On March 23rd, Whitney hosted a webinar about the ARC Core curriculum featuring users of the curriculum. Speakers included: Whitney Oakley, Chief Academic Officer, Guilford County Schools (NC) James Hopkins, Principal, Durham Public Schools (NC) Taylor Milburn, Literacy Coach, Durham Public Schools (NC) Phamalae Cummings, Multi-Classroom Leader, Guilford County Schools (NC) Each of the speakers […]
It’s curriculum adoption season, and like clockwork, we have begun to get inquiry emails. As early adopters of high-quality instructional materials, we are frequently asked for our insights about our curricula, which we are happy to share. Knowing that many district are seeking more info, we decided to hold a series of ‘Meet the Curriculum’ […]
Educators across the country are rightfully concerned about addressing racism in our school systems. What does this work mean for our reading instruction? Please join Nakia Hardy and Alfred Tatum for a discussion about antiracist instruction in English Language Arts, including an open conversation about this work in districts across the country. Which instructional practices […]
How are districts adapting curricula to respond to the need for more culturally-responsive materials? Three of our colleagues have been very focused on this question in recent years, and they have common goals yet distinct journeys. For example, in Guilford County, a central group of teacher leaders led the work, while school-based teams have pioneered […]
Curriculum adoption season has arrived! Each year, we get loads of questions about curriculum selection and implementation. This year, we decided to answer those questions publicly. On January 7th, three of our colleagues – who use three different high-quality curricula in their districts – will discuss today’s ELA curriculum landscape in a webinar. What are […]
Brian Kingsley, Janise Lane, and Robin McClellan were spotlighted in a recent report by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on high-quality professional learning, and we think it makes an excellent conversation-starter! Our teams describe the professional learning aspect of our curriculum work as incredibly empowering and enlightening. Elements of Curriculum-Based Professional Learning explains How […]
With renewed attention to concerns about the Teachers College Reading Workshop Program, many districts are considering a switch to materials that better align to reading research. Given the popularity of the workshop model with some educators, we often hear common questions about this change, including: How can I persuade teachers who are fond of the […]
Our districts have been on a multi-year journey to bring the ‘science of reading’ into practice, and to move away from balanced literacy approaches. Today, our students receive daily and systematic phonics instruction in K–2, acquire knowledge and vocabulary from texts in each grade, and all work with texts at grade level. How did we […]
We have never needed our friends more than in 2020! Our ‘squad’ has been convening for check-ins, which have been a mix of social and professional. It always starts social, but as we get into sharing, we find ourselves swapping resources and advice which are beneficial in our work. As the community around high-quality curriculum […]
When we met this summer to collaborate and swap ideas, we kept returning to the same topic: synchronous versus asynchronous. How would we optimize instruction across these two modalities, given our different (and evolving) school reopening plans? Which forms of teaching and learning were friendliest to each approach? These are essential questions as we shift […]
