Our Approach
We believe that to shift teacher practice at scale, there must be throughline of teaching and learning that connects every layer of the school system. We use an approach to systems-level instructional improvement that builds a coherent throughline from the central office and pedagogical supervisors to teacher teams and their students. Through our work, we pair professional learning with strategic planning supports that aid districts in creating, strengthening, and monitoring learning conditions so that investments in professional learning pay off in improved results.
At its core, our framework includes four fundamental components that have been identified through research and from our own leadership experiences and partnerships. Our approach incorporates:
- Leadership Vision & Commitment: Successful school and district leaders use research as well as district- and school-level data to develop a vision for instructional improvement within each school and across the whole district.
- Change Management Structures: Successful districts empower teachers and school leaders to envision and implement instructional change through the structures and systems they create.
- Intentional Adult Learning Experiences: Successful school districts carefully craft learning experiences for adults.
- Evidence-Based & Student-Focused Decision-Making: Successful school districts build a common language and use data to inform and describe instructional practice and student learning.
We believe that when these elements work in tandem, they effectively create conditions that support and empower teachers and school leaders to coherently improve instructional practices within and across schools. Our process links stakeholders and elements of these components together through a througline to ensure all teams are learning their way through their challenges. This approach successfully translates central policy changes into concrete shifts in educator practice.