In this idea paper, Public Impact’s co-presidents, Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel, lay out a vision for how districts can reach dramatically more students with great principals, for much higher pay, within budget—giving principals a career path that keeps them connected to students and schools through Multi-School Leadership.
Beverley Tyndall
Want Veteran Teachers to Learn New Things? Show Them Some Love
By Sharon Archer, First Published by Real Clear Education, April 20, 2016
“An MCL must coach experienced teachers carefully—observe, be subtle yet insistent, use the power of positive presupposition, and be ever-present.” Multi-Classroom Leader® Sharon Archer challenges the notion that veteran teachers are unable to incorporate or adapt to new teaching techniques.
Sharon Archer on Being a Multi-Classroom Leader®
Sharon Archer, a middle school math teacher in Syracuse, NY, discusses what being a multi-classroom leader requires, and what makes it different and more valuable to her team teachers than the standard teacher coach role. Read Sharon's related blog post, Want Veteran...
Is Multi-Classroom Leadership Right for You?
If you're interested in: --Spreading your excellent teaching to many more students --Leading a team of teaching peers toward the great outcomes you've gotten with your students by: collaborating with them co-teaching coaching co-planning giving (and getting)...
School Turnarounds: How Successful Principals Use Teacher Leadership
As the Opportunity Culture® initiative was beginning, three principals signed on to lead low-performing, high-poverty schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Metropolitan Nashville districts. The odds were stacked against them and their students—one school, for...
How Principals Use Multi-Classroom Leadership in School Turnarounds
In this series of three vignettes, we profile Michelle McVicker, Alison Harris Welcher, and Christian Sawyer’s use of the Multi-Classroom Leadership model that enabled them to create and lead a team of teacher-leaders in their schools in Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C.
How Principals Use Multi-Classroom Leadership in School Turnarounds: Three Principals’ Experiences
Michelle McVicker, Alison Harris Welcher, and Christian Sawyer discuss how the Multi-Classroom Leadership model enabled them to create and lead a team of teacher-leaders in their schools in Nashville, Tenn., and Charlotte, N.C., which all saw high growth in their...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: Raising My Teacher Voice
“What does ‘teacher voice’ actually mean? Until this year, it sounded like a nice phrase, but it didn’t hold much meaning for me.
“But I have a job I love, one that shakes up traditional teaching and holds the promise of making a huge difference in students’ and teachers lives—as it did for my students. I wanted to spread the word about my job—and now, with positions like mine under threat at my school, I needed to find my voice. I needed to empower others to explore the idea of an Opportunity Culture.”
–Nashville, Tenn., Math Multi-Classroom Leader® Karen Wolfson, in Raising My Teacher Voice to Save My Job–and My Students’ Success
Last year, as the multi-classroom leader for fifth- and sixth-grade math at Bailey STEM Magnet Middle School, a high-poverty, historically low-performing school, Karen Wolfson took her teaching team and their students to new heights:
“Our school had the highest level of growth in the entire district in math in grades three through eight. My team’s two teachers overcame the long odds that the previous year’s data predicted they would face. In one grade, we were projected to have just 12 students rank as proficient or advanced. We ended the year with 43. We saw similar results in the other grade. Both teachers ended the year with the highest level of teacher effectiveness and evaluation scores.
“These teachers were new to the district, its protocols, and the Tennessee state standards, and one was a first-year teacher. Their results were practically unheard of—but under the MCL model, they felt supported and successful.”
But a coming merger of her school with a high school threatens to do away with the MCL model that Karen feels passionate about.
“I can’t let MCL positions disappear. I want to see my district provide many, many more opportunities like mine. And that’s why I took the idea of “teacher voice” very seriously—and what I found was just how powerful my voice can be.”
Read what Karen did to raise her voice, and why she intends to keep speaking up, in the latest Opportunity Culture column in Real Clear Education, and hear her thoughts on an Opportunity Culture.
Raising My Teacher Voice to Save My Job—and My Students’ Success
By Karen Wolfson, First Published by Real Clear Education, March 15, 2016
“I wanted to spread the word about my job—and now, with positions like mine under threat at my school, I needed to find my voice.” After seeing huge academic results and increased teacher satisfaction, Multi-Classroom Leader® Karen Wolfson finds her voice to advocate for Opportunity Culture models to continue despite administrative and district changes.
Creating Sustainable, Attractive Teacher Career Paths: NNSTOY Case Studies
What makes a sustainable teacher career path that attracts and retains great teachers? In a new report, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) looks at eight school district and charter career advancement initiatives for lessons and challenges,...