Portal
Shop

In the Media

It’s Time to Rethink the ‘One Teacher, One Classroom’ Model

From Education Week, July 20, 2022, by Irene Chen & Stephanie Banchero

The last few years have taken a toll on our teachers. The COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing cultural divisions, and the Uvalde, Texas, massacre all weigh heavily. Morale is at an all-time low. Now is the time to rethink the teaching profession.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some districts are struggling to find teachers. According to federal data collected in January, 44 percent of public schools reported at least one teaching vacancy, and 61 percent identified the pandemic as a cause. Rural and urban districts are having a particularly tough time, especially finding special education and bilingual teachers. Students of color and those from underserved communities are more likely to have uncertified or inexperienced teachers. Read more…

Education Matters: Advanced Teaching Roles

From Education Matters, July 16, 2022

In this episode of Education Matters, a weekly television show about the state of public education in North Carolina, host Mary Ann Wolf, President and Executive Director of the Public School Forum, interviews Public Impact Co-President Bryan Hassel about the Opportunity Culture initiative and Advanced Teaching Roles. Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) is a state grant structure designed to help retain and expand the reach of highly effective teachers in North Carolina. Most of the North Carolina districts receiving ATR grants use Opportunity Culture roles.

A Closer Look at Advanced Teaching Roles in North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

From BEST NC, July 15, 2022

This video from BEST NC examines how the Advanced Teaching Roles program has created new opportunities for teacher leadership and educator collaboration in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, resulting in increased student growth. CMS was the first and largest school district to receive Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) grants. Like most of the North Carolina districts receiving ATR grants, CMS uses Opportunity Culture roles as its framework. Principal Phillip Steffes, featured in the video, is a 2018-19 Opportunity Culture Fellow. He led Opportunity Culture implementation at his previous school, Albemarle Road Elementary. Read what he wrote about the experience here.

Blackshear chief earns Elementary Principal of the Year

From OA Online, July 11, 2022

When a group of Ector County ISD officials turned up at Blackshear Magnet Elementary School, Principal Valerie Rivera thought the campus had won a grant or someone else was getting an award.

But that person was her. Rivera was recognized with the Elementary Principal of the Year award recently.

In her 28th year with ECISD, she has helmed Blackshear for four years. Rivera started as a bilingual teacher and worked her way up to assistant principal and principal.

Muri named Region 18 superintendent of the year

From OA Online, June 16, 2022

Ector County ISD has announced that Superintendent of Schools Scott Muri has been selected as the Region 18 Superintendent of the Year.

Muri joined ECISD in 2019, from Spring Branch ISD in Houston. He has 33 years of experience in public education that includes key leadership roles in large districts like Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina and Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as in unique settings such as Walt Disney’s Celebration School in Celebration, Florida.

CMS joins national Opportunity Culture® educational initiative

From The Sentinel-Record, May 22, 2022

Cutter Morning Star School District is implementing Opportunity Culture models in its elementary school this fall as part of the Arkansas Department of Education’s statewide initiative to reach all students with quality, more-personalized teaching.

Superintendent Nancy Anderson said the district was approached by the department during the first year of its rollout and she visited the North Little Rock School District, which was one of the first schools to implement the program.

Multi-classroom leaders find unique niche

From OA Online, May 22, 2022

Interested in making a larger impact, Karen Vicory at Wilson & Young Medal of Honor Middle School and Sydney Garcia at Pease Elementary made the leap from classroom teachers to multi-classroom leaders. The position, through Opportunity Culture, gives them a chance to teach in the classroom and mentor their peers.

Ector County ISD Executive Director for Talent Development Ashley Osborne said the district has 49 MCLs at 17 elementary, middle and high school campuses. Campuses perform a redesign of their Opportunity Culture plan every year where they can determine the structure of Opportunity Culture based on campus need, data and context. “Next year, we are looking to add around 20 additional MCLs. Additionally, we will have 20 campuses utilizing the Opportunity Culture model,” Osborne said in an email.

Uplift Education Joins National Initiative, Opportunity Culture®, to Reach Students with Excellent Teaching

From Accesswire, April 14, 2022

DALLAS, Texas—Uplift Education is thrilled to announce that they have joined the growing, national Opportunity Culture movement to reach all students with excellent teaching, to help students meet their academic goals and leap ahead. Uplift has partnered with Tarleton State University, Public Impact, and US PREP to design and implement innovative roles that provide powerful support for all educators in a select group of Tarrant County schools. Funding for the initial design planning and implementation is provided in part by grants from the Fort Worth Education Partnership and Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Read More…

Muri: ECISD making progress

From Odessa American Online, March 20, 2022, by Ruth Campbell

While Ector County ISD may not be at the level it would like, Superintendent Scott Muri says good things are happening in the district.

In his State of the District address earlier in March, Muri said kindergarten readiness has increased by 13 percentage points, SAT scores were above the state level and there was a 7 percent increase this year over last in college, career and military readiness. This is a factor in state accountability standards.

He noted that the 84.7 percent graduation rate is the highest in 20 years. Read More…

ECISD Superintendent discusses teacher shortages

From News West 9, March 11, 2022, by Francisco Soto

ODESSA, Texas — Shortages is something we are hearing about too often these days, and it’s not just food.

On Thursday, the Texas Education Agency announced the creation of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force. The goal is to help address staffing challenges facing Texas public schools.

NewsWest 9 spoke to Scott Muri, Superintendent for Ector County Independent School District. He said the area has been struggling with teacher shortages for several years even before the state started experiencing the same thing. Read more…