• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Public Impact

Public Impact

  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Our DEI Commitment
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
  • What We Do
    • Opportunity Culture
    • Research & Data
    • New Solutions
    • Our Clients
    • Media
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Apply
    • Work at Public Impact
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

How Schools Can Redeploy Teachers in Creative Ways During COVID-19

August 5, 2020

Education Week, August 5, 2020, by Catherine Gewertz

Extending the reach of excellent teachers

One teacher-leadership model is sparking increased interest as schools grapple with how best to support students. It’s called the Multi-Classroom Leadership model, and it was designed by the education advocacy group Public Impact to help excellent teachers reach more students. More than 200 schools in 10 states use it, according to Bryan Hassel, Public Impact’s co-president, and he’s been getting “a lot of calls” from districts asking for details since the model was highlighted as promising in a couple of recent papers on school reopening.

In this model, a teacher with a strong track record of student growth is trained as a “multi-classroom leader” for five to eight teachers. The MCLs work with their teams to design instruction, co-teaching, and coaching along the way. They also help their teams analyze and respond to data on student learning and are evaluated in part on the learning growth in the team’s students. For those roles, they earn pay supplements of 20 percent or more, which come from their schools’ budgets, Hassel said.

The multi-classroom leaders play many roles at Washington Montessori Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C. Some work across all subjects, while others specialize. This year, one of the MCLs will support 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers in math, while the other works in reading, a move that will help teachers learn a new reading curriculum, said Principal Paul Travers.

The MCLs will also support teachers in remote learning, since they were trained as experts last spring, he said. In a year when his attentions will probably be spread very thin, the teacher-leaders will be able to provide a layer of support that he likely cannot, Travers said.

They work with teachers to define the next steps in instruction. They brainstorm about how to reconnect with students who aren’t logging in. And they provide daily or weekly observations and feedback “at an intensity level” he couldn’t do with 22 teachers, Travers said.

Read the full article…

August 5, 2020 by Beverley Tyndall

About Beverley Tyndall

Footer

Public Impact, LLC   |   919-240-7955   |   Terms of Use   |   Contact Us   |    © Public Impact 2000-2023   |   Website design by LeGa Design Group

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube