From The 74, by Greg Toppo, July 29, 2026
In Carlsbad, N.M., a tiny district in the southeastern corner of the state, nine of its 12 schools have turned teacher assignments upside-down, inviting their best teachers to coach a team of colleagues, model lessons and take direct responsibility for the achievement of every student the team serves.
In exchange, each teacher-leader earns substantially more — without leaving the classroom.
The idea grew out of an emerging staffing model called Opportunity Culture, now in its fourth year in the Carlsbad Municipal School District. It’s reshaping how schools there and elsewhere deploy teachers. …
The structure grew out of a model developed by the North Carolina-based nonprofit Public Impact around 2013, but it has only recently earned wider attention. Before 2013, Public Impact was “a multi-topic consulting and research organization,” said Bryan Hassel, the organization’s co-president. It soon pivoted to trying to optimize teacher roles, time and pay. …
Read the full article here and learn more about Opportunity Culture® models in Carlsbad here.