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Opportunity Culture® Improving Mineral Wells ISD Education, Rotarians Told

From Mineral Wells Rotary, November 1, 2019

Mineral Wells Rotarians on Wednesday heard how Mineral Wells ISD’s two-year-old Opportunity Culture initiative is benfitting teachers and students in its elementary school classrooms. Mineral Wells ISD school board member and Rotary program chair for the week Scott Elder brought Travis Elementary School Principal David Wells, who in turn brought with him campus educators Carla Watson, Patti Newsome and Lindsey Wells, who all serve as Multi-Classroom Leaders (MCLs) for the school under the Opportunity Culture program.

‘Opportunity Culture®’ Schools in Guilford County Bested Overall District Improvement in Reading and Math

From News and Record, October 12, 2019, by Jessie Pounds

Nine local schools that added a new staffing model for teachers last academic year saw student performance on key subjects improve more than Guilford County Schools as a whole, state test data show. Taken together, the schools that implemented “Opportunity Culture” last year improved more than the district as a whole in both reading and math at the fourth-, sixth- and seventh-grade levels.

How Can We Extend the Reach of Great Teachers? A Q&A with Stephanie Dean on Opportunity Culture®

From Ahead of the Heard, August 19, 2019, by Chad Aldeman

How should we train teachers? How do we ensure that all students have access to great teaching? I reached out to Stephanie Dean, the vice president of strategic policy advising and a senior consulting manager at Public Impact. In that role, Dean is working with schools and districts to implement what they call “Opportunity Culture,” a way to re-organize schools into collaborative leadership teams. 

Vance County Schools Staff Named Opportunity Culture® Fellows

From The Daily Dispatch, June 8, 2019, by Miles Bates

Cherie Dixon from L.B. Yancey Elementary School, Casey Jackson from Aycock Elementary School and Aycock Principal Kristen Boyd are among the fifth cohort of “Opportunity Culture Fellows” recognized by a group called Public Impact.  This article is no longer available online.

Educators Receive Fellowship

From Rocky Mount Telegram, June 5, 2019, by Amelia Harper

Two teachers and one principal from Edgecombe County Public Schools have been selected to become Opportunity Culture Fellows for the coming year. Casandra Cherry, a multi-classroom leader at Phillips Middle School; Amy Pearce, a multi-classroom leader at North Edgecombe High School, and Jenny O’Meara, principal of Phillips Middle School, have been selected for this honor.

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.

This Would Improve Arizona Schools More Than Anything Else

From Arizona Republic, March 17, 2019, by Joanna Allhands

Classrooms filled with highly effective teachers. I know. Duh. But the research is clear: Students who have effective teachers perform light-years ahead of their peers. And that accelerated performance sticks with students for years (though the converse is true for students who have ineffective teachers).

Teacher Awarded $175,000 Grant

From Rocky Mount Telegram, March 12, 2019, by Amelia Harper

One Phillips Middle School teacher received the surprise of a lifetime Monday when she was told she had just won a $175,000 grant for herself, her school and for Edgecombe County Public Schools. Casandra Cherry is in her second year as the math multi-classroom leader at  the school. She previously taught math at South Edgecombe Middle School for eight years