In 2009, Public Impact, a national education policy and management firm, published a paper calling for more teachers to have paid, advanced roles while continuing to teach, in order to reach all students with excellent teaching. In 2012–13, the first two districts in the nation designed their Opportunity Culture models, adhering to five Opportunity Culture Principles, which call for teams of teachers and school leaders to choose and tailor models to:

1. Reach more students with excellent teachers and their teams

2. Pay teachers more for extending their reach

3. Fund pay within regular budgets

4. Provide protected in-school time and clarity about how to use it for planning, collaboration, and development

5. Match authority and accountability to each person’s responsibilities.

Researchers from the Brookings Institution and American Institutes of Research found large student learning gains associated with Multi-Classroom Leadership. Teachers who were on average at the 50th percentile in student learning gains, who then joined teams led by teacher-leaders known as Multi-Classroom Leaders, or MCLs (who had prior high growth as teachers), produced learning gains equivalent to those of teachers from the 75th to 85th percentile in math, and, in six of the seven statistical models, from 66th to 72nd percentile in reading. Teams had a median of five teachers in addition to the MCL.

The Opportunity Culture initiative continues to add sites every year; see OpportunityCulture.org for a complete list and results. North Carolina, New York, Indiana, Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Arizona, and Georgia are among the states with participating districts.

We believe that the teacher in the classroom has the most impact on a student’s performance, so we implemented Opportunity Culture as a way to recruit, develop, retain, and reward excellent teachers. Teachers consistently say that they long to make more of an impact, have leadership opportunities that do not take them out of the classroom, and be paid commensurate with their level of responsibility and impact on students. Opportunity Culture addresses all of this. We also focus on supporting and developing our teachers, and an Opportunity Culture makes consistent, personalized, on-the-job, weekly or even daily support possible.

The district provides intensive summer training facilitated by Public Impact and guest facilitators from Opportunity Culture schools. Additionally, the district provides professional development throughout the school year, including sessions on specific topics related to each role, as well as monthly meetings with the district to discuss successes and challenges in the roles.

The Reach Associate role is an advanced paraprofessional role. Reach Associates take on greater levels of responsibility to support teachers with instruction. They are expected to support student learning through various activities, such as leading small groups, working with students one on one, and managing larger groups of students, while the lead teacher (such as a Multi-Classroom Leader or Team-Reach teacher) works with individuals or small groups. While working with students, Reach Associates often reteach concepts to students who have not mastered a skill, or extend and enrich instruction for students who are ready to move forward. Reach Associates also must have some classroom management skills to supervise students independently. Reach Associates do not create lesson plans, but implement plans created by the lead teacher. They may provide input for lesson plans based on their observations and data gathered on student performance. The Reach Associate role may be played by a Teacher Resident who is obtaining a degree or certification while working.

Expanded Impact Teachers on a Multi-Classroom Leader’s team directly teach more students than usual, but typically without raising instructional group sizes. Students rotate among teachers and paraprofessionals (“Reach Associates”) or Teacher Residents, who may tutor individuals and small groups and supervise skills practice, project work, and limited age-appropriate digital instruction. Teachers use their face-to-face teaching time for higher-order learning and personalized follow-up, often using small-group instruction. In elementary schools, teachers may specialize by subject.

Unlike most coaches, Multi-Classroom leaders are fully accountable for the results of all the students assigned to them and their team— while they continue to teach as well. Unlike many coaches/facilitators, MCLs lead small teams—typically two to five, although advanced MCLs may lead teams of six to eight. This gives them the protected, in-school time to provide the on-the-job guidance, co-planning, help with data analysis, and feedback that is a hallmark of the support in an Opportunity Culture. Additionally, many MCLs help select their teammates, help them advance in their own careers, and help principals lead instructional excellence schoolwide. Finally, additional pay for this advanced role does not depend on grants.

Busy and rewarding! An MCL’s day may include direct instruction with students, co-teaching, coaching, modeling instruction for teachers, planning with teachers, data analysis, observation, and feedback. MCLs are granted a lot of schedule flexibility, but expected to plan their schedules carefully to focus on what will make the most impact on student achievement. Take a look at the video below for an example of an MCL's day.

Great support is a hallmark of Opportunity Culture schools. Multi-classroom leaders get intensive training before the school year begins on how to lead their teams, with on-the-job training and development, and a schedule dedicated to collaborative time for planning, coaching, and support.

Opportunity Culture roles are chosen by a team of teachers and administrators at each school. Each school’s design team will choose and tailor the roles that fit the school best, design an innovative schedule, and determine how to pay for the roles.

There is a rigorous selection process that focuses on competencies, taking into account our mission and school fit. It includes a pre-screening that considers your submitted data that shows your record of success with student achievement, followed by interviews from leaders of a specific school.