When Dr. Tina Lupton and Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones joined the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Opportunity Culture implementation was happening in the midst of COVID. Lupton, the executive director of professional learning, and Barnes-Jones, the area superintendent for a network of 15 transformation schools, used their experience in other…

When Dr. Tina Lupton and Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones joined the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Opportunity Culture implementation was happening in the midst of COVID. Lupton, the executive director of professional learning, and Barnes-Jones, the area superintendent for a network of 15 transformation schools, used their experience in other…

How could far more children ages 0-5 who are in early childhood education and care settings have consistent access to excellent teaching? In these critical developmental years, young children--especially those who have fewer educational and developmental advantages outside of formal settings--need "excellent teaching every year" to…

In the wake of COVID-19, the U.S. pre-K-12 education system needs more than a refresh. Based on the success and popularity of the Opportunity Culture model, in this brief Public Impact recommends the means to bring critical, effective instructional and emotional supports to millions of teachers and their students--for a price tag the country can…

State and district leaders have a chance under ESSA (the 2016 Every Student Succeeds Act) to use their new funding flexibility to take a new approach that focuses on excellence for teachers, and students. This brief explains four opportunities to go beyond the requirements of ESSA to achieve a culture of excellence, one that attracts even more…

Multi-Classroom Leadership is the cornerstone of an Opportunity Culture. Teachers with a record of high-growth student learning and leadership competencies, known as multi-classroom leaders or MCLs, teach part of the time and lead small, collaborative teams of two to eight teachers in the same grade or subject to meet each MCL's standards of…

This toolkit is a companion to the school models provided on OpportunityCulture.org. The school models use job redesign and technology to extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students, for more pay, within budget. Most of these school models create new roles and collaborative teams, enabling all teachers and staff to develop and…

Tonya Kales came to Ashley Park PreK-8 as its principal (2009-2013), and confronted a school at the end of its rope. Ashley Park was a beautiful facility, but there was no learning going on in the building, it was a chaotic environment for both kids and adults. It was a hostile environment--had adults that were totally incompetent in their…

In the schoolhouse, nothing matters more to students' learning than their teachers. But only about one of every four U.S. classrooms has an "excellent teacher"--one who produces enough learning progress to close achievement gaps quickly and help all students leap ahead to higher-order learning. What can schools do, now, to reach many…

This brief shows how middle and high school teachers in a Time-Technology Swap school model, with or without Multi-Classroom Leaders, may earn more while reaching more students, sustainably. In this model, students alternate between learning with teachers and working in a digital learning lab, where they learn online and engage in offline skill…

This toolkit includes these separate sections: (1) Selection Preparation Guide; (2) Day-of-Interview Tools; (3) Candidate Rating Tools; and (4) Candidate Comparison and Decision Tools. Each of the sections is designed to be used at different stages of the selection process. The first section provides turnaround teacher competencies that are the…