Public Impact

Opportunity Culture Initiative

5th-Largest U.S. District Explores Extending Excellent Teachers’ Reach

At Public Impact, we and our partners provide districts and charter schools with support in implementing models to extend excellent teachers’ reach based on the Opportunity Culture Reach Extension Principles. But we hope others can do this without outside support, and we publish all our models and design tools for free—and continue to add materials—to make that possible. In Nevada, we’ve found what may be the first district to go it alone, using our materials.

Clark County, home of Las Vegas, is making plans to launch the new job roles of its Project Reach-Extended 10 in fall 2014, as the district grapples with both crushing budget deficits and a strong commitment to improve learning outcomes for all 311,429 of its students.

The Clark County School District (CCSD) aims to provide a variety of job roles and career advancement opportunities for its teachers who extend their reach, paying them more through reallocated dollars, not special grants—thereby creating a sustainable program.

Imagine: An Opportunity Culture for Teachers and Students

I spent two years teaching in a diverse, high-poverty school on the northwest side of Chicago. And I was fortunate enough to say that even with the incredible growth my students showed in my classroom—in my second year, students averaged more than four years of growth—I was not the best teacher in the building.

On the contrary, I worked with teachers who were simply amazing—who had dedicated five to 10 years to this profession, who made strong gains with their students every year, and who served as models for me. They knew how to develop supportive relationships with parents and work with peers collaboratively in ways I was just beginning to understand.

Most of the excellent teachers were founding members of the school, and were extremely invested in it and the students whom they watched grow from kindergarteners to middle-schoolers.

But after giving five years of 14-hour workdays in a high-stakes environment with high expectations and little reward, all of the best teachers, one by one, left during my two-year tenure there.

Teachers Say “Yes!” to an Opportunity Culture

A year ago, Public Impact began working with school design teams of pilot schools in the Charlotte and Nashville public school districts to choose and tailor school models for extending the reach of excellent teachers to more students.

We didn’t know for certain how well the design processes would go. We chose these districts because they had leaders who showed real commitment to expanding the impact and authority of already-excellent teachers and a burning passion to help disadvantaged students. But would that be enough?

Charlotte’s Project L.I.F.T. Flooded with Applications

Do teachers care about terrific career opportunities that let them stay in the classroom? Do teachers long for jobs that pay them more—substantially more—for leading their peers and reaching many more students with their excellent teaching? Do teachers want jobs that give them time during school hours to collaborate with and learn from their peers? Judging from the 708 applications now stacked at Project L.I.F.T., teachers are thundering, “Yes!”

Expanding the Impact of Excellent Teachers

By Bryan C. Hassel, Celine Coggins & Emily Ayscue Hassel If you are a teacher who helps students learn exceptionally well, this is your moment—schools and policymakers must vastly expand your impact, now. Today, our nation is at a crossroads; we simply cannot fall short educationally for another decade as other countries surge. Why is […]

Teachers: This is the Moment to Expand Your Impact

By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan Hassel; first published on Education Week. If you are a teacher who helps students learn exceptionally well, this is your moment—schools and policymakers must vastly expand your impact, now. Today, our nation is at a crossroads; we simply cannot fall short educationally for another decade as other countries surge. […]

The Original Personalization App—Great Teachers

By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan Hassel; first published in Education Next With all the buzz about the District Race to the Top and jockeying to fit it into differing agendas, you might miss its simple premise: “There are great teachers … who have figured out how to personalize education and we are asking our districts to […]

Expanding the Impact of Excellent Teachers

By Bryan Hassel and Celine Coggins; first published on Education Week. If you are a teacher who helps students learn exceptionally well, this is your moment—schools and policymakers must vastly expand your impact, now. Today, our nation is at a crossroads; we simply cannot fall short educationally for another decade as other countries surge. Why […]

How to Pay Teachers Dramatically More, Within Budget

By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan Hassel; first published on Education Next. There’s been a lot of chatter about increasing teacher pay—even doubling it. With the release of TNTP’s The Irreplaceables, talk about paying teachers more and retaining the best will likely increase. Whether or not your political perspective leaves you thinking this is necessary, most […]

Redesigning Schools for Financially Sustainable Excellence: Infographic!

By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan Hassel; first published on Education Next Everybody loves a good infographic (even you wonky researchers – just wait ‘til nobody’s looking), and we hope this one will change how you view education reform efforts. For word nerds, here’s a summary: Our nation is falling behind globally as other nations provide increasingly […]

Reformers: We Must Be Much Bolder to Reach Every Child with Excellent Teachers

By Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan Hassel; first published on Education Next. As ESEA talk heats up, reform groups are tossing ideas on the table (e.g., here). We can debate the details, but most have some merit. Here’s the problem: even if our nation fully implemented most of the recommended legislation in the next decade, we still […]