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...
Beverley Tyndall
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,...
Karen Wolfson on Being a Multi-Classroom Leader
Karen Wolfson, a math multi-classroom leader, discusses the benefits of Opportunity Culture® and having teaching teams led by fully accountable teacher-leaders. Read Karen's related blog post, Raising My Teacher Voice to Save My Job—and My Students' Success. Can’t...
Where Is Teaching Really Different? New Opportunity Culture® Video
What could you do in an Opportunity Culture®? In a new video, teachers in Opportunity Culture® schools tell how their roles let them: --Reach more students with great teaching --Lead other teachers without leaving teaching—“the best of both worlds” --Give and get...
IPS pilot offers cash to keep great teachers in the classroom while they train peers
Teachers picked for leadership positions could earn as much as $18,300 extra per year Published on Chalkbeat Indiana, February 17, 2016 by Dylan Peers McCoy After three years as a teacher, Britney Yount realized that if she wanted a leadership role in education, she...
Opportunity Culture® Voices: Blending Better Learning for More Kids
“Technology in education is one of the most exciting, terrifying and threatening developments for teachers today. Now into my second year as a blended-learning history teacher—meaning I have a group of students in my classroom every other day, assigning them to work online, at home, on the ‘off’ days—I’ve found the scary parts less frightening than most fear, with far greater benefits than I expected.
“My blended classroom opens the door to 21st-century learning, student-centered instruction, project-based learning, and an emphasis on learning as a lifelong experience, not just what you do for six hours at school. Rather than being another challenge for teachers or a new education fad, my class helped tie this all together.
“It’s been intense but gratifying: Because I teach one class while another works from home, I reach twice as many students in that period than in a traditional setting. The challenge is to reach more students while keeping results as strong as before I extended my reach—and preferably stronger. In the first blended year, my students’ growth scores in American History I were well above the district average, with students exceeding “expected” growth; this year, my blended class averaged higher growth than my traditional class.
“And this isn’t restricted to already-great or highly motivated students—I’ve seen high growth from honors, ESL, special education and average students alike.”
–Cabarrus County, N.C., American History Blended-Learning Teacher Scott Nolt, in Blending the Best: Better Learning for More Kids
What does Scott Nolt pinpoint as keys to getting that high growth in his students? In the latest Opportunity Culture column in Real Clear Education, Nolt notes three big priorities educators should focus on in designing a blended class–including a total commitment to a whole new way of teaching, and an ability to adjust quickly to the different needs of a blended environment. “My class is evolving faster than ever,” Nolt says.
Read more in his full column, and hear his thoughts on students in a blended classroom.