This is the first video in a two-part series that features Sara Metz and her Kindergarten class at Explore Elementary in Thornton, Colorado. Using the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum and its Close Read-Aloud guide, Sara and her students engage in analysis of the text, Come On, Rain!, as part of a module on the topic of weather. Sara strikes a balance of rigor and joy as she guides her students through a carefully crafted sequence of text-dependent questions driving toward a focus question, total participation techniques to engage all learners, and a culminating task. To hear Sara describe her process, watch the companion video, Behind the Practice: Close Read-Aloud in the Primary Grades with Sara Metz.

This is the second video in a two-part series that features Sara Metz and her Kindergarten class at Explore Elementary in Thornton, Colorado. Using the EL Education Language Arts Curriculum and its Close Read-Aloud guide, Sara and her students engage in analysis of the text, Come On, Rain!, as part of a module on the topic of weather. Sara strikes a balance of rigor and joy as she guides her students through a carefully crafted sequence of text-dependent questions driving toward a focus question, total participation techniques to engage all learners, and a culminating task. To hear Sara describe her process, watch the companion video, Behind the Practice: Close Read-Aloud in the Primary Grades with Sara Metz.

Instructional coaching in EL schools increases the achievement and engagement of every student by bringing out the best performance of every teacher. Coaches use both student-centered and teacher-centered methods to help teachers improve the decisions they make about their instruction.

Several characteristics and components need to exist in order for instructional coaching to be effective. EL Education believes that the following are critical: 1. Instructional coaching is focused on supporting the learning, growth, and achievement of students and is most often linked to a school's improvement priorities. 2. Student-centered or teacher-centered methods of coaching are strategically selected based on individual teacher needs and readiness. 3. Instructional coaching is rooted in relational trust and effective communication. 4. Instructional coaching is most effective when it occurs in cycles. 5. Consistent structures, systems, and internal capacity support instructional coaching.

EL Education acknowledges the importance of conversations about teaching and learning as a critical component of the coaching cycle. We believe that the purpose for delivering feedback should always be to positively influence student learning.

What is "good" professional development?

EL Education believes that quality instructional coaching, whether teacher-centered or student-centered, contributes to student achievement. Part of good coaching is knowing teachers well. When coaches make intentional choices about which approach to take, they honor both teachers and students by providing the most effective and efficient route to improving student achievement.

Quality teaching practices influence student achievement. Instructional coaching practices influence the quality of teaching. Instructional coaches are an incredibly important part of the student achievement equation, and because of this, instructional coaches (anyone who coaches teachers, regardless of official position) should be well informed regarding coaching best practices.

Education is all about managing change. Whether you are focused on changing student achievement, teacher effectiveness, systems and structures, or something else, the likelihood that you are managing some kind of change is very high. Research bears out that managing change is complex and often frustrating.

Capturing and watching classroom video is quickly emerging as a high-leverage professional learning practice for educators across the country. When teachers and coaches analyze video of classroom lessons, all that is said and done by teachers and students is right on the screen as opposed to inside their heads. What results is a conversation rooted in shared understanding. At EL Education, we believe in the power of video-based coaching, embedded within onsite coaching cycles, as part of a larger structure of a varied professional development.

Given how socially motivated our students can be, you'd think they'd be pros when it comes to talking about a task! Most students do not intuitively know how to have productive academic discussions, however. Asked to investigate or analyze a topic or begin a project, some students will hold back and be silent, afraid to share ideas; others may be bossy and take over the work. Without norms, protocols and practice, it is not easy for students to share voices and ideas, consider each other’s ideas thoughtfully, critique their own and each other’s thinking, and create a plan to work effectively together.

A teacher addresses students in the classroom: "I notice Marcel, Quentin and Marielle got right to work. I see Trevor helping Sienna find a pen--thanks for helping her out, Trevor. Kayla, where can you look or whom can you ask if you're not sure what you should be working on right now?" The teacher's noticing and reinforcement of the positive behaviors she wants to see gives other students a chance to take responsibility for doing what they need to do. Communication, when building a collaborative classroom, is less about what the teachers say, and more about how they "listen to" and respond to what they see.

We've all been in a classroom (maybe our own) where the teacher assigns a group project with no more guidance than passing out the materials needed. In the self-managed classroom, intentional group work is key. Collaborating with peers around meaningful academic work supports students' healthy development, academically and socially, in ways that a teacher alone cannot.

Schoolwide and classroom norms are the foundation for respectful behavior among all in the school community. Norms that simply hang on a poster in the classroom or teacher's room will not create a positive school culture; they need to be discussed and used daily to guide interactions and behavior. Students and teachers must understand and own the norms and hold themselves and their peers accountable for the specific behaviors that define those norms. This takes dedicated time, every day.

"Protocol" is the term we use for a related, well-defined set of actions in a classroom used for a specific academic purpose. Protocols are usually structured in a step-by-step procedure (as in, "First, find a partner. Then, take turns reading the provided paragraph aloud."), and can be used in multiple ways: a small sample of these uses includes sharing information, peer editing, or brainstorming; addressing complex social and academic challenges; sharing successes and points of view; heading off typical errors in learning; or introducing a new and engaging topic.

Our approach to classroom management is based on the premise that students learn to make good choices independently and hold themselves accountable for their behavior. Self-management is always a process in need of refinement. Establishing routines is an essential part of this process. Routines give students a roadmap for important moments during their day and allow them to internalize and take ownership of their choices and move quickly into new learning experiences. This internalization, engagement, and ownership is achieved through the mindful scaffolding of routines.

This video is about the College March, an EL Education tradition. On College March Day in December, seniors in EL Education public schools - where every single student is prepared for college success- march together to a local post office to mail in their college applications. This tradition inspires hope and pride in urban and rural communities, as the seniors show younger students and families a new vision of what is possible. The opening montage shows college marches from around the United States, and describes the tradition's roots in New York City Outward Bound schools. This video also features a case study of a 2016 College March at Harborside Academy in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

A guide to support students in grades 6-8 during intervention or in a supplemental setting, including suggestions for additional work with related text, word study and vocabulary, fluency, grammar and syntax, and independent reading.

This video features an inspiring Better World Project accomplished by the Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication (ISAAC) in New London, CT, an EL Education school. It was one of 18 winning Better World Projects selected by a committee of EL Education students, teachers, and leaders, from submissions across the country. These projects, and hundreds more, launched EL Education's inaugural Better World Project initiative. EL students and educators nationwide joined academics, character, and service to become active contributors to a better world.