Portal
Shop

In the Media

How today’s superintendents are building engines of community

From District Administration, by Matt Zalaznick, February 10, 2026

Retaining high-quality teachers strengthens the community inside the district, says Dr. Stephanie D. Howard, superintendent of Texas’ Midland Independent School District. In her experience in a smaller district, reducing class size was not the answer to driving student achievement. When she took the helm at Midland in 2023, the district was struggling with inexperienced educators and substitute-filled classrooms. To tackle retention and student achievement, Howard focused on Midland’s partially implemented “Opportunity Culture” model. The approach extends the reach of highly effective teachers and embeds coaching within small, empowered teams.

Read the full article…

Education Department embraces team-based staffing in new guidance

From K-12 Dive, Anna Merod, February 9, 2026

The Education Department’s push for strategic staffing models, particularly team-based instruction, comes as these newer kinds of solutions to improve teacher recruitment and retention are gaining traction in districts nationwide.

Public Impact, a for-profit organization that has created a similar team-based staffing approach known as Opportunity Culture, saw over 1,000 schools implementing or planning to use its staffing designs in 2024-25. More than 90% of those schools are eligible for Title I funds. 

Opportunity Culture also announced in February that 25 additional school systems will use its staffing model in 2026 through state funding in New Mexico and North Carolina as well as private funding in Oklahoma. 

Read the full article…

How one superintendent is retaining her top teachers

From District Administration, by Michelle Centamore, November 25, 2025

Teacher retention was the top priority when Dr. Stephanie D. Howard rejoined Midland ISD as superintendent in January 2023. The district was struggling with inexperienced educators and substitute-filled classrooms.

It wasn’t Howard’s first time leading in Midland. Years earlier, she served as principal of Robert E. Lee High School (now Midland Legacy High School). She later moved into district administration and served as superintendent in the Plains and Crane ISDs. Her perspective and experience as deputy superintendent in Ector County shaped her approach to teacher retention.

In a smaller district, she said, reduced class sizes had not delivered results. “Half of our kids weren’t reading on grade level,” Howard said. That “aha moment” showed her teacher quality mattered more than class size.

To tackle retention and student achievement, Howard focused on Midland’s partially implemented “Opportunity Culture” model. The approach extends the reach of highly effective teachers and embeds coaching within small, empowered teams.

Read the full article…

Big changes in Ector County ISD: Resident teachers are getting paid-here’s why

From Your Basin, by Ric Dorsey, November 18, 2025

Opportunity Culture is a program that solves the teacher shortage and improves student performance through the collaboration of advanced educators partnering with teacher residents. They can grow as educators, get paid for their residency, and improve the quality of the curriculum they are teaching.

One principal at an Ector County elementary school says their students’ success is always the number one priority.

“Opportunity culture is a redesign of the traditional school setting. Where you have these excellent, talented, successful teachers that coach, support, and plan with their peer teachers, our goal is that kids get that high-quality instruction every day”

Teachers report that the sense of community and collaboration has helped them grow as educators.

Read the full article…

Redesigning school staffing for student success

From The Education Gadfly Show, October 22, 2025

In Episode #991 of The Education Gadfly Show, Bryan Hassel, co-president of Public Impact, joins the hosts Michael J. Petrilli, David Griffith, and Adam Tyner to discuss how redesigning school staffing—through models like Opportunity Culture®—can boost both teacher retention and student success. Listen to the episode here.

Midland ISD’s Opportunity Culture empowers teachers and elevates student success

By Midland Times, October 10, 2025

Opportunity Culture is making significant changes within the Midland Independent School District (ISD) by emphasizing teacher development and improved student outcomes.

According to a Meta post, this innovative model empowers educators to advance into leadership roles such as Master Team Reach Teachers (MTRTs) and Multi-Classroom Leaders (MCLs). These positions enable them to share their expertise, mentor colleagues, and reach more students with high-quality instruction. The teacher-leaders play a crucial role in enhancing instruction across campuses. By coaching and supporting their teams, they build capacity within the district, creating a ripple effect of excellence that benefits both educators and learners. The result is a collaborative culture where continuous learning and professional development drive student achievement.

“Being a part of Opportunity Culture has shaped me into a better learner and leader, challenging me to step outside my comfort zone and discover strengths I didn’t know I had,” said Michaela Arrott-Rodriguez, a fourth-grade math MCL at Burnett Elementary. “I love the challenges, the friendships, and the constant opportunities to grow. What I cherish most is the sense of belonging and support—being part of a team where we inspire and uplift each other every day has made this journey truly meaningful.”

The post noted that through Opportunity Culture, Midland ISD continues to invest in its educators—recognizing that when teachers are supported, inspired, and given room to lead, students thrive. This commitment to growth and collaboration exemplifies the district’s mission to enhance student experience and develop staff.

Superintendent Reflects on First 100 Days: “Listening, Learning, and Leading Greene County Forward”

From Neuse News, Matt Lococo, October 7, 2025

[Excerpt] Dr. McNeill is candid about the challenges facing the district, particularly the need to strengthen academic outcomes and close post-pandemic learning gaps. To address these issues, Greene County Schools is partnering with Public Impact and Opportunity Culture and collaborating with NCDPI on abbreviated school-level needs assessments.

Read the full article…

Q&A with Dr. Scott Muri: System Redesign, Strategic Staffing, and the Next Frontier for K–12

From Whiteboard Advisors, by Hillary Rinaldi, October 10, 2025

As superintendent emeritus of Ector County ISD (Odessa, TX), Dr. Scott Muri led a district-wide turnaround—weaving talent strategies, outcomes-based tutoring, and tight execution to deliver measurable gains. Last month, Dr. Muri testified before the U.S. Senate HELP Committee to share more about the effort. 

This week, we caught up with Dr. Muri to reflect on his tenure as superintendent, how AI should reshape systems (not just tools), and why agility is the new non-negotiable for districts. We touched on ECISD’s continued, rapid progress, “braiding” multiple operational strategies to improve outcomes, system-wide project management discipline, and investing in teachers through expanded roles, stackable compensation, and robust training pipelines.

Read the full interview…

How to keep teachers: Provide a complete package

From District Administration, by Dr. Stephanie Howard, September 12, 2025

District leaders say they want to keep great teachers. But how often do actions match the promise?

Too often, districts spend far more time doing what it takes to recruit teachers than to retain, equip and empower them. To retain teachers, they need a complete package of preparation, support, career growth and compensation—and now we know how to do just this.

Our profession has operated on a revolving-door mentality—a person leaves and we hire a person to replace them—instead of thinking about how we can build on the expertise we already have and using our best talent to impact more people.

With these teams, leaders and teachers can earn more by extending their reach to more students, and we make sure the extra pay is sustainable by reallocating regular budgets.

Advanced paraprofessionals and paid, yearlong teacher residents focus on leading small-group tutoring, providing meaningful support to their teams and creating a clear path into teaching—where they feel set up for success from day one.

The good news is that this complete package of educator support leads to powerful results for students. In Midland ISD, we have seen this firsthand since resetting our Opportunity Culture staffing model; 18 of 22 schools saw learning gains. One school went from a state-assigned “D” letter grade to a B, increasing by 25 points; many others went up by at least 12 points.

Read the full article…