answer’s pretty simple," they write. "A...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: New Series in The 74
A decade ago, inspired by the best teachers we’ve known, we formed the seed of an idea — the notion that great teachers, those who induce high-growth learning and strong student thinking skills, could and should have far more power to lead instruction, help colleagues...