Press Releases

June 1, 2023, CARRBORO, N.C.—Public Impact has released its Opportunity Culture Dashboard update, showing the expansion of the national Opportunity Culture initiative to 11 states and more than 150,000 students and 5,400 teachers. The dashboard annually updates progress of the initiative, which aims to help schools reach all students with excellent teaching, consistently, and all teachers with excellent, paid career opportunities.

To update the dashboard, Public Impact analyzes Opportunity Culture data and educator survey results and uses the results to continue to refine its advising of districts and charter schools on implementing Opportunity Culture innovative staffing models. With the overarching goal of reaching all students with high-growth learning, Public Impact aims to help schools make changes that educators love, with increased career opportunities and support. Read the full press release…

May 12, 2022, CHAPEL Hill, N.C.—Eleven school districts and a charter management organization in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas are the latest to join the national Opportunity Culture initiative, led by Public Impact, which extends the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets. Some sites also include yearlong, paid residencies for aspiring teachers, allowing them to learn on the job in a teaching team led by an excellent teacher. Fifty-five districts and charter school organizations in 10 states now use Opportunity Culture models in their schools, increasing student learning growth and access to small-group tutoring, and creating career paths for teachers and paraprofessionals that let them advance without having to leave the classroom. Read the full press release…

July 22, 2021, CHAPEL Hill, N.C.—Bringing a fresh approach to teacher training, five more Texas school districts will be providing yearlong, paid teacher residencies on teaching teams led by excellent teachers in the 2021–22 school year, by implementing Opportunity Culture roles in partnership with local universities and US PREP National Center (University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation). Read the full press release…

June 17, 2021, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Public Impact announces with pleasure the seventh cohort of Opportunity Culture Fellows, made up of eight principals who have achieved strong results in their schools and districts.

Fellows provide support to their cohort, take one another’s ideas back to their schools, write columns or lead webinars about their experiences, and speak locally and nationally about their Opportunity Culture roles. Their feedback and leadership are invaluable in helping to improve the Opportunity Culture initiative, and all materials related to it. Read the full press release…

January 28, 2021, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—As part of its commitment to implement Opportunity Culture in schools across the state, the Arkansas Department of Education is supporting its third cohort of school districts this year joining the national initiative to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams, for more pay, within regular school budgets. The school districts of Brinkley, Crossett, Earle and Osceola will begin implementing Opportunity Culture roles in the 2021–22 school year. Read the full press release…

January 28, 2021, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The North Carolina State Board of Education awarded Advanced Teaching Roles grants to Wilson County Schools and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in fall 2020 to join the national Opportunity Culture initiative. The districts are using their grant funding this year to design and strengthen Opportunity Culture plans for implementation in fall 2021. Read the full press release…

January 28, 2021, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Under Superintendent Marvin Connelly, Jr., Cumberland County Schools has become the eleventh district in North Carolina to join the national Opportunity Culture initiative, which extends the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within schools’ recurring budgets. Read the full press release…

March 30, 2020, CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Noting the ongoing, innovative work of Opportunity Culture educators who had little time to prepare for COVID-19 at-home teaching and learning, Public Impact, which created and leads the national Opportunity Culture initiative, has released the annual updates to its Opportunity Culture dashboard. Read the full press release…

December 18, 2019, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE— With support from the Memphis Education Fund, 12 Memphis schools from several charter organizations will implement Opportunity Culture models in 2020–21 in an effort to improve student achievement by extending the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within schools’ recurring budgets. Read the full press release…

ODESSA and MIDLAND, Texas— Two Texas districts—Ector County ISD and Midland ISD—will implement Opportunity Culture with paid teacher residencies in partnership with the University of Texas Permian Basin (UT Permian Basin). UT Permian Basin and its partner schools are the newest members in the University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation (US PREP). Read the full press release…