By Public Impact, December 9, 2019
For two Texas districts—Ector County ISD and Midland ISD—teacher shortages present an immense and ongoing challenge: Combined, the districts began the school year with 500 teacher vacancies. To give new teachers a jump-start into the profession, the districts are implementing 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).
multi-classroom leadership
Building Team Cohesion: Opportunity Culture® Fellows Share Strategies
By Margaret High, October 30, 2019
How can multi-classroom leaders (MCLs) build the cohesion of their teaching teams? A panel of five Opportunity Culture Fellows tackled this question—a hot topic among MCLs—with suggestions that focused on the joy of team leadership as well as how to address challenges with team members.
“My two things are genuinely caring about the people as individuals and as teachers. …And then really not being a know-it-all,” one panelist said. “I’m not coming into the classroom to make you into me. I’m coming in here to make you a better version of you.”
Stephanie Dean: Opportunity Culture®—Extending the Reach of Excellent Teachers
From The Principal Center, October 28, 2019, by Justin Baeder, PhD
Stephanie Dean, vice president of strategic policy advising and a senior consulting manager, discusses Opportunity Culture for the Principal Center Radio. Listen here.
Stephanie Dean, vice president of strategic policy advising and a senior consulting manager, discusses Opportunity Culture for the Principal Center Radio. Listen here.
What Could You Do in an Opportunity Culture®? New Opportunity Culture® Video
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, October 9, 2019
Watch the short video and check out the Opportunity Culture website to learn why this movement continues to grow 50 percent each year. Then share with educators, parents, and policymakers you know who would benefit from the higher student learning growth and educator career opportunities of an Opportunity Culture!
Be the Bridge: How Multi-Classroom Leaders Smooth Teacher-Administrator Communication
By Brandon Warren, September 3, 2019
Teachers, how many times has this happened to you?
The classroom door opens, and in comes the principal, maybe with an assistant principal in tow. Your stomach plunges as you think, “Oh my goodness, they’re here, what are they looking for, what do they like, what don’t they like?” Your purpose in teaching that day flies out of your head, and it’s all downhill from there.
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.
How to Reach Far More Young Children with Excellent Teaching
By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, August 1, 2019
What if far more children ages 0–5 who are in early childhood education and care settings had consistent access to excellent teaching? In these critical developmental years, young children—especially those who have fewer educational and developmental advantages outside of formal settings—need excellent teaching every year to fulfill their potential.
Opportunity Culture® News: Summer Newsletter, Remotely Located Teacher Leadership
By Paola Gilliam, June 7, 2019
As the school year wraps up and summer planning begins, check out these new and noteworthy posts about Opportunity Culture resources, schools, and educators. Summer Opportunity Culture Newsletter: We publish a quarterly newsletter for educators full of resources, tools, news about Opportunity Culture, and columns by Opportunity Culture educators.
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.
Doing Teacher Residencies Right: Yearlong, Well-Paid, and Led by Excellent Teachers
By Sharon Kebschull Barret, May 2, 2019
We know that in traditional student teaching today, incoming teachers are eager to learn and help students, and some “cooperating teachers” help their student teachers tremendously. But we also know that most student teachers are in the classroom for a short while, unpaid, and not necessarily learning under the school’s strongest teachers. Alternative residency programs, while a great idea, reach only a very few student teachers, at high cost—often funded through temporary grants.