Our work with school and district leaders is grounded in education leadership and school improvement research and provides a roadmap for leading instructional change for improved student outcomes. Our goal is to facilitate the work of leadership teams as they identify and communicate the vision, intentionally nurture the culture, and support efforts through mutual accountability. Our seven phases of school improvement are not discrete or linear but rather iterative and interdependent.
Phase 1: Creating the Literacy Vision
At the outset, leadership must visualize and articulate the end destination. During this process, it is important to assess where we are, establish goals and expectations, and define success criteria by which to measure progress. A variety of voices must be heard to ensure a vision that is inclusive and equitable. Once established, plans must be laid for communicating the vision regularly to stakeholders and ensuring all are doing their part to meet the goals.
Phase 2: Establishing the Foundation
We want to set teachers up for success by starting the work with a three-day Foundations training. During this time, teachers are actively engaged in deeply understanding comprehensive literacy and their responsibility for ensuring that students have opportunities every day in every class to engage in reading, writing, speaking, and listening using content vocabulary because that is how we learn. Teachers learn about research-based instructional strategies by participating in them as students would and then reflecting on how they will implement them in their classrooms. We also introduce our Thinking & Learning Framework, which we have identified as the twelve practices that foster building community, contributing knowledge, and thinking critically.
Phase 3: Coaching for Success
While the expectations for implementation are the same for all, the starting point and comfort level are different. Teachers must be supported as they engage in this work by meeting them where they are. For this reason, our coaching supports are adapted to the needs of the teacher and the school. We provide one-on-one coaching to include co-planning, classroom modeling, student work analysis, and observations with pre-observation and post-observation coaching conversations. Coaching small groups, such as PLCs or cross-content teams, is also effective for driving instructional change and can focus on collaborative planning, lesson refinement, student work and team data analysis, curriculum alignment, and backward planning.
Phase 4: Literacy Leadership
The work of the Literacy Leadership Team (LLT) does not end with visioning. This team convenes regularly to gather data, determine next steps, identify needed resources, calibrate messaging, and monitor mutual accountability processes. They ensure all decisions align with the established vision. By expanding the definition of who is a literacy leader through inclusion on the LLT, leadership is distributed, and capacity is built to empower teachers to effect positive change in their spheres of influence.
Phase 5: On-going Learning
We know that achieving desired instructional change is a process and professional learning should be embedded and ongoing to facilitate that process. As new information is gathered through classroom walkthroughs, coaching, and PLCs, learning sessions can be customized to address identified needs in a timely manner. As teachers get new information, they deepen their understanding of the power of comprehensive literacy for student learning, and lesson planning and delivery improve. When they see success in their students, they are encouraged to build on that momentum.
Phase 6: Build Community
We believe that this work, when aligned with the vision and done with purpose, contributes to building a positive, focused sense of community in the school. Teachers know they are supported through the process with coaching and relevant, responsive professional learning. They become comfortable sharing successes and failures with colleagues and learning from each other. They understand the power of common language and expectations across the school. Ultimately they begin to recognize the profound impact they can have on student learning through improved individual and collective efficacy.
Phase 7: Impacting a Student’s Daily Experience
The end goal, of course, is to positively impact students. As their daily classroom experiences become more intentionally student-centered, interactive, and engaging, students eventually adapt, appreciate, and rise to higher expectations. They are given opportunities to think more deeply, craft deeper responses, and support their ideas by applying content knowledge. When every student has exceptional learning experiences in every class every day, their dispositions toward school and learning are transformed.