New from Public Impact and the Center on Reinventing Public Education:How could the best aspects of learning pod staffing be scaled up? “Pandemic pods” created new opportunities for adults interested in supporting children’s education. In these pods—established by families, school districts, and microschools—teachers had the chance to work with much smaller groups of students than […]
Arkansas, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina School Systems Join National Opportunity Culture Initiative
Eleven school districts and a charter management organization in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas are the latest to join the national Opportunity Culture initiative, led by Public Impact, which extends the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets. Some sites also include yearlong, paid residencies […]
Annual Opportunity Culture Dashboard 2021-22 Update: Opportunity Culture Growth—By the Numbers
As districts seek innovations to bolster student academics and bring support and joy to students and teachers, the Opportunity Culture model continues to spread and produce results, even in another challenging pandemic year. Each year, Public Impact analyzes Opportunity Culture data to improve its materials and its work with schools and districts. With the overarching […]
Research Maps Supports Needed to Sustain Learning Pods
When Covid forced students to learn from home in spring 2020, families were left largely on their own to figure out how to fill the gaps in school structure and supports, leading to the emergence of learning pods. Some of these small learning communities continued into fall 2021, either because of continued pandemic uncertainty or […]
New on the Opportunity Culture Blog: Keeping Kentucky’s Teachers; Hear & Read Principals Reflect
Don’t miss the latest posts on the Opportunity Culture website! Keeping Kentucky’s Teachers: How Opportunity Culture Roles Could Help When the Northern Kentucky Tribune took a look at why schools struggle to retain teachers, Data Editor Jan Hillard noted several “best-practice solutions,” including Opportunity Culture models. Hillard highlighted Opportunity Culture roles, such as Multi-Classroom Leadership, as a way to improve […]
January Opportunity Culture Newsletter: Connect with Your OC Community & Share Strategies!
The January Opportunity Culture newsletter includes opportunities for community, a reflection from educators on continued pandemic challenges, tools and videos for educators, Opportunity Culture news, and more. Featured stories include: “Everybody is Traumatized”: Opportunity Culture Fellows on Keeping On By Sharon Kebschull Barrett, January 25, 2022 With ongoing Covid-related stresses this year, many Opportunity Culture educators […]
Upcoming Events with Public Impact Leadership
The Opportunity Culture Model: Public Impact Co-President Bryan Hassel will be a featured expert at the Next Education Workforce Summit, February 2–3, hosted by Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Read his Q&A where he discusses the Opportunity Culture initiative. Trends in the Teacher Workforce: Tune in to an online panel February 23 moderated by Public Impact Senior […]
New Report: The Impact and Outcomes of Full-Day Kindergarten
In a state where only 42 percent of kindergartners scored at or above grade level on the state’s Reading Indicator in fall 2020, the need for more and better early education is clear. Research shows that attending full-day kindergarten boosts students’ academic outcomes, self-confidence, and ability to work and play with other children. Yet Idaho […]
Tuesday Webinar to Address Innovations in Curricula and Professional Learning Post-Covid
Public Impact Co-President Bryan Hassel will join a panel on Tuesday, November 2, on “Learning at Home and in the Classroom: Innovation in Curricula & Professional Learning,” hosted by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. Hassel will share how Opportunity Culture roles can help with teacher shortages, what professional development looks like on Opportunity Culture multi-classroom […]
Multiple Groups Recommend Opportunity Culture Models as a Covid Recovery Strategy
As districts continue to cope with a drawn-out end to the pandemic and worsening staff shortages, education research groups, advocacy organizations, and state and federal offices have publicized strategies for Covid recovery—with many suggesting Opportunity Culture models as one strategy to consider. U.S. Department of Education, Strategies for Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Address the […]
Researchers Report Strong Student Learning Results in Texas Opportunity Culture District
Researchers from Texas Tech University report that students served by Opportunity Culture multi-classroom leader teaching teams achieved learning growth in the top quartile teamwide, on average, according to their study of the Ector County Independent School District’s first Opportunity Culture year. The district asked the researchers to conduct an independent review of its first eight Opportunity Culture […]
Growing Opportunity Culture Residencies in Texas
Bringing a fresh approach to teacher training, five more Texas school districts will be providing yearlong, paid teacher residencies on teaching teams led by excellent teachers in the 2021–22 school year, by implementing Opportunity Culture roles in partnership with local universities and US PREP National Center (University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation). The national Opportunity Culture initiative, led […]