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Opportunity Culture® Schools: Showing N.C. How to Keep Teachers

June 23, 2014

For these CMS teachers, change doesn’t mean exodus: In Friday’s Charlotte Observer, reporter Ann Doss Helms checked back in with Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CMS) teachers who’d been in the news in the past year over their frustrations–reflected across North Carolina classrooms–with teacher pay turmoil in the state. Helms wrote:

After a year of frustration with low pay and challenging conditions, teachers Marie Calabro, Dave Hartzell and Justin Ashley have packed their boxes and left their jobs.

Despite talk of a teacher exodus from North Carolina, though, these three aren’t leaving the state–or even Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Calabro, who organized sidewalk rallies for teachers, and Hartzell, featured in an Observer article on teacher pay, both switched schools to take higher-paying “opportunity culture” jobs that keep them in classrooms. The House and governor’s budget plans call for expanding that approach, which CMS is pioneering.

The article gives a glimpse of Public Impact’s long-term vision for our Opportunity Culture work–that an Opportunity Culture’s sustainably funded, higher-paid teaching and career opportunities will change who enters teaching, who stays, and how much more impact excellent teachers can have in their careers. Allowing great teachers to reach more students can kick-start the virtuous cycle of selectivity, opportunity, and higher pay.

Pilot schools already saw one effect of an Opportunity Culture on the front end of their implementation, as they were flooded with applications for the new positions; CMS now can see the beginnings of another effect, in keeping its great teachers from leaving the state for a higher-paid teaching job.

As Helms wrote about teacher Dave Hartzell:

N&O Editor Calls Opportunity Culture® Solution a “Symphony”

June 9, 2014

Calling school models in an Opportunity Culture a simple, harmonious solution, Editorial Page Editor of The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer highlighted the work of Public Impact and Co-Directors Bryan and EmilyAyscue Hassel in his column yesterday.

In Let NC’s top teachers teach—and earn—more, Barnett said:

“With all the angst and alarm over the General Assembly’s approach to K-12 education, hearing Bryan Hassel talk about how to create more effective schools is like listening to a symphony. He has a solution. It’s simple and harmonious and won’t cost more than we should be spending anyway.“

Embracing the Opportunity Culture concept—which extends the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within regular budgets—Barnett noted:

“The Hassels’ approach would not be cheap at first for North Carolina. They say the state needs to raise its average teacher pay 10 percent or more to reverse the backsliding that has sent the average pay sliding to 48th in the nation. But after that, schools could reallocate funds between extra support staff and great teachers teaching more students without increasing school district budgets.

Compare the teacher response to the Charlotte experiment with the statewide situation in North Carolina. While teacher applications piled up for the Charlotte pilot schools, low pay and low morale statewide are fueling an exodus and a looming teacher shortage.”

As North Carolina grapples with this, the governor has proposed sustainable career pathways that districts and their teachers can design. The Senate proposed large average base pay increases. We at Public Impact hope that now the state House, Senate, and governor can work together to bring both of these to reality, and fund education at a level that lets North Carolina ensure a competitive workforce and robust economy.

As Barnett concluded:

“The General Assembly and the governor are responding by offering a boost in pay. Hassel says that helps, but it’s only paying good and bad teachers more to do the same job. What should happen is more pay for good teachers and a winnowing of low performers.

In addition, Bryan Hassel says, the state should be adding teacher assistants, not cutting them by half as proposed in the state Senate’s budget. The teaching profession is virtually alone, he notes, in asking teachers to work in isolation doing many tasks involving a range of skills. Why have great teachers sidelined to tend to sick or unruly students or to monitor cafeterias and bus lines?

North Carolina is in an educational crisis and if it continues the state will lose many excellent teachers. It’s time to support top teachers by making a substantial change in how they are employed and what they can earn.”

Courage Gap? Action Gap? Not at These Schools

May 22, 2014

At the Education Writers Association conference in Nashville on Tuesday, I listened to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan reiterate his belief that “education is the civil rights issue of our generation.”

On that, we at Public Impact couldn’t agree more.

He also talked about the outrage over our nation’s achievement gaps and worries about opportunity gaps. The country has, he said, a “courage gap” and an “action gap.”

We’d like to direct his attention to some teachers and leaders showing both courage and action.

In Opportunity Culture pilot schools, teachers are taking action, redesigning their schools to extend the reach of great teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within current budgets. Their leaders are showing courage by finding ways to make these redesigns possible within state rules and tight budgets. Creating Opportunity Culture schools means letting go of traditional one-teacher-one-classroom mindsets—and opening the door to career paths that let great teachers lead while continuing to teach, to opportunities for great teachers to reach more students directly with their inspiring instruction, and to opportunities for all students—not just a lucky few—to get excellent teaching, consistently, from teachers who get the pay and respect they deserve.

Where are those schools? Several were right under Duncan’s nose yesterday—in the iZone in Nashville. Schools in Cabarrus County, N.C., and Syracuse, N.Y., plan to implement their own Opportunity Cultures this fall. And in Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CMS), four schools participated in the pilot this year—to be joined by 17 more this fall, and by nearly half the schools in the district by 2017–18.

The pilot schools’ learning results will start rolling in this summer, with more robust data from more than 30 schools nationwide next year. But CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison saw one significant result already that led to his January decision to scale up from those first four pilots: Enthusiastic teachers, in a state where teacher enthusiasm may be at an all-time low. The pilot schools were swamped last year with applications for these Opportunity Culture jobs, even in high-poverty schools. Despite the hard work of implementing something completely new, teachers’ enthusiasm continues (see what they’re saying here).

What makes an Opportunity Culture different enough to resonate so profoundly with teachers and district leaders?

Public Impact®’s Op-Ed: Be Bold on Teacher Pay

May 6, 2014

Public Impact’s co-directors, Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel, have a message for North Carolina’s leaders in their op-ed published in The (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer: To transform this state, aim higher.

The Hassels’ op-ed, “N.C. must be bold on increasing teacher pay,” calls for “audacious, achievable goals”: Noting the Opportunity Culture work being done in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to improve teachers’ jobs and pay them more, the Hassels call on North Carolina’s leaders to transform the state by extending that work and focusing on needed priority and policy changes that would create a surge in student learning, grow the state’s economy, and increase teachers’ career earnings.

More coming soon from Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture work: Watch for an announcement on the second N.C. district to join Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in the Opportunity Culture initiative (see more about an Opportunity Culture in other districts here), and watch for a policy brief next week detailing the economic benefits to North Carolina and its teachers discussed in the op-ed.

Project L.I.F.T. Videos Tell Their Opportunity Culture® Story

May 1, 2014

Do you know teachers eager for a job full of opportunities to reach more students on empowered, teacher-led teams, and to earn more–potentially a lot more? Watch short videos about Project L.I.F.T.’s implementation of Opportunity Culture school models here and here. Project L.I.F.T. is hiring now for the 2014-15 school year.

Charlotte’s Project L.I.F.T. zone of high-need schools was the nation’s first pilot of Opportunity Culture school models that extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within budget.

Teachers get on-the-job development led by outstanding peers who are responsible for their teams’ improvement and student outcomes. L.I.F.T is also reaching out to Teach for America alumni who want to stay in the classroom and advance their careers while continuing to teach. TFA has been a critical source of teaching staff in these traditionally hard-to-staff schools.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is scaling up its Opportunity Culture schools as part of its Student Success by Design initiative. Nearly half of the district’s schools are expected to adopt these models by 2017–18. Each school has its own design team of teachers and administrators who work within the five Opportunity Culture Principles to select and combine models and determine implementation details that reflect the goals, values, and needs of each school. The overarching goals: 1) reach far more students with excellent teaching, every year, and 2) provide their teachers with outstanding, sustainably funded career advancement and development opportunities.

The district’s schools outside the L.I.F.T. zone will soon be recruiting for similar positions.

How can your district or organization help schools build an Opportunity Culture? Look throughout OpportunityCulture.org for information and free tools.

Don’t forget to check out L.I.F.T.’s videos to see how teachers, administrators, and kids feel about it.

 

 

Syracuse, N.Y., Schools Join Opportunity Culture® Initiative

March 7, 2014

Four of the highest-need schools in the Syracuse City School District, New York’s fifth-largest district, are using teacher-led teams to design new staffing models for their struggling schools to use in fall 2014. These school models extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within budget.

The schools join the national Opportunity Culture initiative, which includes schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Metro Nashville, and additional districts to be announced soon. School design teams will adapt and implement Opportunity Culture models, created by Public Impact, that use job redesign and age- and child-appropriate technology to reach more students with excellence. Education First, which has extensive experience facilitating collaborative change in district schools, is assisting the schools in making the transition to the new models.

Syracuse wants to become the most improved urban district in America. More than three-quarters of Syracuse students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, in a city where more than 44 percent of children under 18 live in poverty. System leaders know great teachers are the key to changing the odds for these students, and paying them more and letting them lead while teaching is essential to attract and keep them in Syracuse.

“The Teacher is the Cornerstone”

March 5, 2014

“The teacher is the cornerstone of all this work.”–Denise Watts, zone superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Take a peek into Project L.I.F.T.’s Opportunity Culture work in this video from the 2014 N.C. Emerging Issues Forum. Hear Charlotte’s Denise Watts, John Wall, and Rebecca Thompson talk about L.I.F.T.’s efforts to close achievement gaps using Opportunity Culture models, giving teachers career paths that create leadership opportunities without leaving the classroom, for higher pay:

“If you don’t invest in them, if you don’t make them feel respected and empowered, that’s how you lose fabulous teachers.”

“Teachers play the most important role in making the determination about a student’s success in a school.”

“People are willing to take on the additional responsibility, especially if they are compensated and recognized for it.”

Listen to the Teachers!

February 27, 2014

As teachers and leaders pull Opportunity Culture models into five states in 2014 (watch for announcements, coming soon!), what teachers think about their experiences matters enormously.

Listen to their voices: On our new “What Teachers Are Saying” page, teachers from school design teams that chose and adapted models to fit their schools, and the teachers working within those models this year talk about what an Opportunity Culture has meant to their lives, professionally and personally. This amazing group of teaching pioneers loves the support, collaboration, on-the-job learning, and higher pay in their Opportunity Culture schools:

“Support is a huge piece of this—it makes a big difference! I feel very supported this year, more so than last year. I love how [my multi-classroom leader] can co-teach with me and also work with students.”— Buena Vista Elementary team teacher Amy Cramer, Nashville

“I think the sky is the limit. I never would have thought that about teacher salary—usually, it’s, ‘I’m going to cap out soon as a teacher. I do it because I love it, etc. But to actually think that I could be paid what I’m worth is the best feeling in the world. Teachers are so underappreciated and devalued, especially ELA teachers.”—Tiffany McAfee, Touchstone Education master teacher, Newark, N.J.

“I actually was able to start a savings account this year, for the first time in my career.”—Ashley Park Elementary Multi-Classroom Leader Kristin Cubbage, speaking to Charlotte’s WBTV

“I love [being a multi-classroom leader] because I’m able to model things. Teachers can come watch me as I teach. I get to preach what I teach, I get to work with students, they get a double dose, and with a person who has more experience, teachers feel like they get additional service. That brings a whole new dimension to how they see me. If they see I can have success managing their students with the same strategies I’m telling them to use, they know it can work. It’s also relevant to them. They also trust it. A big thing with teachers is trust. Someone in the trenches makes it much more useful. They trust my feedback and value it. And they see it in action.”— Buena Vista Elementary MCL Joe Ashby, Nashville

“For brainstorming, there are just more people to go to. I’m so excited to have that. I feel like I have a career focus now. Before, I enjoyed teaching, but didn’t know how to advance.”—Churchwell Museum Magnet Elementary team teacher Tamika Samples, Nashville

Watch for more quotes as more schools create their own Opportunity Cultures. Want to know more about an Opportunity Culture? Watch this 20-minute speech that Bryan Hassel–co-director of Public Impact–gave to the 2014 N.C. Emerging Issues Forum, where he explained why sustainably funded career paths are critical to the future of the profession.

In the News: Charlotte’s Opportunity Culture® Expansion

January 10, 2014

Thursday’s announcement that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District is scaling up its use of Opportunity Culture models that extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within budget, got some attention. CMS school design teams, which include teachers and school leaders, will integrate the new models into 17 more schools this year, and more schools will join the implementation in each of the two years after that, with almost half of the district’s schools implementing by 2017–18. Read all about it!

“Belk Foundation gives $505,000 to create big rewards for star teachers” by Charlotte Observer reporter Ann Doss Helms

“More CMS Schools To Give Star Teachers New Duties, Higher Pay,” by WFAE reporter Lisa Miller

“Raises for teachers willing to help redefine how students learn” by WBTV reporter Kristen Miranda

“CMS to expand program which financially rewards top teachers” by WSOC reporter Torie Wells

Worth noting from those reports:

From WFAE:

“This position allowed me to have a comparable salary to [other jobs I’ve been offered outside the classroom], but also stay with kids, which is where my heart is and where my passion is. It’s keeping me in a bunch of classrooms, which is great.”–Kristin Cubbage, a multi-classroom leader at Ashley Park Elementary, one of four Charlotte schools implementing the new models this year.

From WSOC:

“We think [teachers] deserve more — we think they deserve more pay, we think they deserve respect, more support.”–Katie Morris, chairwoman of The Belk Foundation, a local family foundation, which made a rare, three-year commitment of $505,000 to help fund the transition costs of the redesign work, after which the models will be financially sustainable.

From The Charlotte Observer:

“I have loved this job. It really is kind of a dream job in education.”–Cubbage

From WBTV:

“We plan to roll this out to the rest of our CMS buildings. The question is not if, it is when.”–Superintendent Heath Morrison

Charlotte to expand Opportunity Culture® to almost half its schools

January 9, 2014

We have exciting news today, with potentially big implications for teachers and students: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) announced a scale-up of its use of Opportunity Culture models that extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within budget. The Belk Foundation, a local family foundation, announced a rare, three-year commitment to fund the redesign work, after which the models will be financially sustainable.

For far too long, the field has relied on unsustainably funded career paths. “Sustainable” equaled “We’ll apply for another grant.” This has limited opportunities to districts with superior grant-writing abilities, not the many more with committed, capable leaders who truly want to help more children learn and more teachers excel. With sustainable models, CMS—and other districts that follow its lead—can make a long-term promise to current and prospective teachers, rather than snatching back extra pay, and the roles it funds, after a few years.

Our team at Public Impact will partner with Education Resource Strategies to help schools select and adapt models that reallocate funds to pay teachers more for taking responsibility for more students’ learning, directly and by leading teaching teams in fully accountable leadership roles. Together, we will also help school teams, all of which include teachers, increase on-the-job planning and development time, and provide for flexible scheduling and grouping.

In fall 2013, four schools within the Project L.I.F.T. zone of high-need CMS schools began implementing Opportunity Culture models, which we developed in consultation with teachers nationwide from organizations including Teach Plus and Educators 4 Excellence.

Now, CMS school design teams that include teachers and school leaders will integrate the new models into 17 more schools this year, and more schools will join the implementation in each of the two years after that, with almost half of the district’s schools implementing by 2017–18. The Belk Foundation will fund transition costs with a grant of $505,000, one of the foundation’s largest ever.