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Sharon Kebschull Barrett

Keep Doing What Worked: Advice for At-Home Learning

March 31, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 31, 2020

Keep doing what works: For Erin Burns Mehigan, that message has been central to her school’s shift to at-home teaching and learning. Now an assistant principal at Jay M. Robinson Middle School in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Mehigan was a multi-classroom leader at West Charlotte High School and a 2015–16 Opportunity Culture Fellow.

She took what worked for her as a multi-classroom leader (MCL) to her role at Robinson leading the team of science teachers, as well as all seventh-grade teachers. That includes regular team meetings, which now gather on Zoom twice a week to continue their work to use data-driven instruction, discuss how to hold small-group instruction virtually, and develop at-home schedules that support students without overwhelming them. Read more…

In Georgia, Leading a Team on Distance Teaching and Caring

March 27, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 27, 2020

For Tu Willingham, distance teaching and team-leading are already well underway. A history multi-classroom leader at Banneker High School in Fulton County (Georgia) Schools, Willingham has tackled the early weeks of the school shutdown with strong team leadership and ideas about what can make distance learning work.

Everyone needs time to adapt to the reality now, Willingham said, noting that he felt inundated by the news until this week, when he felt better able to “move on and just accept the fact that this is a difficult situation that we have to get through.” Read more…

For This MCL, A Week of Team Planning and Parenting

March 22, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 22, 2020.

We’ve heard from teachers nationwide what a busy, anxious week the past one was, preparing to do all teaching and learning at home. But we’ve also heard how so many multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) are forging ahead, preparing to continue strong team leadership from afar.

As the week wound down, MCL Fred Hoffmann, science MCL at Fairview Elementary in Guilford County Schools and an Opportunity Culture Fellow, took a few minutes while driving with his father and young children to tell me about what he’s done to prepare for coming weeks with his team, and the stresses and positive signs he’s seen. Read more…

As COVID-19 Forces Shutdowns, Resources for Teaching and Learning at Home

March 16, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 16, 2020

As many schools close and turn to online learning due to COVID-19, multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) can help smooth and lead the way for their teaching teams and students. Students need their teachers’ steadying hand even more when the world feels chaotic and parents face extra stress.

Public Impact published initial guidance on Friday, with more to come for schools using Opportunity Culture and those who have not yet used it. See here for that guidance and more resources–all free, as always. Read more…

Why Continue to Be a Multi-Classroom Leader®? My Daughter

February 13, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, February 13, 2020

Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Multi-Classroom Leader® Cherelle Sanders spoke on Wednesday night at the “Recognizing Top Talent: National Voices on Identifying and Retaining NC’s Best Teachers” panel discussion hosted by the Belk Foundation.

Watch the short video of her powerful talk–why having multi-classroom leaders matters, and the incredible student learning growth her team of brand-new teachers achieved last year. Read more…

Voices from Edgecombe: How Opportunity Culture® Affects an N.C. District

January 17, 2020

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, January 16, 2020

I’ve had the privilege over several visits last year to Edgecombe County Public Schools to interview Opportunity Culture educators in many roles, from the superintendent to a beginning teacher. Located in a rural county an hour east of Raleigh, North Carolina, Edgecombe schools face challenges in recruiting and retaining great educators who have many large-city options nearby.

But the enthusiasm, commitment, and all-in-this-together spirit of Edgecombe wins visitors over quickly, and even after long days of interviews, my colleague Beverley Tyndall and I leave feeling rejuvenated. Read more…

Spotlight: Spring Branch Independent School District

November 27, 2019

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, November 27, 2019

A quality teacher in every classroom, and powerful support for alternatively certified teachers: For Jennifer Blaine, those were two key elements that made Opportunity Culture well worth continuing to expand when she took over this spring as superintendent of Spring Branch ISD, located west of downtown Houston, Texas.

With about 35,000 students, the district includes 25 elementary schools, seven traditional middle school campuses, and four traditional high schools; more than half of those now use Opportunity Culture roles since beginning three years ago under Scott Muri, Blaine’s predecessor as superintendent. (Muri is now superintendent of Ector County ISD.)

In Memoriam: Opportunity Culture® Fellow Casandra Cherry

September 23, 2019

By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, September 23, 2019

Each year, Public Impact announces a new cohort of Opportunity Culture Fellows–multi-classroom leaders, principals, and others in Opportunity Culture roles who have achieved strong results and been leaders in their schools and districts. This spring, Casandra Cherry, the multi-classroom leader for math and science in grades 6–8 at Phillips Middle School in the Edgecombe County, North Carolina, school district, was one of the 15 Fellows named for 2019-20. We’re saddened to share that Ms. Cherry passed away suddenly on August 21. The impact she made on students over her 20 years as an educator is incalculable, her principal at Phillips, Jenny O’Meara, said.