On RealClearEducation.com today, Multi-Classroom Leader (MCL) Kristin Cubbage of Ashley Park Pre-K-8 in Charlotte, N.C., contrasts the support teachers get in an Opportunity Culture school to the support in typical schools—and issues a call to action to policymakers, administrators, and her fellow teachers:
“No school has enough administrators to coach every teacher. In a regular school, the average teacher receives three to five observations yearly. In an Opportunity Culture school, MCLs get to observe their teachers three to five times weekly. …
“How many teachers are out there struggling daily because of lack of support? How many burn out because they’ve tried all they know? How many leave our profession early because they can’t do it on their own any longer? How many kids suffer because they have access to only one teacher? How many students are falling more and more behind because they have zero control over their educational trajectory? We need a change; more important, our students deserve change.” —Kristin Cubbage
Cubbage kicks off a monthly series of posts by Opportunity Culture MCLs, blended-learning teachers, elementary school subject specialists, and principals. In addition to her call to action, she shares her initial response to Opportunity Culture:
“As I listened to administrators at [my school] describe coming changes, I knew in a flash that this new model would bring me my dream job. Asbhley Park would create an “Opportunity Culture” in the 2013–14 academic year, in which high-performing teachers reach more students, for more pay, within current school budgets. One of the new job models in an Opportunity Culture is a “multi-classroom leader”—a teacher who continues to teach while leading a team of teachers, taking accountability for the results of all students served by the team, with plenty of school-day time for planning and collaboration— and much higher pay. … I knew that becoming an MCL, with accountability for multiple teachers and all their students, could be game-changing for teachers and students alike.”—Kristin Cubbage
Read her full column here; watch Kristin and others talk about their Opportunity Culture jobs here.
Public Impact’s co-directors and founders of the national Opportunity Culture initiative, Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel, introduced the series with a post about the basics of an Opportunity Culture.
Public Impact created the core models and launched the national Opportunity Culture initiative in 2011. Participating school districts are in Syracuse, N.Y., Charlotte, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Indianapolis, Ind., Cabarrus County, N.C., and other locations to be announced. In 2015, the initiative will begin extending its Opportunity Culture work to principals, as well.
See a summary of the Opportunity Culture approach here and Opportunity Culture job openings here.
Thanks to Real Clear Education for letting Opportunity Culture teachers, teacher-leaders, and principals share their experiences!