The concept of a guaranteed and viable curriculum (GVC) has been around for a while, but its purpose remains significant: ensuring all students have access to high-quality instruction that aligns with curriculum, standards, and assessments. For many educators who are familiar with GVC, the conversation has shifted from aligning curriculum to a more pressing question: how do we move from structure to impact?
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Our expert researchers, evaluators, and veteran educators synthesize information gleaned from our research and blend it with best practices gathered from schools and districts around the world to bring you insightful and practical ideas that support changing the odds of success for you and your students. By aligning practice with research, we mix professional wisdom with real world experience to bring you unexpectedly insightful and uncommonly practical ideas that offer ways to build student resiliency, close achievement gaps, implement retention strategies, prioritize improvement initiatives, build staff motivation, and interpret data and understand its impact.
When I was an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom teacher, I often thought about my use of assessments. Was I using them to judge learning and unintentionally pressure students or to help students learn more deeply? I always felt a strong pull toward using assessment to strengthen student learning.
Why is it a great time to be a teacher? Because we know more about how the process of learning works—what we call the science of learning—and the teaching strategies needed to lift all learners—what we call the science of teaching—than at any point in human history. For us here at McREL International, that’s incredibly exciting. It gives us hope that better days are ahead for all of us in education.
Consider for a moment your school or district’s improvement plans and ask yourself this question, are you doing too little—or too much? I’ve posed this question to countless school leadership teams. Time and again, I hear (sometimes sheepishly) that they’re doing too much. If you answered the same, you’re not alone.
Imagine starting as a new principal, diving headfirst into your role with the enthusiasm of a marathon runner at the starting line. That was me—arriving early, staying late, and working weekends. My hobby? Work. Despite my district director’s advice about balance, relentless dedication was key. I thought my staff would naturally see the heart behind my efforts and my driving purpose. Spoiler alert: They did not.
As a principal I loved spending time in classrooms. No matter where I was in my headspace, a visit to a classroom was a way for me to instantly ground myself back into my love of learning and reasons for choosing education as a vocation, and the best part—it gave me a chance to watch teachers and students interact and make sense of content.
Cornerstones of effective partnerships––shared vision and goals, complementary strengths, mutual trust and respect––often take years to establish, and even longer to produce meaningful outcomes for those involved. So partnerships that grow stronger over time and build lasting resilience are something to celebrate.