In the Media

From Washington County Enterprise-Leader, June 16, 2021, by Lynn Kutter

Lincoln Middle School helped to pilot a new program during the 2019-20 school year, and for 2021, it has been named a model school for the program.

The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education with the state department of education recently announced that Lincoln Middle School and Forrest City Junior High School had both been named a 2021 Arkansas Opportunity Culture Model School for their efforts to “improve student access to a high-quality education by extending the reach of excellent teachers to more students.”
Read more…

News West 9, May 20, 2021, by Mason Storrs

Many local teachers and students are seeing increased opportunity and educational success due to the resources they are receiving from Opportunity Culture, a program that restructures pre-K through 12th grade school staffing.

The partnership between Midland ISD, Ector County ISD, The University of Texas Permian Basin, Public Impact and US Prep is aimed at offering educators an opportunity to reach more students, for more pay, within their schools’ budgets. Read More…

From Newton County Times, May 6, 2021

Because of their efforts to improve student access to a high-quality education by extending the reach of excellent teachers to more students, the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education recognized two schools as Arkansas Opportunity Culture Model Schools.
Forrest City Junior High School in the Forrest City School District and Lincoln Middle School in the Lincoln School District recently received surprise visits from DESE team members informing them of the recognition. Read More…

From Education Week, May 4, 2021, by Madeline Will

The coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns have permanently shifted the way many industries think about how and where people work. But will school districts follow suit and embrace workplace flexibility?

The model of one teacher standing in front of a class for six or seven hours a day has changed very little in decades. That’s despite persistent pushes for schools to adopt more flexible approaches, like team-based teaching or assigning teachers’ roles based on their expertise.

From K-12 Dive, March 22, 2021, by Kara Arundel

School system leaders are cautiously optimistic that the 2021-22 school year will see more students learning in-person and that the school day will resemble pre-pandemic routines, but with safety protocols in place. Increased vaccine administration for adults and the hope of childhood vaccines this fall, winter or early in 2022 are helping drive this confidence.

Superintendents, however, say it’s difficult to predict the status of the pandemic five months from now. That uncertainty is pushing them to prepare for multiple scenarios as COVID-19 continues to be a major health crisis. Read more…

From OA Online, March 22, 2021, by Ruth Campbell

A program to place effective teachers in front of more Ector County ISD students is expanding this coming school year to more campuses.

Executive Director of Talent Development Ashley Osborne said 10 campuses are going to be added to the Opportunity Culture arsenal. The district currently has eight Opportunity Culture campuses.

The ECISD website says Opportunity Culture is “an innovative approach to staffing that multiplies the impact of highly effective teachers, thereby improving student performance.” No longer available online.

From The Hill, March 13, 2021, by Thomas Toch and Lynn Olson

From The 74, March 10, 2021, by Lynn Olson

The coronavirus crisis is prompting schools and districts to embrace innovative staffing and scheduling strategies that are extending the reach of great teachers, leveraging co-teaching models in new ways and providing more support for students and educators. Read more…

From Future Ed, February 3, 2021, by Lynn Olson

Amid the profound disruption of the coronavirus pandemic, some schools and districts have responded with highly innovative staffing and scheduling strategies. They are extending the reach of great teachers, leveraging co-teaching models and teacher teams in new ways, and creating more flexible student groupings and more student-centric classrooms—all with the goal of playing to teachers’ strengths, better serving students, and providing more support for educators.

A new report from FutureEd and EducationCounsel, Teaching Innovation: New School Staffing Strategies Inspired by the Pandemic, explores these new staffing strategies, the conditions that enabled them, how educators have overcome barriers to the innovations, and what it would take to sustain and scale them post-pandemic.

From The Evening Times, February 1, 2021

 As part of its commitment to implement Opportunity Culture in schools across the state, the Arkansas Department of Education is supporting its third cohort of school districts this year joining the national initiative to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams, for more pay, within regular school budgets. The school districts of Brinkley, Crossett, Earle and Osceola will begin implementing Opportunity Culture roles in the 2021–22 school year. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) committed to spreading Opportunity Culture in its Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan; Arkansas districts already using Opportunity Culture roles are North Little Rock, Forrest City, Gentry and Lincoln Consolidated. Read more (article behind paywall)…