Instructional Framework
Environment & Culture
Environment and Culture intentionally shapes the physical space, relational practices, shared mindsets, and expectations to create a learning environment where all learners feel a true sense of belonging.
We believe:
- Intentionally designed spaces foster agency and empower learners.
- Communication and collaboration are essential skills to develop an inclusive learning environment.
- Teaching a growth mindset requires modeling and practice in spaces where it is safe to make mistakes and
- embrace challenges.
- Teaching and modeling high expectations for behavior and learning creates a positive learning environment.
- Identity-safe environments are foundational for a sense of belonging.
Key actions:
- Classroom Design: Intentionally design a physical space that is organized to facilitate student belonging, cooperative learning, and engagement.
- Relational Practices: Explicitly teach, model, and build interpersonal communication skills that are rooted in empathy.
- Growth Mindset: Demonstrate resilience and a commitment to continuous learning by
embracing mistakes and using each experience as an opportunity for growth. - Expectations: Explicitly teach, reinforce, and sustain high expectations through classroom management for engagement.
- Inclusivity: Create and sustain culturally responsive and inclusive practices to foster identity-safe environments.
Resources:
Intentional Lesson Planning
Intentional Lesson Planning designs inclusive learning experiences that incorporate evidence-based practices, clear goals, and embedded supports to meet the needs of all learners.
We believe:
- Intentionally designing lessons creates a clear focus and maximizes meaningful instructional time.
- Lesson planning lays the groundwork for student curiosity, collaboration, and joy for learning.
- Effective, equitable, and evidence-based practices strengthen learner outcomes.
- Teachers must plan for learner variability.
- Collaborating with colleagues ensures alignment and fosters collective efficacy.
Key actions:
- Holistic Knowledge of Students: Build deep knowledge of students’ academic, social, and emotional needs to
inform lesson design. - Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Recognize, respect, and use students’ cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives as meaningful assets.
- Standards Alignment: Align to grade-level standards and have clear language and content objectives.
- Backward Design: Identify learning outcomes, determine evidence of learning, and plan instructional activities that require students to critically think and apply learning.
- Viable, Rigorous Curriculum: Understand and effectively implement key components of adopted curricula to promote coherent, equitable, and high quality instruction.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Partner across roles and disciplines to support student success.
Resources:
Teaching and Delivery
Teaching and Delivery is the implementation of evidence-based and culturally responsive practices to engage all learners in rigorous learning experiences that foster academic, social, and emotional growth.
We believe:
- Instruction is student-centered, flexible, and reflects the joy and curiosity of learning.
- Setting high expectations, while maintaining strong, supportive relationships, allow learners to thrive.
- Leveraging funds of knowledge and lived experiences promotes meaningful engagement.
- Teaching and learning is a collaborative process facilitated by educators that cultivates resilience and
critical thinking in students.
Key actions:
- Direct and Explicit Instruction: Implement direct instruction by activating background knowledge and providing clear modeling and objectives through gradual release of responsibility.
- Active Student Engagement: Promote active student engagement by providing multiple access points, varied participation methods, meaningful student voice and choice, and celebrations of growth.
- Timely Feedback: Offer ongoing checks for understanding that provide timely and action-oriented feedback on learning progress highlighting how students can improve.
- Academic Language Development: Develop academic language by modeling vocabulary and providing scaffolded opportunities for reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Complexity and Inquiry: Facilitate rigorous learning through questioning, critical thinking, collaboration, complex problem-solving, authentic hands-on opportunities, and application of knowledge.
- Ownership & Agency: Provide opportunities for students to advocate for their own learning needs by setting goals, persevering through challenges, reflecting, and celebrating progress.
Resources:
Assess, Reflect and Adjust
Assess, Reflect and Adjust is an ongoing process of measuring student growth using varied methods, analyzing results, and adapting instruction to better support student progress towards grade-level standards.
We believe:
- All students are capable of learning and growing.
- All educators are change agents who have a responsibility to ensure the growth and success of every student.
- Assessment informs impact and next steps as a teacher.
- Diverse methods of assessment honor the strengths, challenges, and progress of all learners.
- Assessments ensure equitable outcomes for students by identifying needs and informing targeted, responsive instruction.
- Sharing progress data with families strengthens partnership and student success.
Key actions:
- Data Informed Practices and Grading: Use diverse formative and summative assessments that are attached to a clear success criteria and are aligned to learning goals to inform instruction.
- Feedback: Provide timely, actionable feedback to students, staff, and families.
- PLCs & Collaboration: Analyze, reflect, respond to common assessment data, and measure progress to inform instructional decisions.
- Differentiation: Differentiate instruction by using assessment data to identify when to intervene, provide targeted supports, or extend learning opportunities—ensuring all students are challenged and supported.
- Variety of Assessments: Utilize universal screeners, diagnostics tools, progress monitoring, and formative and summative assessments to inform instructional practice.
Resources:
