In a new interview with Whiteboard Advisors, Ector County ISD Superintendent Emeritus Scott Muri reflected on how the district turned its student results and teacher recruitment and retention around.
Muri explained how using Opportunity Culture® redesign fit into his biggest focus, human capital.
“The strategy was what I call “strategy braiding”—helping people see how multiple efforts connect to the same outcomes for kids. That included redesigning the traditional teacher role through Opportunity Culture, where teacher-leaders split their time between teaching and coaching peers. We restructured compensation with stackable pay—our highest-paid classroom teacher now earns $132,000—and we built multiple pipelines: our own educator preparation program, paraprofessional-to-teacher pathways, and fully funded residencies with local universities.”
Muri said he sees the concepts gaining traction: “The human capital work is spreading quickly. Opportunity Culture, for instance, is seeing strong results across Texas and North Carolina. Texas Tech is about to release new research showing its continued impact.”
He also discussed his use outcomes-based contracting, and how AI can—and can’t—help education efforts.
“We need to redesign schools—how we schedule time, structure teaching roles, and use technology—so AI helps us work smarter, not harder. That’s how we make the job of teaching more sustainable and more impactful.”
Read the full interview: Q&A with Dr. Scott Muri: System Redesign, Strategic Staffing, and the Next Frontier for K–12