Systems & Tools to Support Implementation 

Strong implementation systems are the backbone of an effective and sustainable early literacy model. When implementing your new model, it is crucial to start by building leaders’ capacity around your model so they can drive the change with their school teams. Empowering leaders to provide teachers with consistent support and targeted feedback will ensure that teachers are well-equipped to utilize new early literacy curricula and assessments with fidelity. Transitioning to and successfully delivering a new early literacy model takes time, so prioritize patience and practice as you embark on this new journey.

Leader Development to Drive Successful Implementation

Strong leaders play a vital role in guiding their teams through the successful adoption and implementation of a new early literacy model. Leaders have facilitated the transition to new early literacy curricula and assessments by first building their leadership team’s comprehensive knowledge of their literacy models and how to implement them.

To help their leaders implement a new, research-aligned curriculum, Tulsa Legacy Charter Schools made a strategic investment in leadership development to prepare to lead change with fidelity. After selecting Wit and Wisdom as their new curriculum, Tulsa Legacy’s leaders and coaches attended online training with Wit and Wisdom, as well as training led by a consultant. Katie Resendez, Tulsa Legacy’s Primary Academy Reading Interventionist, explains, “When Wit and Wisdom was chosen, we went all in with Wit and Wisdom-led training [for our leadership team] and bringing people in from off-site. We felt that coaches and leaders needed to be involved to help get everyone on board.” Equipped with their knowledge of the new Wit and Wisdom curriculum, coaches and leaders were prepared to turnkey their learnings to teachers through two and a half weeks of training at Tulsa Legacy’s summer Professional Development Institute (PDI). “A lot [of curriculum training] happened over the summer,” says Resendez. “As a result, by the start of the school year, we were able to focus on systems and routines.”

In addition to training its leaders at the beginning of the school year, Coney Island Prep Charter Schools established a comprehensive, year-long leader training scope and sequence. To ground their understanding in reading research and prepare for implementing the new literacy model, their literacy leaders took the AIM Pathways course over the summer and then established a regular cadence of leader trainings that occur throughout the year. To further leaders’ development, Linda Timko Liang, Director of K-5 Literacy, regularly meets with their vice principals to conduct walkthroughs, observe coaching sessions, analyze literacy data, and create action plans. These walkthroughs and hands-on coaching opportunities empower Coney Island Prep’s vice principals to see the big picture, identify grade level and school-wise trends, and adapt professional development opportunities to support their teachers’ literacy instruction.

Coaching to Support Teachers’ Implementation

Once instructional leaders are equipped with a strong knowledge of the research and your new early literacy model, leaders can coach teachers in successfully implementing these new research-aligned curricula and instructional practices. Cultivating a culture of continuous improvement will allow for effective and sustainable implementation of your early literacy model.

Unit Unpacking to Help Teachers Internalize Units and Prepare for Instruction

Effective implementation of a curriculum requires teachers to have a deep understanding of the content and instructional goals of each unit. Coaches have played an essential role in supporting teachers as they unpack units to prepare for instruction. At DREAM Charter Schools, leaders utilize a Module Internalization Protocol to help teachers collaboratively internalize an upcoming Wit & Wisdom module in the curriculum. Instructional coaches use this protocol with teachers in 90-minute meetings to:

1. Explore the module’s content and ideas (25 min)

2. Identify the module’s learning goals (20 min)

3. Examine the module’s writing tasks and assessments (25 min)

4. Analyze a focusing question arc (10 min)

5. Reflect & name next steps (5 min)

These internalization meetings equip teachers to navigate the complexities of each module to deliver high-quality literacy instruction and meaningful learning experiences for their students. Given that K-2 teachers are unpacking units for both foundational skills and language comprehension, coaches map out these unit unpacking meetings at the beginning of the school year when developing the yearly professional development calendar to align with pacing guides and ensure this meeting time is scheduled.

Supporting Teachers’ Lesson Internalization, Planning, and Delivery

After helping teachers understand the overarching goals of units, instructional coaches play a critical role in preparing teachers to deliver effective daily instruction in the classroom. Coaches have supported teachers in internalizing and delivering impactful literacy lessons through planning meetings, classroom observations, and consistent feedback.

At BRICK Education Network, coaches support teachers in developing a deep understanding of each lesson in the curriculum, the lesson’s alignment with the early literacy reading research, and effective teaching strategies. To do so, coaches hold weekly planning meetings to review and practice upcoming lessons. In preparation for those meetings, teachers conduct a thorough review of the week’s lessons, using BRICK’s ELA Lesson Planning Checklist. The protocol helps teachers internalize lessons, create alignment and clarity around learning goals, and prepare lesson activities and checks for understanding as seen below:

Similarly, Coney Island Prep embraces a collaborative approach to lesson internalization, with coaches and teachers working together to prepare and debrief lessons. “[Our coaches support teachers’ internalization] by reading the text, analyzing standards, establishing knowledge kids will gain, illuminating connections between texts, and clarifying how reading and writing will develop. We’ve had teachers think about how skills are built into a lesson so they’re conscious about checking for understanding in [student] work and exit tickets,” shares Linda Timko Liang. Vice principals and coaches also play a crucial role in supporting teachers after lessons. This ongoing collaboration ensures that Coney Island Prep’s coaches support their teachers both before and after lessons to help teachers continuously enhance their instructional practices.

In addition to one-on-one coaching, practice clinics offer leaders another avenue to support teachers with lesson internalization. During practice clinics at BRICK Education Network, leaders use the Practice Clinic Protocol (see below) to help teachers practice lesson components and “look-fors” through live role-play. These practice clinics offer leaders and teachers a valuable opportunity to align on expectations for successful instruction that can guide leaders’ classroom observations and feedback.

Leveraging Walkthroughs and Observations to Move Teacher Practice

While planning meetings provide a good opportunity to respond to teacher plans’ and practice upcoming lessons, walkthroughs and observations provide coaches the opportunity to celebrate success and provide targeted feedback to teachers. Walkthroughs also enable coaches to assess school-wide instructional progress, identify promising practices that can be shared across the school, and determine next steps for professional development based on areas of teacher need. While some schools have created their own observation tools based on school priorities, others have found the following resources helpful:

• CKLA’s K-5 Observation Tracker

• Student Achievement Partners’ Foundational Skills Observation Tool

• TN Foundational Skills Instructional Practice Guide

At BRICK Education Network, leaders conduct targeted walkthroughs to assess how well teachers have internalized and delivered lessons and to identify teachers who need additional support. “We have a consistent observation and feedback cycle. We utilize exit tickets to help us understand if our instruction has made an impact. After observations, a school leader facilitates a meeting with teachers to collaboratively identify action steps [to improve instruction],“ explains Dana Carr-Ford, Senior Director of K-4 Literacy. Leaders also hold Friday professional development sessions to build upon trends observed during classroom walkthroughs; during this time, school leaders support teachers with unpacking lessons, developing literacy content knowledge, and practicing lesson delivery.

Similarly, Leflore Legacy Academy uses observations and walkthroughs to provide feedback on teacher instruction and improve teacher practice. To help teachers reflect on their instruction after classroom observations, Leflore Legacy’s leaders review lesson recordings with teachers to assess what could have been done differently. Executive Director and Head of School, Dr. Tamala Boyd Shaw, notes, “We have established a clear and consistent process for teachers to have a minimum of one observation per week that offers feedback on their instructional practices and their focus on literacy. Specifically, each leadership team member is assigned a set number of teachers to observe weekly and to follow up with timely feedback that is documented for support and continuous development.” Creating a consistent cycle of classroom observations, leader-teacher debriefs, and action planning has enabled Leflore Legacy’s teachers to continually reflect on and improve their instruction.

Building Momentum for Success: Next Steps to Effective Implementation

The key to unlocking the full potential of your early literacy model lies in effective implementation. By investing in leaders’ ability to coach and provide feedback, your teachers will be equipped with the skills to implement new curricula and instructional practices effectively. With empowered leaders at the helm and a solid framework in place, your early literacy model will ensure all students are successful readers.