School Improvement
Through our schoolwide systems-based approach, we partner with you to improve conditions, redesign systems, and deepen leadership capacity.
We provide specialized support for all schools, including those designated for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI).
Our approach empowers all stakeholders – teachers, instructional coaches, school and district leaders – to play active roles in implementing rigorous, student-led instruction.
The result? Rapid, lasting improvements that change students’ lives.
Schools partnering with us see increased student achievement and engagement, increased positive behavior, and improved teacher retention.
Ready to see what this transformation looks like in your school or district?
Partner Schools’ Successes
97
Teacher Retention After Two Years
Lakewood Elementary had a teacher retention rate of only 30%. Teacher retention jumped to 85% in the first year of partnership and to 97% in the second year of partnership.
37
Decrease in Discipline Referrals within One Year
Walnut Middle School saw a dramatic decrease in discipline referrals in their first year – down from 777 to 489.
93
Closure in Reading Performance Gap
At McLaughlin Middle School, performance gaps closed by 93% in reading and 69% in math between 7th grade Hispanic and Non-Hispanic students.
Our Unique Approach to Empowering Schools
We Are Not a Program
Our systems-based approach is tailored to your needs and designed for long-lasting results.
Uncover strengths and opportunities for growth with the School Comprehensive Needs Assessment (SCNA)
The partnership starts with an unbiased analysis of your school’s systems of instruction, operations, conditions, and more. We assist you in creating an informed action plan based on your needs and goals.
Short cycles to accelerate progress
To accelerate implementation, we coach and support leadership teams in implementing a weekly action board and daily stand-up meetings. All leadership actions become aligned to the vision for instructional improvement. This daily and weekly accountability quickly results in early wins and helps the team move from firefighting symptoms to curing root causes in their instructional systems.
Tiers of embedded support from proven experts who honor your goals
Our on-site coaches embed themselves in the school community and form strong bonds throughout the partnership, complementing and building on your current projects. Every single one of our leadership coaches has served as a successful school or district leader.
“Our partnership with Instructional Empowerment has been really empowering. We have a faculty coach and a leadership coach. This experience has been incredibly powerful because it’s boots on the ground with us. It’s someone to work alongside you every step of the way. They’re there. They’re embedded in the school with you.”
Cristina Smith
Principal, Warfield Elementary, Indiantown, FL
Executive action team meetings
We believe reciprocal accountability is the foundation to a successful partnership. The principal and school leadership coach present their progress and data to the district executive action team every 30 days. We hold ourselves accountable to the goals set forth and agreed upon in our proposal.
Validated metrics form a clear picture of your progress
The Applied Research Center brings the most research-validated measures of rigor in the nation. The Rigor Appraisal, a non-evaluative tool measuring the effectiveness of instructional systems in schools, is proven to predict student outcomes. It serves as a leading indicator that districts have reported as more accurate than practice testing.
Our real-time metrics have a statistically significant correlation to:
Higher ELA learning rates
Higher math learning rates
Higher student attendance
Lower behavior referrals
Lower suspension rates
A student-led learning process that leads to rapid results
Our model of instruction builds students’ agency through structures that develop their ability to self-direct their own learning – leading students to become independent, critical thinkers. Educators who implement our model watch as students learn more deeply, exhibit more positive behaviors, require less support from their teacher, and demonstrate higher achievement scores. This approach not only fosters autonomy but also translates into measurable academic gains.
Video Insights
Listen to a district’s experience of adopting the Model of Instruction for Deeper Learning, where students work in academic teams. Video Credit: School District U-46, IL.
Teachers discuss how their practices have become more rigorous, engaging, and student centered through the Model of Instruction for Deeper Learning. This video includes examples of student-teacher interactions and academic teams from across the country.
Hear more about our Intensive Support Partnerships approach from one of our Expert Educators.
Hear Instructional Empowerment’s founder and CEO, Michael Toth, explain why systems-based work empowers schools to improve student outcomes.
Results for Students, Teachers, and Schools
Experience the Impact of Student-Led Learning
Student engagement and academic achievement skyrocket
- Achievement gaps close
- Schoolwide test results climb, allowing schools to exit state accountability status
- Positive behaviors increase while negative behaviors decrease
- Attendance improves
- Students develop cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that continue to serve them
100% of our team members’ schools increased learning gains during the pandemic
We will not settle for returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Our team members’ schools narrowed achievement gaps that existed before the pandemic and accelerated learning for students who have been historically marginalized.
