Hey Reader, When we're working with schools and talking about instructional alignment, there's almost always some anxiety involved. Teachers worry alignment means uniformity or a lack of creativity. School leaders worry their push for alignment, shared language, and structure will be perceived as an attempt to control what teachers do in their classrooms. Everyone starts picturing scripted lessons and identical classrooms with no personality.I get it. And I think a really important thing to...

Hey Reader, Instructional alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It also doesn’t belong to one group.It’s not something leaders roll out. And it’s not something teachers figure out on their own.It lives in the shared space between them.If alignment is going to exist in a school or district, both teachers and leaders have a role to play. The responsibilities are different, but equally important, and always connected. What Instructional Alignment Requires From Teachers Teachers play a critical...

Hey Reader, When instructional coherence is missing, teachers usually feel it before anyone else. They feel it in planning meetings that don’t quite connect to what’s happening in classrooms. They feel it when expectations shift from team to team or year to year. They feel it when they’re asked to personalize learning inside systems that aren’t aligned or structured to support personalized learning.Most teachers don’t describe this as a “lack of coherence.” They describe it as exhaustion, or...