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In Georgia, Leading a Team on Distance Teaching and Caring

March 27, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 27, 2020

For Tu Willingham, distance teaching and team-leading are already well underway. A history multi-classroom leader at Banneker High School in Fulton County (Georgia) Schools, Willingham has tackled the early weeks of the school shutdown with strong team leadership and ideas about what can make distance learning work.

Everyone needs time to adapt to the reality now, Willingham said, noting that he felt inundated by the news until this week, when he felt better able to “move on and just accept the fact that this is a difficult situation that we have to get through.” Read more…

Ask & Answer | Here’s What We Know About Multi-Classroom Leaders

March 23, 2020

From EducationNC, Marc 23, 2020, by Mebane Rash

Readers have been asking what multi-classroom leaders will do during coronavirus, wondering if those lessons could be more quickly scaled to other schools while everyone is experimenting with e-learning.

On March 20, our colleagues at Opportunity Culture, an initiative of Public Impact, released this slide deck via email. According to Opportunity Culture, multi-classroom leaders are “teachers with a record of high-growth student learning and leadership competencies” that “both teach part of the time and lead small, collaborative teams of two to eight teachers, paraprofessionals, and teacher residents in the same grade or subject.”

For This MCL, A Week of Team Planning and Parenting

March 22, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 22, 2020.

We’ve heard from teachers nationwide what a busy, anxious week the past one was, preparing to do all teaching and learning at home. But we’ve also heard how so many multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) are forging ahead, preparing to continue strong team leadership from afar.

As the week wound down, MCL Fred Hoffmann, science MCL at Fairview Elementary in Guilford County Schools and an Opportunity Culture Fellow, took a few minutes while driving with his father and young children to tell me about what he’s done to prepare for coming weeks with his team, and the stresses and positive signs he’s seen. Read more…

New Slide Deck—Recommendations for Shifting to Home-Based Multi-Classroom Leadership

March 20, 2020

By Public Impact, March 20, 2020

How can Multi-Classroom Leadership work when both students and teachers are at home?

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new slide deck from Public Impact provides considerations and recommendations for Opportunity Culture schools to continue achieving high-growth student learning, developing students’ critical social-emotional skills, and providing strong support to teaching teams. Read more…

As COVID-19 Forces Shutdowns, Resources for Teaching and Learning at Home

March 16, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 16, 2020

As many schools close and turn to online learning due to COVID-19, multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) can help smooth and lead the way for their teaching teams and students. Students need their teachers’ steadying hand even more when the world feels chaotic and parents face extra stress.

Public Impact published initial guidance on Friday, with more to come for schools using Opportunity Culture and those who have not yet used it. See here for that guidance and more resources–all free, as always. Read more…

Strategies for Personalization: Learner Variability Tool Can Help

October 9, 2019

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.

First Look: Remotely Located Teacher Leadership

May 8, 2019

From EdNC, May 8, 2019, by Sharon Kebschull Barrett

This semester, the College Board and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) joined with Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative to test the remotely located Multi-Classroom Leadership model: An excellent NCSSM teacher would lead a small team of teachers spread across rural North Carolina districts, which often lack enough teachers who are prepared to ensure student success in advanced classes.

The Best Tool—Sometimes: Using Tech in Elementary School

March 6, 2019

By Amber Hines; first published by EducationNC, March 5, 2019

“Our students are digital natives, so they’re confident with technology; it can give them the freedom to share their thoughts and think critically about both their own and their peers’ work.” For Multi-Classroom Leader® Amber Hines, who uses two-way video recording and QR codes with her students, technology enhances instruction by drawing out and engaging her teaching team’s students. Read More…