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Coherent instructional systems

We work with partners in the field so that middle and high school teachers have access to high-quality, aligned curriculum choices in English, math, and science. Our investments focus especially on improving students’ high school to postsecondary math readiness, with an emphasis on the critical milestone of Algebra 1 completion by ninth grade, by working to ensure that students who are Black, Latino, emerging multilingual, English Learner (EL)-designated and/or experiencing poverty have access to the best instructional resources available, and that schools have the support they need to use them well.

Professional Learning Partnerships Initiative

In our Professional Learning Partnerships Initiative, we brought professional learning providers, curriculum developers, and school districts together in an effort to advance the effectiveness of professional learning (PL) services.

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Students deserve access to worthwhile and meaningful educational experiences, and teachers deserve supports to help them create classroom environments where students can thrive.
High-quality instructional materials provide a shared foundation for teachers that can help create equitable access to the content students need to succeed after high school. However, the adoption of high-quality instructional materials alone is insufficient; these resources must be accompanied by professional learning opportunities that develop educators’ knowledge and skills in helping a diverse range of learners master math, literacy, and science.
Our work with coherent instructional systems aims to improve supply, demand, and implementation supports for instructional materials and professional learning practices optimized for students who are Black, Latino, emerging multilingual, English Learner (EL)-designated and/or affected by poverty, while building the evidence base for this approach.
We envision the field having access to a wide variety of instructional resources in math, literacy, and science that are designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of learners; that communities are empowered with information about which resources are best for them, and that educators have the support they need to use best-in-class content well.

Investment Priorities

To achieve our goals, we invest in innovative curricular design approaches that seek to harness the potential of increasingly digital platforms, transparency of information about resource quality to districts and educators, and professional learning and technical assistance to support skilled use of instructional resources. Our investments in this area focus on the following areas:

Building an evidence base for high-quality instructional materials.

We believe that broad access to the best instructional resources is an equity imperative.

Improving support for instructional materials.

We can realize the potential of even the best instructional materials only if they are implemented with integrity in schools and classrooms.

Supporting and expanding equitable and instruction reflect and affirm diverse identities.

We invest in approaches to designing teaching and learning experiences that center on the assets and needs of priority students, but have the promise to benefit all students.

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