A Three-Part Professional Learning Module

Leading school turnarounds is difficult work that requires specific competencies. This three-part professional learning module, developed through a partnership between the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, the Center on School Turnaround, Public Impact, and the University of Virginia Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education, provides state and district leaders with tools to identify and apply turnaround leader competencies to the selection and development of school turnaround leaders.
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Read the Case Study | Watch the Video

As a turnaround effort began to show results at Charlotte’s Ashley Part PreK-8, improvements in language arts achievement lagged. This Public Impact case study looks at why Ashley Park chose to implement an Opportunity Culture to address this, by using Multi-Classroom Leadership and blended learning through a Time-Technology Swap, and how the early days of implementation helped the school retain its best teachers. Watch the accompanying video, Ranson and Ashley Park Choose an Opportunity Culture.

Read the Case Study | Watch the Video

Ranson IB Middle School in Charlotte, a high-poverty school struggling to improve academic achievement and teacher retention, turned to an Opportunity Culture to address its need for excellent teachers. This case study from Public Impact looks at the early days of Ranson’s implementation of two Opportunity Culture job models—Multi-Classroom Leadership and Time-Technology Swaps—and how an Opportunity Culture improved its recruitment and retention of great teachers. Watch the accompanying video, Ranson and Ashley Park Choose an Opportunity Culture.

Read the Brief

To understand an Opportunity Culture, start here: For excellent teachers and those aspiring to excellence, and for administrative or education policy leaders, this brief provides an overview of how an Opportunity Culture can help teachers have the well-paid, empowered profession they deserve—while helping many more students succeed.

 

Read the Case Study | Watch the Video

What brings excellent teachers in droves to apply for jobs in hard-to-staff schools? Project L.I.F.T. in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District started by offering a complete Opportunity Culture package of career advancement roles, then advertised those roles early, often, and clearly—leading to a strong uptick in both the quantity and quality of applicants for teaching roles at schools that previously saw many positions go unfilled. L.I.F.T. leaders explain how they did it in this brief vignette, with an accompanying video of principals and district leaders sharing how an Opportunity Culture attracts great teachers.

Read the Full Policy Guide | Read the Summary

This guide shows how districts can design teacher career paths that will keep excellent teachers in the classroom and extend their reach to more students, for more pay, within budget. When districts design these paths, they create opportunities for excellent teachers to reach more students directly and by leading teaching teams, for solid teachers to contribute to excellence immediately, and for all teachers to receive the support and development they deserve. The full guide walks a district through the organizing steps and details of designing Opportunity Culture pay and career paths that fit its needs and values. It includes an overview of key Opportunity Culture concepts, graphics and explanations detailing new school models and roles, and assistance for evaluating the impact of different compensation design choices. The steps guide districts to ensuring financial sustainability and designing a complete career lattice. The summary provides a brief overview and graphics that show how pay and career paths work at a glance.