By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, August 1, 2019
What if far more children ages 0–5 who are in early childhood education and care settings had consistent access to excellent teaching? In these critical developmental years, young children—especially those who have fewer educational and developmental advantages outside of formal settings—need excellent teaching every year to fulfill their potential.
What’s Happening
Opportunity Culture® News and Views
Opportunity Culture® Year in Review
By Paola Gilliam, June 24, 2019
Congratulations to all educators for completing another great school year or reaching a summer intercession in Opportunity Culture schools! It’s always exciting to watch what schools using Opportunity Culture do to improve schooling for their teachers and students.
Opportunity Culture® News: Summer Newsletter, Remotely Located Teacher Leadership
By Paola Gilliam, June 7, 2019
As the school year wraps up and summer planning begins, check out these new and noteworthy posts about Opportunity Culture resources, schools, and educators. Summer Opportunity Culture Newsletter: We publish a quarterly newsletter for educators full of resources, tools, news about Opportunity Culture, and columns by Opportunity Culture educators.
Public Impact® Welcomes Fifth Cohort of Opportunity Culture® Fellows
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, June 4, 2019
Public Impact announces with pleasure our fifth cohort of Opportunity Culture Fellows. This year’s 15 fellows are Opportunity Culture multi-classroom leaders and principals who have achieved strong results and been leaders in their schools and districts. Fellows provide support to their cohort, take one another’s ideas back to their schools, write columns about their experiences, and speak locally and nationally about their Opportunity Culture roles.
To Support Teachers and Students, Pass House Bill 1008
By Jessica Smith, May 30, 2019
“We need House Bill 1008 to pass in this legislative session, to give more districts and schools support to put Multi-Classroom Leadership in place and to expand it to more schools.” This column is adapted from the remarks made by Multi-Classroom Leader® Jessica Smith before the Indiana Senate Committee on Education and Career Development. Ultimately, the legislation passed, providing $3.5 million for up to 30 districts to plan career ladders that may include Opportunity Culture. Read more…
First Look: Remotely Located Teacher Leadership
From EdNC, May 8, 2019, by Sharon Kebschull Barrett
This semester, the College Board and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) joined with Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture initiative to test the remotely located Multi-Classroom Leadership model: An excellent NCSSM teacher would lead a small team of teachers spread across rural North Carolina districts, which often lack enough teachers who are prepared to ensure student success in advanced classes.
Opportunity Culture® News: New Opportunity Culture® Site, Multi-Classroom Leaders Share Impact
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, April 8, 2019
Opportunity Culture schools and educators continue to attract attention…check out these posts from new sites, multi-classroom leader columns, and an exciting award for a multi-classroom leader. Read more…
Arkansas Opportunity Culture® Pilot Adds 3 Districts and 8 North Little Rock Schools
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 14, 2019
Opportunity Culture continues to grow: After an initial year at North Little Rock Middle School, the Arkansas Department of Education has expanded its Opportunity Culture pilot to three more districts. Read More…
High-Growth Learning, 56K Students Reached: Opportunity Culture® 2018–19
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, March 7, 2019
As student learning continues to benefit, teachers want to keep and grow Opportunity Culture: That’s just one of the many findings and stats to report from the 2018-19 update of the Opportunity Culture data dashboard. Public Impact, which created and leads the national Opportunity Culture initiative, updates the dashboard annually. Read More…
The Best Tool—Sometimes: Using Tech in Elementary School
By Amber Hines; first published by EducationNC, March 5, 2019
“Our students are digital natives, so they’re confident with technology; it can give them the freedom to share their thoughts and think critically about both their own and their peers’ work.” For Multi-Classroom Leader® Amber Hines, who uses two-way video recording and QR codes with her students, technology enhances instruction by drawing out and engaging her teaching team’s students. Read More…