We find ourselves in June. Graduations, final exams, and final report cards provide some measure of the school year. The Boston valedictorians’ lunch is an annual tradition.

These sort of accomplishments and records of learning are actually what polled families care about most.

But for all clicks that culture wars, homeschooling, and wraparound services get, little policy attention is paid to what actually goes in classrooms.

Despite the substantial, positive impact of choosing high-quality materials, guess where teachers are mostly like to start lesson planning?

Google (96%).

Pinterest (75%).

Without time and training, with packed schedules and big demands, taking on a new curriculum requires capacity schools don’t typically have.

This was the basis of our PEAK School initiative that was launched this fall.

We didn’t start from nowhere. In addition to supporting schools like the Mendell to improve in academic performance and increase enrollment, the data from our COVID Re-Centering fund showed clear evidence of immediate impact.

This is what it looked like this year.

Selection

This fall, we selected four high potential schools through a rigorous diligence process including an initial data analysis using demographic data to identify schools that serve a higher percent of historically marginalized populations than city averages, taking recommendations, and narrowing to a smaller set of schools to better understand their current curricular and instructional context.

Leadership really matters - we look for principals/school leadership teams that have experience, vision, and a track record of successfully moving things.

Identifying the Need

After selecting our grantees, they were matched with a vetted list of technical assistance partners who provide targeted support in determining the needs of the school. Partner support can include coaching school leadership, leading professional learning for teachers, and supporting observation and feedback cycles.

Adams Elementary School (PK-6, East Boston) checked all these boxes and wanted to focus on math. Recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results show increased learning gaps for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students. In 2022 4th grade math results, Black students had an average score that was 43 points lower than that for White students and Hispanic students had an average score that was 30 points lower; these gaps have grown since 2003.

The Adams selected Illustrative Mathematics (IM), a district-supported curriculum and highly rated on EdReports. The IM curriculum provides teachers with coherently sequenced materials based on the standards and research-based learning trajectories to support students’ learning in these early years. IM Math is rigorous, problem-based, and fully aligned to the standards, with coherence across grade bands.

Monitoring and Coaching

Then, everyone gets to work. Rubrics are developed. Teacher training and coaching. Walk-throughs and data collection. Attuned Education Partners was selected to support the school every step of the way.

Adams Principal Joanna McKeigue Cruz says this requires “fidelity,” sticking to plan, every day, while leaving the flexibility to respond to data and meet students and teachers “where they are.”

This is where progress happens, but it is hard to see every day. And it takes a long time to be sure an intervention “worked.”

But our past experience tells us that fidelity leads to more student learning.

School work is people work. Investing well in the people in schools - teachers, school leaders, the students - has positive impacts beyond a class, a day, a week, a month, or a year.

Notes in the margin

Busy week in Boston schools. Dual-language access was raised as a concern. Teachers shared their perspectives on what keeps them in the classroom. And Boston finally passed New York City as the highest spending large school district in the country on the annual US Census Bureau survey.

If $31,397 sounded high, don’t forget this is data from two years ago. With the last tranche of federal funds, next year Boston will spend $37,056 per student.

An analysis of Massachusetts school building funding shows racial disparities.