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In order to realize the promise of innovative teaching models at the student level, school and district leaders must establish system-level conditions such as Essential Supports that allow educators to implement the design for students, Enabling Systems and Structures that lower barriers for implementation and accelerate uptake, and Ongoing Processes to align and improve. Learn more about our Innovative Learning Implementation Framework and explore strategies, advice, and tools below.

Framework graphic showing Conditions for Success and Scale; a three-part diagram with a student at the center, labeled "Teaching & Learning Model," surrounded by a large green circle split into 4 parts: Learning Materials & Tools, Community & Culture, Student Support Programming, and Professional Development & Learning. This is further surrounded by a thinner turquoise circle, split into several parts: Policies, Talent Systems, Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, Physical Environment, Time, Finance and Resourcing, Technology and Data Infrastructure, and Communications. The outermost circle is split into the following parts: Systems Visioning, Planning and Project Management, Continuous Improvement, Designing for Equity, and Change Management. The Conditions are as follows: innermost circle- Essential Supports, middle circle- Enabling Systems & Structures, outermost circle-Ongoing Processes.
Learning Materials & Tools
  • Core Curriculum
  • Supplemental Curriculum
  • Digital Curriculum
  • Assessments
  • Software Selection
  • Open Educational Resources
  • Digital Citizenship
Professional Development & Learning
  • Onboarding
  • Professional Development
  • Technology Training
  • Coaching
  • Content Area Training
  • Pedagogy
Student Support Programming
  • Comprehensive Student Development
  • Social-Emotional Learning
  • Physical Health
  • Mental Health
  • Identity Development
Community & Culture
  • Student Culture
  • Staff Culture
  • Systems Building
  • Parent Engagement
  • Community Engagement

Select Practice Area

Community & Culture

Establishing and developing ties to the community and culture can help innovative schools foster environments centered on inclusiveness, innovation, and productive relationships. Creating explicit and implicit practices, norms, rules, and ways of working across students, staff, families, and communities at large can support this complex work.

Below, find strategies and resources for:

  • Student Culture
  • Staff Culture
  • Systems Building
  • Parent Engagement
  • Community Engagement
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Technology & Data Infrastructure
  • Technology Infrastructure
  • Connectivity
  • Hardware
  • Procurement
  • Network Systems
  • Data Infrastructure
  • Data Interoperability
  • Data Privacy & Security
Finance & Resourcing
  • Budgets
  • Finance Modeling
Physical Environment
  • Flexible Classroom
  • Physical Layout
  • Safety
Talent Systems
  • Leadership Pipeline
  • Teacher Pipeline
  • Staffing Model
  • Human Resource Systems
Communications
  • Communications Planning
  • Public Relations
 Time
  • School Schedule
  • Structure of the Day
 Research, Measurement, & Evaluation
  • Pilot Structure
  • Program Evaluation
  • Research
  • Learning
  • Measurement
  • Dissemination
 Policies
  • State Policy
  • District Policy
  • School Policy
  • Data Privacy Policy

Select Practice Area

Community & Culture

Establishing and developing ties to the community and culture can help innovative schools foster environments centered on inclusiveness, innovation, and productive relationships. Creating explicit and implicit practices, norms, rules, and ways of working across students, staff, families, and communities at large can support this complex work.

Below, find strategies and resources for:

  • Student Culture
  • Staff Culture
  • Systems Building
  • Parent Engagement
  • Community Engagement
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Visioning
  • Strategy Development
  • Vision Development
  • Leadership Decisions
Planning & Project Management
  • Planning
  • Project Management
  • Implementation
Change Management
  • Leadership Development
  • Leadership Choices
 Continuous Improvement
  • Program Capture
  • Program Codification
Designing for Equity
  • Equity Framing & Focus
  • Co-Design with Stakeholders
  • Analysis & Reflection

Select Practice Area

Community & Culture

Establishing and developing ties to the community and culture can help innovative schools foster environments centered on inclusiveness, innovation, and productive relationships. Creating explicit and implicit practices, norms, rules, and ways of working across students, staff, families, and communities at large can support this complex work.

Below, find strategies and resources for:

  • Student Culture
  • Staff Culture
  • Systems Building
  • Parent Engagement
  • Community Engagement
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  • Sub-topics
    • Student Culture
    • Staff Culture
    • Systems Building
    • Parent Engagement
    • Community Engagement
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Hybrid and In-Person Re-Entry Resources

Tools to ensure a safe and supported re-entry to school
Map of icons linked together with arrows, conveying a network of ideas in education

Guide: Communications Planning for Innovation in Education

A how-to guide with real-world district examples and tools
Discussion group sits in circle

KIPP Massachusetts

Capturing Teachers’ Thoughts on Technology Usage

Providing opportunities for educators to share their perspective on technology through focus groups
Close-up on a handshake

Trailblazer Elementary School

Trailblazer Communications Plan

Creating Transparency and "Seeing is Believing" Tours
A woman wearing glasses engages in conversation with another person at a table.

Supporting Balance for Remote Teaching Staff

Helping educators and other staff find balance in the workplace
Student works on laptop, sitting at home desk

Highline Public Schools

Highline Virtual Academy's Approach to Student Expectations and Engagement in Virtual Learning

How one virtual program addressed student participation and discourse through expectations
Two students work side-by-side at table on laptops, smiling

Collecting Data in Pursuit of Equity

“If you start at the classroom level, the system can’t see itself.” (Lisa Williams)
Two women seated at a table, examining papers together.

Recruitment, Hiring, and Onboarding in Remote Learning

Considerations for equitable and inclusive recruitment, hiring, and onboarding practices for teachers and leaders in remote settings.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools

Technical Support Centers for Families

Creating technical support centers to support students and families during remote learning
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Activity: Making Sense of Empathy Interviews

Tell stories and find themes from empathy interviews
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Lindsay High School

Adult Wellbeing in Schools

Understanding and measuring the wellbeing of leaders, educators, and staff
A diverse group of individuals engaged in discussion, sitting around a table.

DEI Discussion Groups

Facilitating DEI-related work among teammates using discussion groups or book clubs
Family uses laptop together, smiling

Madison Promise Online Program

Madison Promise Online Program's Approach to Communication

How one virtual school engaged families and set expectations for virtual and hybrid learning
Teacher stands behind student on laptop at desk, looking over student's shoulder as she speaks

Advice: Device Expectations

Establish clear rules and procedures for devices
A woman talking to another woman in an office while the second woman writes down notes

Leveraging Disciplinary Data to Advocate for Students

Using data on disciplinary events to advocate for equitable practices
A woman and a girl sitting at a table with a laptop

Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School

Gathering Family Feedback on Edtech Usage

Strengthening the home-school connection through awareness, accessibility, and technical training around edtech tools
Teacher sits with student at desk, looking down at work, overlaid by purple gradient text and a logo for the Foundation for Excellence in Education

Advice: Communicating about Competency-Based Learning

A state policy messaging toolkit
Two men engaged in conversation outside a building.

Relationship and Conflict Management Coaching Strategies

Building a conflict management strategy in service of improved teaching
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Leveraging Community Engagement to Solve Complex Problems

Step-by-step guidance to engaging the community in support of K-12 transformation
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Monterey Peninsula Unified School District

Community Cares Program

Building deep partnership to ensure students experiencing homelessness have a place to learn during virtual school days
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Meriden Public Schools

Building Multilingual Systems of Support and Engagement for Parents/Guardians

Providing multilingual support to engage parents/guardians in their child’s remote learning experience
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Driving EdTech Systems: Racial Equity

Equitable edtech systems promote racial equity
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Meriden Public Schools

Ongoing District and Union Partnership Meetings

Monthly meetings between district leaders and teacher and administrator union representatives
A hand holds wooden blocks inscribed with the words belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity.

The Challenges of Remote DEI Work

Considerations for engaging in DEI work in remote and hybrid schools
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Meriden Public Schools

Building a Partnership with Local Community College To Increase Access to Learning Opportunities

Exchanging classroom space for college courses
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Meriden Public Schools

Forging Partnership with Neighboring District To Share Resources

Partnering with a neighboring school district to share resources
Student works with parent, smiling at laptop

NYC School Without Walls

NYC School Without Walls' Approach to Student and Family Engagement

How one hybrid program fostered student and family engagement in a virtual setting
Person sits at a table with others, taking notes in notebook, inside bright room

Activity: Identity Reflection Through Noticing

Notice the experiences, identities, and values that each person brings to a team
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Driving EdTech Systems: Engaging Stakeholders

Powerful edtech systems consistently engage stakeholders
An man and his daughter looking at a tablet computer.

Accessing Student Data as a Family or Community Member for Advocacy

How family or community members can use student data for equitable advocacy
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Cedar Rapids Community School District

Building Consistency in Family Engagement Through Common Process and Tools

Quarterly family phone calls to surface needs
One person leads a discussion, holding paper in his hand and gesturing toward it with a pen while others look on

Activity: Reflect on Equity in Your Pilot

Take time to step back and ensure that your solution has the desired impact
A man seated, thinking, with a laptop on the desk.

Take a Decision Pause

Building in intentional time to engage in thoughtful decision-making
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Ector Country Independent School District

County-Wide Response Meetings

Building a network of leaders county-wide to share information and coordinate
Meeting of people convenes at large conference table, people talking amongst each other

Activity: Reflect on Equity in Your Process

Take time to step back and reflect on how equitable your design process has been
Photo of group of students working on laptops at classroom table

Lindsay High School

Lindsay Unified's Community Wi-Fi

Establishing community-wide Wi-Fi to enable 24/7 access for all Learners
A man and a woman seated across from each other, with the woman holding a laptop on her lap, having a conversation.

Collect Feedback on Work and Teaching Processes

Collecting feedback can signify a school or system’s commitment to success
Several people of different backgrounds joining hands.

DEI Internal Change Team

Creating a team of internal stakeholders to facilitate sustainable DEI work
A woman seated, listening to another woman talk, both are sitting across from each other.

Embrace Conflict With Proactive Checkpoints

Make space for addressing interpersonal dynamics
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Metro Nashville Public Schools

High-Dosage Tutoring

Utilizing community partnerships to provide one-on-one tutoring to students
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Activity: Build a Shared Commitment to Change

Clarify your purpose for embarking on design work
Student smiles at laptop screen

West Chester Area School District's Cyber Program

West Chester Area School District's Approach to Mastery and Expectations

How a virtual/hybrid program addressed student mastery and expectations around rigor for virtual learning
A woman sitting at a table in front of a group of parents and students

Gill-Montague Regional School District

Engaging Spanish-Speaking Families to Strengthen Edtech Implementation

Partnering with family liaisons to increase engagement and use of family-facing edtech tools
Teacher stands in front of classroom, pointing to paper in his hand as students look on

Lovett Elementary School

Lovett’s Approach to Communications

Communications needs and goals evolved along with instruction
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Meriden Public Schools

ParentSquare for Two-Way Communication

A tool for two-way parent/guardian and school communication
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Meriden Public Schools

Career Academy Vocational School Partnership

Offering high school students vocational training
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Remote Learning: Planning for Improvement

Power Moves for Remote Learning
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Colorado Springs School District 11

"Listening Sessions" for Building Trust and Open Communication

A monthly community forum hosted by central office staff on Facebook Live
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Holmes Elementary School

Class Dojo Dollars

Amplify Dojo incentives with a classroom economy.
A man sitting at a desk writing on a piece of paper

The Forest School

Family Feedback

Collecting opinions and suggestions from families to improve students’ learning experiences
Teacher stands in front of a line of students holding hands

Valor Collegiate Academies

Faculty Social-Emotional Learning

Encouraging social-emotional growth among faculty
Several small white icons centered around one white circular icon showing three people with a lightbulb above their heads

Advice: Community Collaboration for School Innovation

A community engagement toolkit
A group of 4 women seated at a table, having a discussion with papers and pens

Equitable and Inclusive Meeting Design

Designing meetings for educators and other staff for better inclusion and engagement
Teacher and four students look over project that shows a small 3-D model of a city

Engaging the Community to Build Future Momentum

“Our aim was to create a real conversation between parents and schools.” (Karen Perry)
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Ector Country Independent School District

Leveraging Local Media to Communicate with Multilingual Families

Reaching all families by sending messages through diverse channels
Two students working together at desk, looking on together at paper

Deliberately Creating a Culture of Change

“This is about developing our own belief that we can grow as a district.” (Rebecca Midles)
A man reading a book while standing in front of a glass window.

Organizational Culture Handbook

Supporting inclusive and effective team culture using an organizational culture handbook
Teacher works with students on project in classroom

Using Data to Advocate for Students with Learning Differences

Strategically using data to understand and support students with learning differences, inside and outside the classroom
A person writing in a notebook, with a laptop positioned on the table in front of them.

White Supremacy Culture and Remote Learning

Connecting facets of white supremacy culture to a remote learning context
A man and two women standing and conversing in an office setting.

Strategic Small-Group Breakouts

Strategies for implementing small-group breakouts in virtual meetings
Educator presenting on stage in front of blue background, gesturing to crowd

Advice: Targeted Messaging

How to develop key messages for stakeholders around blended and personalized learning
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Meriden Public Schools

Offering College-Credit Bearing Opportunities

Partnering with universities to provide college credit courses in high school
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Communicating with Hand Signals

Using hand signals to communicate
Teacher stands beside student's desk, looking down at laptop, in the middle of classroom

Cisco Junior High School

Balancing Blended Structures and Teacher Autonomy at Cisco

Providing freedom for teachers to make the best instructional decisions for their class
A diverse group of people engaged in conversation while seated around a table.

Tools for Courageous Conversations

Facilitating a brave space for educators to contribute and feel supported
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Activity: Conduct Empathy Interviews with Stakeholders

Seek to understand the experiences of people in your district through personal interviews
Woman speaks to camera inside library, with the label Gara Fields, principal in the corner

Pleasant View Elementary School

Additional Support for Teachers

Leadership and coaching support to provide teachers with what they need to improve instruction
Student writes on tablet, looking at laptop, sitting on bed

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools' Virtual Academy

PCCS' Approach to Setting Norms and Expectations

How one virtual school addressed norms and expectations for students
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Meriden Public Schools

Leveraging Community Partnerships To Build a City-Wide Plan

District and city partnership to create outdoor in-person learning spaces
A woman sitting at a table with a laptop, smiling and waving at the laptop's screen.

Building Trust in Virtual Learning Environments

Cultivating a culture of trust in a remote learning environment
People sitting in a row, writing in notebooks

Activity: Reflect on Equity in Your Solution

Take time to step back and ensure that your proposed solution is an equitable one