Public Impact News & Views

For years, my school, Washington Elementary in Big Spring, Texas, struggled to meet all our students’ literacy needs. We group students in tiers, as in the “Response to Intervention” model, but each year we were still left with extremely large groups in Tier II and Tier III — struggling students and chronically struggling students. Each year, we tried to reinvent the wheel to increase our student success, but to no avail — until last year….

For the growing number of Opportunity Culture schools—and schools using accountable teacher leadership and other advanced teaching roles—Public Impact provides a new suite of tools. They guide districts and schools to achieve excellence in teaching and learning with these roles, like the very best Opportunity Culture schools nationally. The tools are based on four years of data that illuminate what school designs and implementation actions work, and what do not, to achieve strong student learning…

Opportunity Culture schools nationally achieve far more schoolwide high growth than comparable schools, on average. How have teachers who reach more students than is typical—directly or by leading teams—gotten that high growth? They pursue instructional excellence fast and well. In new, free online help from Public Impact, we share the critical elements of great teaching and great team leadership. Free of jargon so any school, anywhere can use them, and backed up by experts and…

When you’re not sure where to start, ask your students! Well, not always, but when I came to Charlotte, North Carolina’s James Martin Middle School as a multi-classroom leader in 2014, I felt overwhelmed. I started as the MCL for sixth grade, where for the previous three years the students had been experiencing negative learning growth — falling further and further behind. By my second year, my teaching team’s students exceeded the state’s expected growth…

What does the start of a school turnaround look like? When Mark Johnson left West Charlotte High School as his Teach for America stint ended, he likely could not have imagined a bright future for the school. I arrived a year later, in 2009. The high-poverty, highly segregated school was struggling, and I stayed only one year. But my heart didn’t leave West Charlotte. When I had the chance to return in 2014 and make…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…