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Welcome to this edition of the Opportunity Culture® Newsletter! Opportunity Culture® portal subscribers receive these newsletters automatically as part of their district’s portal benefits (log in here). Not already subscribed to this newsletter? Join our mailing list here!
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NEW STATE DATASchools See 2X–3X Rate of High-Growth Learning with Opportunity Culture® Designs |
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North Carolina schools with Certified Opportunity Culture School® status were two to three times more likely to exceed learning growth expectations than schools not using Opportunity Culture® staffing design, 2024–25 data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shows.
Of all 258 schools with certification, 48% exceeded growth targets, compared with 25% of all schools in the state without these staffing designs.
Of the 222 Title I schools with certification, 43% exceeded growth targets, compared with 21% of Title I schools in the state without these designs.
The certified schools were also significantly less likely to fall short of growth expectations than comparable schools.
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Is your school on the list? See all the certified schools in the country.
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Schools can receive certification from Public Impact®, which created the Opportunity Culture® initiative, by following design standards correlated with high-growth student learning in more than a decade of data. Although Title I schools using Opportunity Culture® designs without certification were also more likely to exceed growth targets and less likely to fall short, the magnitude of differences was far larger for certified schools.
As data suggested in prior years, schools in North Carolina in 2024–25 improved the longer they used Multi-Classroom Leader® (MCL™) teams, and the more students they reached with MCL™ teams.
When using MCL™ teams for at least four years and reaching all students in core subjects, 63% of Title I schools with certification had schoolwide high growth—three times the percentage of other Title I schools in the state.
When reaching all students with MCL™ teams for any length of time, 53% of Title I schools with certification had schoolwide high growth.
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Charlotte schools showed standout results: The first district in the country to use Opportunity Culture® designs, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) will have nearly 180 schools using them this year. In 2024–25, CMS schools with MCL™ teams were substantially more likely to make high growth and less likely to have low growth than in the prior year, compared with other schools in the state. Approximately 70 percent of certified schools in CMS that had used MCL™ teams for at least four years exceeded growth targets.
The standout CMS results came after the district committed to certification in late 2024.
Read more about these outstanding results—and congratulations, North Carolina educators!
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OPPORTUNITY CULTURE® BLOG
Opportunity Culture® Staffing Design Goes to the Senate
Ector County ISD Superintendent Emeritus Scott Muri told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions that Opportunity Culture® teaching teams work, in a September hearing on the state of K–12 education.
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Credit: U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
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“We introduced an opportunity in which our most effective teachers taught for 50% of their day, and then they spent the other 50% of their day embedded in coaching and developing their peers,” said Muri, one of five witnesses at the hearing. “We call that work Opportunity Culture, developed by an organization in North Carolina called Public Impact—powerful results for students for that.”
Among those results, he said: the percentage of high school students considered post-secondary ready jumped from 56% in 2019 to 93% in 2025; the graduation rate was the highest in 23 years; and the district was recognized by Harvard and Stanford for its math and reading gains in the Education Recovery Scorecard. It was one of only four large school districts nationally in which reading and math achievement were higher in 2024 than in 2019, according to the scorecard.
“While the country went down, our students increased,” he said. “And so those investments that we made in children made a difference. And so, as we think about this work today, I would offer some recommendations. One is: Hold our teachers to high standards, and validate and recognize and honor the profession that is teaching, [and] validate, honor, and recognize our principals…educating them, informing them, holding them, molding them, shaping them, and improving them—but valuing them in our society is one of the greatest things that we can do.”
Read more about what Muri and other witnesses said about following examples such as Muri’s former district.
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OPPORTUNITY CULTURE® AUDIOSuperintendents Speak: Choosing to Use Opportunity Culture® Design, on Fast Timeline |
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Principal Uvonda Willis and MCL™ Nadine DeLallo at Greene County Intermediate School.
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MCL™ Stephanie Hopper teaches kindergarten at South Elementary in Roxboro, N.C.
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In the first of an occasional “Superintendents Speak” series, Superintendent Rodney McNeill of Greene County and Superintendent Rodney Peterson of Person County discuss why they chose to use Opportunity Culture® models in their districts, and why they elected to have their districts go through a fast-track design workshop together in the spring, to be able to begin using MCL™ teaching teams in the fall. Both districts feel the pressure of nearby, larger districts—and districts already using these teams—that are able to pay teachers more.
“I want teachers to have more tools in their toolboxes. I want them to teach kids with confidence. I want them to know what good, sound instruction looks like and what it feels like,” McNeill said.
In a bonus video clip, Greene County Principal Uvonda Willis and Person County Principal Whitney Sharlow offer words of advice to other schools considering implementing these models.
Thanks to the educators in these districts who took time to be interviewed! Next up, we’ll be heading to Madison Parish, Louisiana, and Carlsbad, New Mexico, to capture more great Opportunity Culture® happenings.
Listen on Opportunity Culture® Audio or where ever you get your podcasts!
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SUPERINTENDENT OP-ED
To Keep Teachers, Provide a Complete Package, Writes Midland Superintendent
Congratulations to Midland, Texas, Superintendent Stephanie Howard on the publication of her District Administration op-ed, How to keep teachers: Provide a complete package.
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“District leaders say they want to keep great teachers. But how often do actions match the promise?” Howard wrote. “Too often, districts spend far more time doing what it takes to recruit teachers than to retain, equip and empower them. To retain teachers, they need a complete package of preparation, support, career growth and compensation—and now we know how to do just this.”
In Midland, Howard wrote, “we are flipping the teacher retention narrative. Small, empowered teaching teams led by proven educators means daily, hands-on mentoring and coaching—giving every teacher real-time support and a reason to stay.”
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Dr. Stephanie Howard
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OCTOBER HAPPENINGS
This Month in Opportunity Culture® CertificationWe’re thrilled to announce that the self-assertion process for the 2025–26 school year is now open in the Opportunity Culture® portal!
By completing your self-assertion, your school can earn Certified Opportunity Culture School® status—a powerful recognition of your commitment to improving outcomes for both students and educators. Certification also provides valuable data that can support your school’s continuous improvement efforts. As noted above, North Carolina schools with certification were two to three times more likely to exceed learning growth expectations than schools not using Opportunity Culture® staffing design.
We can guide you through the process—join one of our support webinars! Public Impact staff will walk you through each step of self-assertion. Click links below to register!
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This Month in the Opportunity Culture® Portal
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Questions? A quick
clarification? Tech support? We're here for it.
We know that educators wear many hats—mentor, innovator, problem-solver, and guide. That’s why our portal staff is here: to make your journey smoother, your tools more accessible, your questions answered quickly, with easy, accessible support that works as hard as you do.
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Portal subscribers now have access to a help page with various supports, such as steps to get started in the portal, documents to walk you through various processes, FAQs, and direct links to
our tools/resources room and our Shopify site.
The portal also offers:
💬 Live chat: Get real-time answers from knowledgeable team members from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET weekdays!
📧 Email support: Prefer a written exchange? We’ll respond with care and detail.
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No question too big, no detail too
small—just use the help icon in the bottom right corner of the portal, and let us help you move forward with confidence!
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This Month in Leadership Coaching for Executives and Other LeadersOur team has been hard at work supporting educators across North Carolina through leadership coaching for executives and other leaders. We provide targeted support to schools using Opportunity Culture® staffing design, as well as those not yet using the design.
Here’s what some of our recent school partners had to say about the difference this work has made:
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“Over the past two years, I’ve grown the most as an administrator. The DDI planning, data analysis, and observation feedback strategies have directly impacted my teachers’ and students’ success.”
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“The work we’ve done with Public Impact has shaped our school. Our teachers are stronger, our students are achieving more, and
we’ve grown together as a team.”
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“Dynamic presenters, interactive sessions, and real collaboration made these experiences both meaningful and energizing.”
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“These sessions have helped me track my growth, validate my progress, and refine my leadership. I now feel confident that I’m on the right
track.”
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Upcoming Events |
October 2025
9 Office Hours for Teacher-Leaders, 4:05–5:00 p.m. ET | Register*
16 Navigating the OC™ Certification Process, 10:00 a.m. ET | FREE | Register
16 Opportunity Culture® Info Session, 1:00–1:45 p.m. ET | FREE | Register
16 Office Hours for RA™ Paraprofessionals, 4:05–5:00 p.m. ET | Register*
22–23 District-Level Staffing Design Workshop, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET | Register
23 Visit to Carlsbad Municipal School District, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. MT | Register
November 2025
5–6 School-Level Staffing Design Workshop, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET | Register
6 Using Data to Drive Instruction, 4:05–6:00 p.m. ET | Register*
12–13 District-Level Staffing Design Workshop, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET | Register
12 Site Visit to Midland ISD, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. CT | Register
13 Site Visit to Ector County ISD, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. CT | Register
13 Opportunity Culture® Info Session, 1:00–1:45 p.m. ET | FREE | Register
13 Observation and Feedback Using Videos, 4:05–6:00 p.m. ET | Register*
19 Navigating the OC™ Certification Process, 3:00 p.m. ET | FREE | Register
*Educators with Opportunity Culture® portal accounts should log in there to register
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To stay up to date on all Opportunity Culture® happenings—new resources, news stories, new Opportunity Culture® districts, and more—follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Bluesky—and if you’re posting, use #OpportunityCulture, @OppCulture, or @PublicImpact, and we’ll retweet/share your comments!
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The Public Impact® mission is to improve education dramatically for all students—especially students whose needs have not been well met. We are a team of professionals from many backgrounds, including former teachers and principals. We are researchers, thought leaders, tool builders, and on-the-ground consultants who work with leading education reformers. To learn more, please visit www.publicimpact.com.
This newsletter was made possible in part by supporters of the Opportunity Culture® initiative. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of Public Impact®.
© 2025 Public Impact®/Opportunity Culture®
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Public Impact, 405 East Main Street, Carrboro, North Carolina 27510, United States
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