Leading Educators

"Over-scaffolding often shows up when all students are representing their thinking in a singular way; in other words, students are imitating the teacher instead of demonstrating their own thinking," says Rebecca Eden Allen, an experienced math instructional coach. This year, Rebecca and Leading Educators supported leaders in select District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to tackle this issue head-on with tailored coaching sessions for math teachers. These sessions focused on shifting instructional moves to better balance support and independence, and they're making a significant difference. In this ⚡ NEW PAPER ⚡, we offer three reflection tools for exploring the effectiveness of your coaching strategy to inform future planning: https://hubs.la/Q02DKLTs0

“The Leading Educators team didn't just educate our teachers on the weekend and then turn them loose without support during the week. It became this connection that teachers had with an actual coach, an actual local person, someone they could bounce ideas off of. It's someone who's not afraid to teach in front of the classroom and can build a strong connection with kids. This was crucial to the success of the program and the growth we've seen.” Brooke Davis, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Mental Health Services at Kenowa Hills Public Schools in Michigan, discusses how we are supporting the district's educators to prove what is possible for students: https://hubs.la/Q02Mbqb-0

Literacy is foundational to learning, yet many secondary students need more support to be at grade level. 💡 In Southeast Michigan, secondary teachers we've partnered with are pioneering a novel approach to close this gap by implementing tailored linguistics courses focused on morphology, decoding, and applying reading science across subjects like chemistry and American History. Learn more about the challenges secondary readers face and what’s being done to support them: https://hubs.la/Q02M1Kgs0

Unlike traditional, one-time professional development workshops, we build coherent professional learning systems and capacity that develop: 🤝 Ongoing collaboration and inquiry 🌟 Distributed instructional leadership 📚 Adaptable, turnkey resources for high-quality curricula in various formats 📊 Robust, multi-layer data infrastructure Along the way, we help show you what we do, enabling you to lead continuous improvement far into the future without us. Ready to build the instructional system you've always dreamed of? We can help. https://hubs.la/Q02LTfKx0

💡More school systems are experimenting with generative AI to create efficiencies, enhance lesson planning, and boost student engagement. Schools are taking a collective approach, involving communities and parents in understanding AI's role in education. But what if you're feeling uncertain about AI in the classroom? You're not alone. A recent article from The Wallace Foundation explores these mixed feelings among school leaders, acknowledging AI's inevitable presence and the need for thoughtful integration. https://hubs.la/Q02LHTmQ0

Make your voice heard! Today is the last day to influence the sessions and content that make it to SXSW EDU in 2025. 🗳️ PanelPicker® Links: ↘️ It's Time to Reimagine Science Education https://hubs.la/Q02LyHFd0 ↘️ Empowering Principals for Transformational Leadership https://hubs.la/Q02LyPmg0 ↘️ VATTastic Coaching: Empowering EdTech https://hubs.la/Q02LyDlQ0 ↘️ Enough Talk! Let’s Play with AI https://hubs.la/Q02LyDJ40 ↘️ Empowering School Teams to Develop AI Instructional Practice https://hubs.la/Q02LyD6K0 ↘️ AI as a Partner: Enabling Teacher-Led Professional Growth https://hubs.la/Q02LyCsG0 Creating schools of tomorrow that empower educators and support principals in their leadership requires committed action from all of us today. Thank you for your support!

What started out as a small idea turned into something much larger than I ever anticipated. Reflecting back on the Playlab AI and Leading Educators AI Design Sprint graciously hosted by the MIT Media Lab, I am energized by the collaborative spirit and collective learning that emerged from our participants who represent so many parts of the education ecosystem. We spent two days working together to design, prototype, build, and test AI tools aimed at making a real impact in educational settings while prioritizing safety and ethical considerations. It was a powerful reminder of how much technologists and educators can learn from each other when we create spaces for genuine exchange and cooperation. It is also a reminder that educators all have their own “secret sauce” that they bring to this work. I’m excited for what is to come. There are too many folks to thank but a special thanks to Sandra Jin, Albert Kim, Mike Yates, Emily Schriber, Yusuf Ahmad, Daniel Obregon for all of your time and effort to bring this to life. Lastly, flowers to Ian Serlin, Narcisa Codreanu, Mehdi Oulmakki, Kat Reilly, Lele Lew, and Ethan Castro from the Playlab team for bringing all of yourselves into the work.

Help us bring these proposals to SXSW EDU 2025 in Austin! 🌟 🗳️ Find everything you need to case your vote in PanelPicker® at the link: https://hubs.la/Q02LyqXf0

The job of the school or system leader gets more complex every day, and it's hard to make steady progress on everything that feels like a priority. That's why we're eager to help you carry the lift and add capacity where it counts. Shelly Gray, Principal at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School in Washington, DC, shares how targeted, curriculum-specific coaching has a made a difference in her work to support her team: "What I appreciate about Leading Educators is their recognition of the value of coaching from multiple perspectives and expertise. One of my proudest moments this year is seeing our instructional coach stretch our math teachers' thinking—from teaching procedural math to fostering deep conceptual understanding. The growth is evident." Not sure where you could use support? Use these tools to assess your coaching strategy: https://hubs.la/Q02Lyrp40

What if school teams led the conversation about the future of learning and AI? "Empowering School Teams to Develop AI Instructional Practice," will explore how to align support, structures, and resources for teachers to responsibly and effectively use AI. 🗳️ Vote in PanelPicker® by August 18 to get Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator on stage at SXSW EDU!