This brief shares the lessons that Public Impact and our partners have learned from our work with these schools in their early stages of Opportunity Culture implementation. It summarizes nine overarching lessons, offers our solutions for assistance providers, schools, and districts, and gives examples of actions that Public Impact, our partners, and some schools and districts have taken.
Beverley Tyndall
1 Teacher, 400 Scholars—and Loving It
By Bobby Miles, first published by Real Clear Education, July 15, 2015
“A lot of great teachers are leaving the classroom to seek leadership roles that come with more sustainable compensation. But I get that without leaving the classroom.” Though he is now accountable for more than 400 students, the opportunity to positively affect and interact with so many students—while taking on greater responsibilities and leadership—inspires Multi-Classroom Leader® Bobby Miles.
Syracuse Schools Build on First Opportunity Culture® Year
After a year of piloting new staffing models that extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, the Syracuse City School District, in partnership with the Syracuse Teachers Association, has expanded its Opportunity Culture initiative in 2015–16 to four more schools. The initiative began in 2014–15 in four of the highest-need schools in Syracuse, which is New York’s fifth-largest school district.
“In the SCSD we are committed to providing leadership pathways for excellent teachers who want to remain in the classroom,” Superintendent Sharon Contreras said. “Opportunity Culture allows us to explore innovative ways for our most experienced and best educators to share their knowledge and expertise with their colleagues.”
See Syracuse’s Opportunity Culture job postings for all its Opportunity Culture schools here. The schools joining the Opportunity Culture initiative in 2015–16 are Franklin Elementary, Huntington K-8, Meachem Elementary, and Lincoln Middle.
Opportunity Culture models use job redesign and age-appropriate technology to reach many more students with excellent teaching, without forcing class-size increases. Opportunity Culture teachers typically work in collaborative teams led by excellent teachers, who provide the collaboration and support that is a hallmark of an Opportunity Culture. Pay supplements for Opportunity Culture positions are funded within regular, recurring budgets, not temporary grants, so that they are financially sustainable.
Public Impact created the core models, with substantial teacher input, and is working in Syracuse with lead schools partner Education First and the Syracuse Teachers Association to help the Syracuse schools implement and evaluate their models. Education First, an education policy and strategy firm, has extensive experience facilitating collaborative change in district schools.
Giving and Receiving Professional Development Every Day
Real Clear Education, June 15, 2015, by Joe Ashby, Multi-Classroom Leader®
“Throughout the year, I felt my teachers’ high expectations for me—for expertise and assistance, coupled with trust, honesty, commitment, perseverance and humility.” Through Multi-Classroom Leadership, Joe Ashby boosted the professional growth of his team, which resulted in greater math and reading proficiency, greater student engagement, and family support.
How to Hire Great Teachers and Teacher-Leaders: Free Toolkits
In an Opportunity Culture, districts and schools offer new roles that extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets and without forcing class-size increases. The new roles put districts in a much stronger position to hire great teachers—but only if they recruit and select well.
We’ve posted two new toolkits to make that work easier, walking human resources officers and principals through the steps to great hiring, informed by the experiences of early Opportunity Culture districts. These tools are useful for any district hiring teacher-leaders, team teachers, blended-learning teachers, elementary subject specialists, and advanced paraprofessional support—not just Opportunity Culture positions.
The Recruitment Toolkit, downloadable as a PDF, walks districts and schools through the major steps of a successful recruiting effort. It explains why districts that rely on passive strategies—expecting candidates to find out about available positions and apply—will not get the recruitment results they want.
The toolkit addresses key details, such as the timing of recruitment, which ideally begins each year no later than March, to attract a large pool of excellent candidates and capture their interest before they commit to other jobs. Strong recruitment enables districts to attract great candidates regionally, even nationally, who could be a perfect fit for Opportunity Culture or similar roles—including those not actively seeking a new job.
Once schools and districts have a pool of great candidates, what next?
The Teacher and Staff Selection Toolkit provides a four-step guide to help districts and schools select teachers and staff members from competitive talent pools. Districts that have created an Opportunity Culture have seen a surge of applications, even in high-poverty schools. This toolkit helps leaders adapt to a higher volume of applications and the opportunity that volume offers to become very selective in hiring.
The selection kit helps leaders screen and prioritize candidates for these new roles, which require new behaviors and skills beyond those needed in a one-teacher-one-classroom setting. Each step includes a set of considerations, action steps, and links to relevant tools and resources.
Texas Launches Statewide Opportunity Culture® Initiative
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has made Texas the first state to support multiple districts in creating an Opportunity Culture, joining the national initiative designed to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets.
The Big Spring Independent School District, an eight-campus district in a town of about 28,000 people in west Texas, is recruiting for its first year of implementation in the 2015–16 school year, and the TEA is identifying additional districts to support in this work.
Big Spring is leading the way for small cities and towns in Texas and across the country to adopt Opportunity Culture models. These models use job redesign and age-appropriate technology to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to many more students, for more pay, within budget.
Opportunity Culture teachers typically work in collaborative teams led by excellent teachers. Teams have in-school planning and collaboration time together and are formally accountable for all of the students they reach. Teachers in Opportunity Culture districts in Tennessee, North Carolina, and New York are earning pay supplements as high as 50 percent of their state’s average teacher pay.
”Texas is committed to providing pathways for advancement and recognition for our best teachers,” said Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams. “Through our support of Opportunity Culture at the state level, our goal is to quantify success in districts by working collaboratively with teachers and principals to support greater student achievement for all students.”
Public Impact, which designed the Opportunity Culture model prototypes, and Education First, which has extensive experience facilitating collaborative change in district schools, will assist the state’s 20 Education Service Centers (ESCs) and the TEA in identifying and supporting the districts.
Four Big Spring ISD elementary schools—Goliad, Marcy, Moss, and Washington—will select multi-classroom leaders to lead teams of teachers, which are supported by paraprofessional “reach associates,” at their schools. Multi-classroom leaders continue to teach while leading a team, taking formal accountability for the learning results of all the students the team serves. Each school has a design team of administrators and teachers that is adapting the multi-classroom model and planning implementation details to fit their needs, following the five Opportunity Culture Principles.
“We see Opportunity Culture as a way a small West Texas district like ours can make great strides,” Big Spring Superintendent Chris Wigington said. “By supporting great educators with on the job training and leadership opportunities, we can create teams and grow our teachers’ practice to make a difference for all of our students.”
Teacher and Staff Selection Toolkit
This four-step Selection Action Planner for Districts and related tools guide district, school, and charter management organization leaders in selecting teachers and staff members for Opportunity Culture roles, which require new behaviors and skills.
Looking for an Opportunity Culture® Job?
Are you intrigued by all you’ve read and heard about an Opportunity Culture?
Interested in extending your reach to more students, for more pay?
Ready to lead from within, sharing your great teaching without leaving the classroom by leading a team, for significantly higher pay?
Are you a new teacher interested in all the support an Opportunity Culture has to offer?
Or do you know teachers who deserve the respect, support, career advancement possibilities, and higher pay that an Opportunity Culture could offer them?
Find Opportunity Culture job postings from several districts here!
Learn more about what current Opportunity Culture teachers think here—multi-classroom leaders, blended-learning teachers, and team teachers discuss their jobs, and principals talk about the benefits of an Opportunity Culture and why they wanted this in their schools.
Recruitment Toolkit
Opportunity Culture roles have attracted great teachers across the country, producing strong recruiting results for schools of all kinds. But having great roles is not enough. Early, active recruitment and strong communications are essential to reach great candidates—both within a district and from elsewhere—and encourage them to apply for Opportunity Culture roles. Some Opportunity Culture schools begin active recruitment the prior fall, rather than waiting until spring or summer.
An Opportunity for Change
Real Clear Education, May 15, 2015, by Kristin Cubbage, Multi-Classroom Leader®
“We need a change; more important, our students deserve change.” Multi-Classroom Leader® Kristin Cubbage was amazed with the results she saw in her school, and she looks forward to the growth of Opportunity Culture.