Hertford County Public Schools

Details:

Hertford County Public Schools in eastern North Carolina won funding through the state’s Advanced Teaching Roles pilot for planning the implementation of Opportunity Culture roles. The district uses Opportunity Culture roles to provide intensive support to all teachers, paid career advancement and a stronger teacher pipeline.

Hertford began designing its Opportunity Culture plans in 2019 for implementation in fall 2020. The district is focused on creating its own educator pipeline given its annual teacher turnover rate of 20 percent and a three-year average rate for administrator turnover of 19 percent.

“Hertford County Public Schools is honored to be chosen as a recipient of funding to support the state’s Advanced Teaching Roles pilot,” Superintendent William T. Wright, Jr., said. “The Opportunity Culture initiative is directly aligned with our district’s strategic goals in the areas of operational efficiency, teaching and learning, and talent acquisition and development. Hertford County Public Schools, working in conjunction with Public Impact, is impacting lives positively by increasing student learning through the development of excellent teachers, in keeping with our district’s motto by being ‘All In for Learning’.”

Hertford Demographics

When Hertford began designing its Opportunity Culture in 2019, the district had seven schools serving 2,900 students. Of those students, 79 percent were black, 13 percent were white, and 91 percent were eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Learn More:

• Public Impact Press Release: Three North Carolina School Districts Win State Advanced Teaching Roles Funding to Implement Opportunity Culture

Watch:

Listen:

Comprehensive Communications Strengthen Opportunity Culture School: Principal Julie Shields

Principal Julie Shields leads a school that ranks very high on Opportunity Culture surveys for communicating its Opportunity Culture plans and impact. She spoke with Public Impact about how she thinks through a communications strategy to keep Opportunity Culture implementation strong over many years.