- Ector County Independent School District
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Opportunity Culture
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Opportunity Culture
What Could You Do in an Opportunity Culture?
Opportunity Culture
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Ector County ISD strategically utilizes Opportunity Culture, an innovative approach to staffing that multiplies the impact of highly effective teachers, thereby improving student performance. Opportunity Culture also enhances efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified instructors by offering career advancement opportunities, sustainable higher pay, and on-the-job professional development and support. Bringing Opportunity Culture to the Permian Basin is a result of partnerships with Public Impact, US PREP, and the University of Texas Permian Basin.
In the national Opportunity Culture initiative, founded by Public Impact, districts build complete career ladders that allow teachers to advance without having to leave the classroom. In ECISD the ladder goes from full-year, paid teacher residencies up through multi-classroom leadership.
The Multi-Classroom Leader, or MCL, heads a powerful team of teachers, advanced paraprofessionals, and teacher residents. MCLs provide intensive, day-to-day support, collaboration, and professional development to all members of the team – which helps with recruiting and retaining staff. Opportunity Culture works within the existing school budget to pay teacher-leaders more, making pay supplements sustainable. Student performance improves as highly effective teachers collaborate and reach more students every day.
One other critical feature of our Permian Basin initiative is the creation of paid residencies for teacher candidates to help strengthen the pipeline of highly-trained teachers entering the profession. This work will be a model for districts and educator preparation providers nationwide.
20 ECISD Campuses Employ Opportunity Culture:
A team of teachers and administrators at each of these schools will design its own unique Opportunity Culture structure that best meets the needs of their students and staff.
Teachers benefit. Students benefit. Our community benefits.
Available Roles for Opportunity Culture
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Multi-Classroom Leader (MCL)
The Multi-Classroom Leader teaches for part of the day, and leads a small team of teachers, paraprofessionals, and teacher residents in the same grade or subject. The MCL co-plans, co-teaches, models, coaches, and gives feedback. All Levels. Stipend = $15,000-$17,000.
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Master Team Reach Teacher (MTRT)
An MTRT serves on an MCL’s team, directly teaching more students than usual, but typically without raising instructional group sizes. MTRTs also help the MCL lead a larger team (e.g., by coaching part of the team) and/or reach significantly more students than other teachers. With guidance from the team’s MCL, MTRTs plan and deliver instruction for multiple classes in a school where students rotate between face-to-face learning with the teacher and digital or offline learning supervised by a paraprofessional known as a reach associate or a teacher resident. All Levels. Stipend = $12,000.
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Team Reach Teacher (TRT)
The TRT directly teaches more students than usual, but typically without raising instructional group sizes. With guidance from the team’s MCL, the TRT plans and delivers instruction for multiple classes in a school where students rotate between face-to-face learning with the teacher and digital or offline learning supervised by a paraprofessional known as a reach associate or a teacher resident. While one class of students is with a reach associate, the TRT teaches another class of students, focusing on delivering personalized and enriched instruction. All Levels. Stipend = $8,000-10,000 (depending on level of duties).
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Reach Associate (RA)
The RA, a classroom aide position, provides both instructional and noninstructional support to a team of teachers, as designated by the team’s MCL. (S)he works closely with the teacher to complete various administrative tasks and noninstructional paperwork. (S)he manages procedures and supervises student behavior during transitions, lunch, recess, assemblies, and other unstructured activities, and while teacher(s) deliver instruction. In some schools, (s)he aids instruction by supervising time on projects, skills practice, and digital learning, and/or by instructing students in small groups or individually. All activities are directed by the multi-classroom leader or team reach teachers. All Levels. Education Aide Pay Grade 5.
Teacher Support in an Opportunity Culture
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