A strategic and collaborative approach to delivering on the promise of relevant, engaging, grade-level instruction for all students

“Three years ago, SAP decided to look beyond ‘just the standards’ to begin to unpack the evidence base around a number of aspects of knowing our students— not just those that show up on formal, end-of-year tests,” said Joy Delizo-Osborne, president of Student Achievement Partners (SAP). “What we found is that there is a much more comprehensive way to think about great instruction. It is both standards-aligned and whole-child welcoming. It, simply, is what great teachers have always known great instruction to be.”

For more than a decade, SAP has been working to create transformative learning experiences in literacy and mathematics. What began as a goal to support standards-aligned instruction has expanded substantially: standards alignment is one piece of the puzzle we wish to put together to transform student experience and ensure essential and equitable instruction for all students, and specifically for historically marginalized Black and multilingual students.

Essential x Equitable (e²) Instruction™ is defined by four categories of high-quality instruction: Grade-Level, Joyful, Linguistically Sustaining, and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining. Though these four categories are presented separately, they are complementary and intertwined when translated into action in everyday classroom instruction. SAP released the e² Instructional Practice Framework™ in 2024, and we are now supporting the implementation of this vision with a set of open-source, customizable resources and excitement for the transformative power of this work in implementation.

The e² Instructional Practice Suite™ is a set of tools designed to support a strategic and collaborative approach to achieve the e² vision of high-quality instruction. These tools were designed to do three things: build a shared vision, understand the current state of teaching and learning in schools relative to that vision, and take action to further deliver on the promise of relevant, engaging, grade-level instruction for all students.

System leaders can start by building a shared understanding of the vision among all educators and community members, aligning on what e² teaching and learning look like. Next, it is essential to assess the current state of teaching and learning, identifying strengths, areas of misalignment, and opportunities for growth through human-centered data collection that includes conducting learning walks and gathering community member perspectives. The synthesis of this data informs the development of targeted and prioritized areas for growth. Finally, transforming instructional practice involves implementing professional learning, coaching, and continuous support such as Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) aligned to the targeted growth areas. With this support in place, system leaders may then choose to reengage in part or all of this process again to monitor progress, prioritize new areas of focus, and identify next steps. 

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Building a Shared Understanding of the Vision 

The e² Instructional Practice Framework™ communicates an evidence-based definition of high-quality instruction that brings together often disconnected strands of research on instructional practice and practitioner knowledge to support and guide change with a cohesive vision of student-centered, high-quality instruction. The e² Instructional Practice Framework™ is free to download and reinforces that high-quality, standards-aligned instruction must also be asset-based and joyful. The Framework includes an overarching cross-content version in addition to math- and literacy-specific versions.

“When we teach, we endeavor to think not just about what we teach, but how we teach,” said José Luis Vilson, an educator, writer, speaker, and activist for educational equity and justice, executive director of EduColor, and member of the advisory board. “The framework has done the intentional listening, in hand with the latest research, to help educators and the general public understand how we can create an approach that attends to comprehensiveness, enthusiasm for the work, and students’ individual and collective gifts at the same time. We needed this new approach, and this framework gets us there.”

Assessing the Current State of Teaching and Learning

The e² Learning Walk Tool™ (LWT), developed from SAP’s Instructional Practice Guide (IPG), is available in two versions: mathematics and literacy. These tools gather non-evaluative data to create a snapshot of the teaching and learning across classrooms and/or schools through a series of brief classroom visits. Learning walks guided by the LWT intentionally elevate students’ experiences in the classroom by considering interactions between students, teachers, and content.

The e² Interview Protocols™ were designed to capture authentic perspectives of teachers and students that reflect the realities of the classroom. Too often, data collection processes focus solely on grade-level outcomes while neglecting the aspects of lived experiences that contribute to equitable instruction, which can’t be as easily quantified. These tools allow for additional input into data collection processes that elevate the voices, leverage the assets, and honor the brilliance of students and teachers. The teacher interview questions focus on their general and e²-aligned instructional practice while the K-2 and 3-12 student interview questions focus on their general and content-specific classroom experiences. Both types of interview protocols include practical guidance for facilitating an interview that is human-centered and asset-based.

Karie Mullassery, a secondary math teacher on special assignment in South San Francisco Unified School District who led a process to assess the current state of teaching and learning in the district, said, “What I appreciated most was feeling like I had a process to really get data from all the stakeholders in our district…being able to really see what the needs are and elevate the different voices was just the biggest thing I appreciated in this process.” 

Taking Action to Transform Instructional Practice 

The e² Coaching Tools™ support educators to engage in personalized growth in e² classroom practice. This set of tools aims to humanize the coaching and PLC processes, transforming instructional practice and amplifying student learning by grounding in the research and evidence-based strategies named in the e² Instructional Practice Framework™ and the indicators from the e² Learning Walk Tools™. The tools include an e² Coaching Reflection Tool™, where educators can offer thoughtful deliberation about their practice, and a single point observation tool, which was designed to narrow observational focus and capture student-level evidence of strengths and needs that can be used by a peer or coach during an observation. Whether these tools are used individually or together, they are flexible and adaptable to any context. 

Coaching is only one part of a professional learning system. For partner districts, SAP provides additional custom tools in the e² Instructional Practice Suite™ for taking action to transform instructional practice, including processes and templates to support system-wide learning, PLCs, intellectual planning, and collaboration.

Join Us

We invite you to learn more about these tools and their transformative potential by joining our upcoming webinars:

📅 Webinar 1: The e² Instructional Practice Suite™: Moving Towards a Vision for High-Quality Instruction

Ideal for: District Leaders, School Leaders, Professional Learning Organizations

Date: Wednesday, February 12

Time: 3:00-4:00 PM EST

Register here

📅 Webinar 2: e² Coaching™: Taking Action to Transform Instructional Practice
Ideal for: Instructional Leaders, Coaches, Professional Learning Leaders, and Teachers

Date: Wednesday, February 26

Time: 6:00-7:00 PM EST

Register here

Learning Together

Together, these tools equip instructional leaders with the resources needed to build a shared vision of high-quality instruction, understand the current state of teaching and learning in their schools relative to that vision, and take action to transform instructional practice. We are eager to learn how schools and systems incorporate these resources into their instructional landscape and gain valuable insights about strengths and needs. You can engage with Student Achievement Partners to adapt tools to reflect specific language, align to instructional materials, and implement across a variety of contexts. If you’d like to build a customized tools suite or set of supports to get your team started, please reach out to us at [email protected].