Opportunity Culture® staffing models, which create teacher-led teams, continue to produce top-tier results nationally, according to nearly a dozen years of data, Public Impact® reported today. The models reach larger numbers of students each year, produce substantial extra student learning growth, provide field-leading pay supplements, and achieve extremely high ratings in educator surveys. Districts examining turnover and vacancies have seen substantial declines. These results have held even as the model scales up nationally, unlike many school reform initiatives whose early results fade.
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Making 6-Figure Pay a Reality for Teachers
What are some Texas districts doing to make six-figure pay a reality for their teachers, well before the end of long careers? Read about the example from one district, Midland, in our senior VP Sharon Kebschull Barrett's op-ed in The 74. "Ask teachers how much their...
Are You Right-Sizing Your Tutoring Groups?
By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel Adult-led, small-group tutoring adds huge learning growth for students, even in small doses weekly. But finding the right group size is tricky. Too large, and learning impact per student declines. Too small, and the number of...
Can You Add Tutoring Time for Free?
Master Team Reach Teacher™ Macey Williams tutors a small group of students at Lucama Elementary in Wilson County, North Carolina, while Reach Associate™ Joy Mosely works with other students in the back of the classroom. Nearly any school can dramatically increase...
Stop Wasting Student Teachers’ Time and Money
The experiences K-12 offers student teachers are a quality hodgepodge, too few people can afford to enter teaching, and students need results right now. States and school systems should add residencies or apprenticeships that prepare aspiring teachers to teach with...
How to Avoid K–12 Scale Fail
In K–12, decades of reforms have produced vanishing outcomes. Instructional methods and materials with eye-popping results in small studies fizzle out when scaled. Then, true believers double down on intensive teacher training and coaching to get their reform “done...
Reset for Success: Hear From Midland Superintendent in New Audio
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.
I talked with Howard and Jessie Garcia, who also worked with the models in Ector County, about how they led Midland through a complete implementation 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—and don’t miss the bonus “go big or go home” clip from Superintendent Howard!
N.C. Districts—Including 5 Largest—Lead Nation in New Certification
Did you know that all of the five largest school districts in North Carolina use Opportunity Culture® strategic staffing models? With 10 other North Carolina school systems, these districts—Wake, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Guilford, Winston-Salem-Forsyth, and Cumberland—are also leading the first wave of schools nationally to receive Certified Opportunity Culture School™ status.
366 Schools in 8 States Receive Certified Status
We are excited to announce that 366 schools in 28 districts in eight states have been awarded the new "Certified Opportunity Culture School™, Provisional Level, 2023–24" designation! Showing their commitment to reaching all students with excellent teaching,...
Teach Plus Report Highlights New Mexico School Using Opportunity Culture® Roles
In a new report this summer, Teach Plus took a look at innovation in New Mexico districts, and highlighted a Carlsbad Municipal Schools middle school seeing success with student growth from its Opportunity Culture® teaching teams! Read what P.R. Leyva Middle School...