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Public Impact News & Views

Who We Are
Public Impact News & Views

Welcome to our blog, offering news and views from the Public Impact team. Questions or concerns? Contact editor Sharon Kebschull Barrett.

Our most recent blog posts are below. For more, searchable by topic, visit our resource database. To read more posts about our Opportunity Culture initiative, go here.

ICYMI: Opportunity Culture Columns on Class Size, Multi-Classroom Leadership

March 21, 2017
In today’s Education Next, Public Impact Co-Directors Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel take a look at the seductiveness of the concept of reducing class sizes–and why policymakers should resist temptation. “The answer’s pretty simple,” they write. “A large-scale reduction requires hiring massively more teachers, dipping deeper and deeper into the applicant pool. It also reduces the number of students who have excellent teachers—the ones who produce more than a year’s worth of student growth …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: New Series in The 74

March 15, 2017
A decade ago, inspired by the best teachers we’ve known, we formed the seed of an idea — the notion that great teachers, those who induce high-growth learning and strong student thinking skills, could and should have far more power to lead instruction, help colleagues succeed, and innovate to reach more students. For a lot more pay. Why? Because without high-growth learning consistently, students who start behind stay behind. Yet far too few teachers teach at …
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In the News: Opportunity Culture in Indianapolis, NC districts

February 17, 2017
Indianapolis is experimenting with a new kind of teacher — and it’s transforming this school: At School 107 in Indianapolis, Principal Jeremy Baugh said, “We needed to find a way to support new teachers to be highly effective right away.” Chalkbeat covers how Baugh and his staff began using Multi-Classroom Leadership this year to help their students. Historically a low-performing school, with high student and teacher turnover and a high number of English language learners, …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: Scheduled for Success

February 16, 2017
When I became a multi-classroom leader for the exceptional children’s (EC’s) team, I expected to be able to use my 15 years of experience as an EC teacher and dean of students to coach teachers, especially special education teachers, and help them grow. But I quickly discovered that the people who needed support the most were the general classroom teachers who needed to know how to work with students with disabilities when an EC teacher …
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Vance County Becomes 18th Site in National Opportunity Culture Initiative

February 2, 2017
Vance County Schools, based in Henderson, N.C., has joined the national Opportunity Culture initiative to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets. The initiative now includes 18 sites in seven states, including three other N.C. districts. “We are excited about expanding the leadership capacity of our teacher leaders in Vance County and expanding instructional experiences for students here,” said Superintendent Anthony D. Jackson, who joined …
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How 2 Pioneering Blended-Learning Teachers Extended Their Reach

January 24, 2017
What makes blended learning different in an Opportunity Culture? As two pioneering high school teachers in North Carolina show in new vignettes, blended learning gives them a tool to reach 40 to 100 percent more students per class period with great teaching. Students alternated days between classroom instruction with their blended-learning teacher and working from home or in a supervised computer lab. The teachers reached more students on the “off” days, but with class sizes staying …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: A Teacher’s Smart Advice for Serving Students’ Emotional Needs

January 23, 2017
Walking into Grant Middle School in 2014 was very intimidating. How many people would willingly move from a successful middle school in Queens to Syracuse’s largest and notoriously poor-performing middle school? Probably not many, but I was seeking a challenge. And I found one. Grant had a reputation for failing students and ineffective staff. The reality on the ground couldn’t be further from the truth. Grant’s students did not perform well on state assessments, but they …
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Betting on a Brighter Charter School Future for Nevada Students

January 18, 2017
For too many children in and around Las Vegas, getting a great education has been a losing bet. As their Clark County School District exploded to become the country’s fifth-largest district, poor and minority students found themselves shut out of its top schools and concentrated in the county’s lowest-performing district and public charter schools. And what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas: Beyond the consequences for each individual, that poor education hits the wider economy …
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Edgecombe County, NC, “Thrilled” to Join Opportunity Culture Initiative

January 11, 2017
To attract and retain great teachers, Edgecombe County Public Schools, located along the Tar River in flood-ravaged North Carolina, has joined the national Opportunity Culture initiative to extend the reach of excellent teachers and their teams to more students, for more pay, within recurring budgets. The initiative now includes 17 sites in seven states, including three others in North Carolina. “We are thrilled about partnering with Public Impact to bring Opportunity Culture to Edgecombe County Public …
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Free Tools for Teacher-Leaders, Turnaround Principals

January 5, 2017
Start off the new year with support from a large selection of new, free tools from Public Impact. Whether you are leading a teaching team or leading a school—especially one attempting a turnaround—you’ll find tools based on research and the practices of the best Opportunity Culture teacher-leaders and principals nationally. Tools for Multi-Classroom Leaders (and all accountable teacher-leaders!) Co-plan and monitor schoolwide goals, with support from your principal and colleagues: Priority Dashboard–Turnaround Version. Any school can use this …
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Dashboard Shows: As Opportunity Culture Spreads, Teachers, Students Reap Benefits

December 20, 2016
Curious about the impact of an Opportunity Culture? We’ve just updated our dashboard, as we will every year, with the latest statistics. Such as: 110+ schools at 17 sites in 7 states—and growing 34,000+ students taught by teachers extending their reach—a 50 percent increase from 2015–16 1,250+ teachers with advanced roles or on-the-job development—a 50 percent increase, too Average pay supplements over $12,000, up more than $1,300 in one year $3.1 million in …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: For Truly Personalized Learning, I Had to Try, Try Again

November 27, 2016
  After 26 years of teaching, I was the model of a traditional teacher. Class began with review, then new material and cooperative or independent work, then closure. But two years ago, intrigued by my district’s request that I pioneer an Opportunity Culture biology blended-learning class, extending my reach to more students (and for more pay), I took the challenge: Could I learn some new tricks? Yes. Just not the way I expected. –Cabarrus County, N.C., Biology Blended-Learning Teacher …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: Getting the Recipe Right for Teacher Leadership

October 18, 2016
What’s the recipe for an effective system of teacher leadership that can lead to higher student growth? My school, Rocky River Elementary, in Cabarrus County, N.C., ranked at the bottom of student proficiency and student growth in recent years. We clearly needed to cook up something new. So we stirred up equal parts trust-building and capacity-building with student-centered coaching and administrative support, and created a powerful stew that led to meeting student growth goals for the …
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Phoenix-area Districts to Use Opportunity Culture

October 5, 2016
  “I know Opportunity Culture is one of the best strategies we can offer.”–Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools Don Covey Using a $60 million federal grant, Arizona’s Maricopa County Education Service Agency (MCESA) will help at least five small and medium-size Phoenix-area districts and one charter network design and implement Opportunity Culture school models that reach many more students with excellent teachers. Teachers in new, advanced roles will earn substantial pay supplements, which will continue after the …
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Opportunity Culture Voices: My Unexpected Journey to Teacher Leadership

September 20, 2016
“Come join the exciting new initiative at Meachem Elementary. We are pursuing proven strategies to increase student achievement by increasing adult leadership and the capacity to more effectively reach all students; this will assist in raising our test scores, and provide teachers with more support by their peers, smaller reading-group sizes, classroom management support, and interventions using technology that engage students in their academic journey. Join the Opportunity Culture team and take part in this …
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