Eric.ed.gov – Charlotte, N.C.’s Project L.I.F.T.: One Teacher’s View of Becoming a Paid Teacher-Leader. An Opportunity Culture Case Study

Romain Bertrand is a middle school math teacher and Opportunity Culture enthusiast. As the 2012-13 school year wound down, he was already thoroughly looking forward to the next–when he will become a multi-classroom leader at Ranson IB Middle School, taking accountability for the learning results of 700 students. At Ranson, a Project L.I.F.T. school in Charlotte, N.C., Bertrand sees the opportunities of its new Opportunity Culture–to extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students, for more pay, and develop other teachers–giving him and others exactly the sort of recognition and respect he says teachers now sorely lack. Bertrand grew up in Avignon, in the south of France, the son of teachers who both went on to become principals. After teaching middle school math in France for five years, he came to the U.S. through the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based VIF International Education, which placed him in Charlotte, teaching seventh- and eighth-grade math for five years. Bertrand began working with Teach Charlotte, a six-week summer teaching academy, where he coached teachers, which prepared him for his current job at Ranson IB Middle School as a facilitator. That led to his role on the school design team at Ranson, tasked with redesigning the school to implement an Opportunity Culture in the 2013-14 year. This article presents an interview with Romain Bertrand.