The U.S. Department of Education recently released guidance encouraging states and school systems to use Title II and Title I funding (“Title funding”) to redesign schools for stronger learning and educator satisfaction using “strategic staffing.”
Opportunity Culture® school designs are proven, evidence-based staffing designs that boost student learning by 2–13 months each school year—while increasing teacher satisfaction and reducing vacancies and turnover. Educators earn more long-term—within recurring budgets.
These staffing designs, created with teachers, have been rigorously researched and meticulously improved over nearly 15 years, using data about features that work best for students and educators. Dozens of options for small teaching teams led by excellent teachers offer schools design flexibility within data-based guardrails—to maximize learning while adjusting details to fit each school’s needs. Teams may include teacher residencies and apprenticeships as well as specialized roles, such as a special education team leader.
Opportunity Culture® designs are:
- Biggest—reaching over 275,000 students over 18 states in 2025–26, and growing
- Best—achieving higher-growth learning than other staffing design options
- Beloved—97–99% of teacher-leaders and over 90% of all roles want designs to continue
- Trustworthy—school design elements are associated with learning growth in research
- Flexible—offering dozens of core design options and many add-ons
If you want to adopt these models and need funds to support transition costs, the new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education should help. In its February 9, 2026, “Dear Colleague” letter, the department reiterates that Title II-A funds, as well as Title I schoolwide funds, may be used to fund new school designs that get results by changing teacher roles, time use, and pay.
“As SEAs and LEAs continue to navigate educator shortages, evolving instructional demands, and the need for sustainable educator pipelines, Title II funds (as well as Title I funds in schoolwide programs) provide a flexible resource that can support strategic staffing approaches and help the SEA and LEA achieve their goals of improved student academic achievement.”—USDOE guidance
Contact the Opportunity Culture® initiative for help to meet your goals affordably.
How can SEAs and LEAs use Title funds for Opportunity Culture® school redesign?
| State Education Agencies (SEAs) Can: | Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Can: |
|---|---|
| Lead: Contract with the Opportunity Culture® (OC®) initiative to reach many LEAs with assistance in affordable cohorts, so each LEA does not have to procure alone—to maximize learning and economic effects. States launching or expanding can do this. Incentivize: Invite LEAs to apply for state Title II funds to pay for transition support to OC® designs, requiring matching LEA $ Guide: Encourage LEAs to use a portion of their Title II funds for OC® design assistance States should consider repurposing Title-funded state vacancies to support and monitor redesign quality and student reach. | Lead: Contract with the Opportunity Culture® (OC®) initiative to reach many LEAs with assistance in affordable cohorts, so each LEA does not have to procure alone—to maximize learning and economic effects. States launching or expanding can do this. Incentivize: Invite LEAs to apply for state Title II funds to pay for transition support to OC® designs, requiring matching LEA $ Guide: Encourage LEAs to use a portion of their Title II funds for OC® design assistance Districts should consider repurposing Title II-funded district vacancies to support and monitor redesign quality and student reach. |
Why use Title I and II funding for Opportunity Culture® school redesign? Traditional uses of these funds, such as for professional development sessions, have not achieved significant, sustained student learning results, despite many strong efforts. Standard training and coaching still leave teachers working largely alone, unable to advance and earn more without leaving teaching—and with no way to learn from outstanding peers on the job. By investing Title funds in data- and research-proven design, states and districts can transform schools into better places to teach and learn, long-term.
Why not use other staffing efforts? Fifty-plus years of national experience and outcomes show that “strategic staffing,” “teacher leadership” and “teaming” alone do not get results. The Opportunity Culture® precise design elements work together to boost student learning and pay teachers more within recurring budgets.
These elements are based on teacher input, 20 years of research, nearly 15 years of data collection and 12 years of data analytics nationally, resulting in:
- Proven impact on student learning. Two rigorous third-party studies of four districts in three states—over a total of seven years—showed that students made 2–13 months of extra learning growth annually when taught by OC® teams—about an extra half-year, on average. Even students in these schools but in classrooms not yet part of these teams added over three weeks of learning in one study—a “spillover” that would, over their K–12 years, give them an extra year’s worth of learning.
- Higher pay. Teacher-leaders, selected for prior high-growth learning, earn supplements averaging 20% of teacher pay. Other teachers and paraprofessionals earn more, too.
- Sustainable funding that lasts. Opportunity Culture® models are designed to fit within recurring school budgets, so schools can keep paying teachers and other staff more for the long haul.
- More time for collaboration and learning. These models include revamped schedules that let teachers work together to improve teaching and learning on their teams.
- Reduced vacancies and turnover. LEAs that tracked their data saw vacancy rates drop 75% to 90% after implementing, and turnover fall by more than 50%.
- Changes teachers love. 97–99% of teacher-leaders want these models to continue, along with 90%+ of teachers on their teams, in annual, anonymous surveys, and are more satisfied with their profession than other U.S. teachers in a 2024 Educators for Excellence survey.
- Paid apprenticeships and residencies, within budget, offer attractive routes into teaching like those advocated by The Pathways Alliance.
Get all of these benefits by repurposing your Title II-A and Title I schoolwide funds.
Opportunity Culture® supports that can be funded with Title funds:
- Technical assistance to redesign schools for results: guidance by the Opportunity Culture® initiative to LEAs and schools for rapid results and teacher satisfaction.
- Professional development to prep and succeed in new roles: teacher-leaders, aspiring teacher-leaders, paraprofessionals, principals, and district leaders.
- Implementation-boosting support: coaching for instructional leaders and design tune-ups to maximize results.
- Access to the Opportunity Culture® portal: direct access to design tools, professional development, certification, and monitoring reports, routinely updated based on annual analyses of student learning data, allows LEAs and schools to continue and enhance strong implementation for many years.