The Opportunity Trust

As we look ahead to the 2024-25 school year - we are excited to see just how much of an impact SB727 will have on the state of quality schools in Missouri. Read this reflection from Kimberly D. Townsend, Ed.D., founder of The Leadership School, published in The St. Louis ARGUS, previewing some of the ways this new legislation will influence our work to ensure every student in Missouri has access to a high-quality school. https://lnkd.in/gm_J5kv5 #MissouriSchools #HighQualitySchools #SB727 #StLouisEducation #StLouisSchools #EducationLeadership

Opportunity Alert! Registration for the Summer Learning Institute hosted by Saint Louis University is now open! Use the link below to learn more and to register for this powerful professional development opportunity featuring sessions on various topics including Response to Intervention Practices, Cultural Proficiency in the Classroom and the Science of Reading. https://lnkd.in/gb39uvBV #ProfessionalDevelopment #StLouisEducators #Teachers #Principals #Interventionists #StLouisEducation #StLouisSchools #EducationLeadership

🎆Happy Independence Day! Today, we reflect on and celebrate the principles inscribed at our nation's birth, notably, unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We know that a high-quality education is a prerequisite to all of this, which is why today we stand even more resolute in our work to ensure such an education is available to all students. Happy 4th of July to all.

We are excited to announce our 2024-2025 Instructional Leadership Bootcamps! Instructional Leadership Bootcamps are designed to provide instructional leaders with the highest-leverage leadership skills – whether technical, or inspirational – that they can immediately apply to improve student achievement and teacher development outcomes at their schools. Each Bootcamp is organized around a topic and is broken down into 2-3 days of in-person and virtual content, facilitated by experts in the field. Participants benefit from multiple rounds of preparation and practice of newly learned skills, with real-time feedback from peers and facilitators. Facilitators will also use data to adapt each Bootcamp to the leadership development needs of the participants. Check out our website to learn more about, and register for, session 1 of the Instructional Leadership Bootcamp: https://lnkd.in/gfhJhpqc #InstructionalLeadership #InstructionalLeadershipBootcamps #STLouisEducators #LeadershipInEducation #ProfessionalDevelopment #StLouisSchools

The St. Louis region has an amazing ecosystem of concerned and invested citizens. Seventeen (17) of these folks took the next step in fulfilling their civic duty by signing up for -- and successfully completing -- our inaugural School Board Fellowship (SBF). These awesome individuals have invested their time and energy in understanding and preparing to serve on a school board and are poised to make an amazing impact. The School Board Fellowship focused on four key things: 1. Building a network of like-minded public education advocates, 2. Learning about the education landscape in St. Louis and how to support public education, 3. Understanding how to be an effective school board member, 4. Supporting our fellows to join a charter school board, run for elected school board, or pursue other opportunities. As one of the fellows reflected, "The group of people in this cohort make me really excited because they are all so engaged, and they all have completely different backgrounds. I am optimistic that we can impact change regionally by taking the time to question and understand where the disparity lies and better understand not just how to address disparity...but how to be more equitable with resources and engagement.“ For more information about our school board fellowship visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gQKP-kJf #SBF #SchoolBoardFellowship #StLouis #Volunteerism #CommunityService #BoardService #Education #STLEducation #StLouisPride #CivicLeadership #SchoolBoardFellowship #SBF #CommunityImpact #EducationLeaders #InvestedCitizens #STLRegionalEducation #BoardGovernance #EquityDriven #LeadershipDevelopment #MakingADifference #CommunityService #JoinTheMovement #EducationAdvocates #LeversforSuccess #EmpoweredCommunities #FellowshipJourney #OpportunityTrust

Check out this insightful interview with Collin Hitt of PRiME Center at Saint Louis University, Quanisha Major of Momentum Academy, and Angela Jackson of KIPP St. Louis that sheds light on the conditions that have led to school improvement and student attainment in St. Louis over the last few years. Join the conversation: how can we as a community ensure these conditions are met across the region to ensure exceptional growth for all students? https://lnkd.in/gMr5KQiu #StudentGrowth #SchoolImprovement #SLUPRiMEGrowthReport #StLouisSchools #STLSchools Missouri Charter Public School Association

Congratulations again to all of our 2024 Educator Award winners. We are so inspired by your accomplishments in culture-building, community engagement, and academic achievement, and we are proud to continue partnering to ensure the every child that calls St. Louis home is prepared to thrive. Check out this recap video of our award ceremony earlier this month, scroll through our feed to congratulate this year’s award winners, and check out our website for more photos and details about our awardees. https://lnkd.in/gvTA6zPV Join us as we turn the page to the 2024-25 school year, together, raising the bar and unlocking untapped possibilities for our students, educators, and schools! #STLEDAWARDS2024 #TOTCELEBRATES #RaisingTheBar2025 Cynthia Brinkley Keith Williamson Eric Scroggins Deitra Colquitt, Ed.S. Steward Stiles III Big Blue Spark

🎊 Last in our celebration, but certainly not least, congratulations to our 2024 Upperclassman of Excellence Award recipient Matthew Norton, from Maplewood-Richmond Hgts. High School. As one of Matthew’s teachers, Mr. Williams remarked: “Matthew is not just a good student… he’s also been able to display a strong and caring character which I think goes far beyond. Matthew has grown immensely and continues to take on and face new challenges. Through all of them, he shows grit and a willingness to step outside his comfort zone.” Matthew recently graduated and plans to attend college to pursue a degree in psychology and social work. Congratulations, Matthew, on this incredible achievement! We are so excited to watch you continue to leverage your tenacity and academic excellence into a bright future for yourself and your community. #STLEDAWARDS2024 #TOTCELEBRATES

🎊 Huge shoutout and congratulations to our Next Prep Student Leader Award recipient Kyra Pendleton. Kyra is a student at Kairos Academies and has taken full advantage of the Next Prep programming. She eagerly attends employer site visits, fully prepared and enthusiastic. She constantly asks what else she can do to prepare for a career in healthcare and has shown great intentionality, determination, and positivity about achieving her goals and creating an incredibly bright future. Check out this interview with Kyra and learn more about the innovative Next Prep program at the link below: https://lnkd.in/gba7Jwci #STLEDAWARDS2024 #TOTCELEBRATES

🎊Congratulations to our Bridge 2 Hope Parent Leadership Award recipient Brianna Roseman! Brianna has proven to be a tenacious advocate who continues to push for quality learning environments for her kids and the community. Always going above and beyond, Bridge 2 Hope staff expressed how Brianna is known for her tenacious research and is constantly looking for more ways to partner with teachers and advocate for her children. She consistently finds the best ways to share her knowledge and explain the importance of being a parent advocate with others. We are beyond excited to honor Brianna as a powerful parent and transformational advocate for our community. Congratulations! #STLEDAWARDS2024 #TOTCELEBRATES Krystal Barnett