Chatham County Superintendent Anthony Jackson, named as the 2020 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year while serving as superintendent of Vance County Schools, says districts—especially rural systems—can do far more if they focus investments on the capacity of their staff. A self-proclaimed “disciple” of the Opportunity Culture® initiative, he has led both districts to take calculated risks leading to strong learning outcomes for students.
Opportunity Culture® Audio
“Teachers Are Screaming for This Level of Support”: Charlotte Superintendent Crystal Hill
For Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Crystal Hill, leading 185 schools and 141,000 students, success means providing deep support for a staff that now sees 60 percent of its teachers coming from a non-traditional background. The district, a pioneer in piloting Opportunity Culture® team teaching models and in quickly scaling up to many more schools, posted dramatic learning growth results in 2024–24. What has it taken to get there, and how will the district try to sustain those results? Dr. Hill shares her thoughts with host Sharon Kebschull Barrett and Public Impact® Co-President Bryan Hassel.
For Louisiana District, HQIM + Opportunity Culture® Teams Sparks Early Wins
When Charlie Butler returned to his hometown to become superintendent of the Madison Parish School District in northeastern Louisiana, he was looking for innovative ways to help the persistently low-performing system. With help from a state “instructional coherence cohort,” the district combined the support of Opportunity Culture® teaching teams with a focus on the implementation of high-quality instructional materials to address longstanding issues—and quickly started to see successes for both students and educators. In this podcast, district and state leaders describe how they worked together to make it happen.
Vacancies Plummet, Student Results Rocket in Carlsbad, New Mexico: Superintendent Gerry Washburn
When Carlsbad Municipal Schools Superintendent Gerry Washburn joined the district, it was facing high teacher vacancies and low student success—and a lot of low morale. A chance conversation with Ector County, Texas, Superintendent Scott Muri showed Washburn a new option—Opportunity Culture® school redesign. With inclusive leadership and a determination to get design and implementation of new staffing roles right, plus a strong district team and principals, Washburn saw schools begin to soar and lead the state: “I’ve been stunned at the acceleration that we’re seeing.”
Choosing to Use Opportunity Culture® Design, on Fast Timeline
In the first of an occasional “Superintendents Speak” series, Superintendent Rodney McNeill of Greene County and Superintendent Rodney Peterson of Person County discuss why they chose to use Opportunity Culture® models in their districts, and why they elected to have their districts go through a fast-track design workshop together in the spring, to be able to begin using Multi-Classroom Leader® teaching teams in the fall. Both districts feel the pressure of nearby, larger districts—and districts already using Opportunity Culture® models—that are able to pay teachers more.
For Big Results, Go Big with Teaching Teams
When schools and districts begin using Multi-Classroom Leader® teams, should they wade in, or dive in? Hear what district leaders have said over the past decade on how best to improve student learning growth and teacher careers.
Superintendents, district leaders, principals, and team leaders from North Carolina’s Wilson County, Hertford County, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County districts, as well as Winchester, Virginia, and Ector County and Midland districts in Texas—several of whom have Opportunity Culture® experience in multiple districts—discuss what worked for them.
Reset for Success: How Midland ISD Revamped Teaching Teams for Results
When Superintendent Stephanie Howard came to Midland ISD in the Permian Basin of Texas, she knew what success with Opportunity Culture® teaching team models should look like, after working with them in neighboring Ector County ISD as a deputy superintendent. Although Midland ISD was using these teams as well, several Opportunity Culture® fundamentals weren’t being followed. Howard and Jessie Garcia, who came to Midland from Ector County as well, took a year to do a complete reset—an effort now paying off in learning growth for students, sustainable higher pay for teacher-leaders that can reach six figures, and stronger teacher support and retention. Hear how they did it in our latest audio piece.
How Small Groups Led to Big Middle School Math Growth
Math Team Reach Teacher™ Brian Tavenner discusses his wholehearted belief in the power of extensive small-group instruction to improve all students’ outcomes and the difference it makes in how he works with student learning data. He delves into reflections and how small groups work in his middle school classes, with 50 students split in half through Reach Associate™ support.
Becoming a Student Growth State Leader: Lessons from Winchester
For the 2023–24 school year, Winchester Public Schools had student learning growth results to celebrate: Their seventh-grade math students were number 1 in the state for learning growth; fourth-grade math was in the top 10, and eighth-grade math was in the top 12. All three of these grades had 100 percent of their students reached by Multi-Classroom Leader® teaching teams. And across the district, 15 teams are now reaching 100 percent of students in a subject or grade, with nine teams students’ making high growth.
A Superintendent’s View: Go All-In with Opportunity Culture® Teams, Small-Group
Viewing Opportunity Culture® implementation as a single, cost-neutral solution for multiple issues—student outcomes and educator career paths and satisfaction—Winchester Public Schools Superintendent Jason van Heukelum discusses why the district “jumped all in” and how that’s working out, with strong learning growth results.