Five-day Standards Institute

Professional learning

The Standards Institute is an immersive and transformative five-day in-person learning experience.

Educators who attend the Standards Institute have conversations about race, examine bias and its role in instruction and learning, and commit to adaptive change within themselves as practitioners while learning practical strategies that can improve instructional practice and leadership in schools and systems.

What to Expect from the Standards Institute

Participants will engage in an immersive learning experience that includes:

Five days of in-person immersive, coherent learning sessions led by our highly trained facilitators
Powerful, transformational keynote speakers
Courageous conversations and open dialogue about implicit bias and racist structures, with insights and actions to share with colleagues
Tools, strategies, and frameworks to enhance instructional practices
The opportunity to form strategic relationships with like-minded educators leading the movement towards equitable and anti-racist instruction

The English Language Arts (ELA) Pathway provides an interactive, hands-on learning experience that focuses on planning and implementing grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful (GLEAM™) ELA instruction. Throughout the week, UnboundEd grounds participant learning in the intersection of standards, content, aligned curriculum, and equity. Participants learn and practice crafting supports and scaffolds that help address students’ unfinished ELA instruction while maintaining the rigor and demands of the standards and curriculum. Participants explore the commitment, knowledge, and skills necessary to use ELA standards, texts, and tasks to provide all students access to GLEAM instruction. Participants leave Standards Institute with a personal action plan for bringing GLEAM instruction to life in their ELA classrooms.

The Math Pathway provides an interactive, hands-on learning experience that focuses on planning and implementing grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful (GLEAM™) mathematics instruction. Throughout the week, UnboundEd grounds participant learning in the intersection of standards, content, aligned curriculum, and equity. Participants learn and practice crafting just-in-time supports and scaffolds that help address students’ unfinished mathematics instruction while maintaining the rigor and demands of the standards and curriculum. Participants explore the commitment, knowledge, and skills necessary to use math standards, tasks, and materials to provide all students access to GLEAM instruction. Participants leave Standards Institute with a personal action plan for bringing GLEAM instruction to life in their math classrooms.

The Leadership Pathway provides an interactive, hands-on learning experience that focuses on structures, policies, and practices essential to the leader's role in creating the conditions for grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful (GLEAM™) instruction. Throughout the week, UnboundEd grounds participant learning in the intersection of standards, content, aligned curriculum, and equity. Leaders in this pathway learn and practice with math and ELA content to develop a deeper understanding of each content area and its considerations for planning, instructional delivery, and coaching that elevate GLEAM instruction. Leaders unpack their role in educational equity and leave Standards Institute with a systems-focused action plan to lead GLEAM implementation in their schools.

The UnboundEd Planning Process (UPP) Pathway shifts instructional mindsets and practices through a purposeful approach to planning and an understanding of grade-level, engaging, affirming, meaningful (GLEAM™) instruction. Throughout the week, UnboundEd grounds participant learning in the intersection of standards, content, aligned curriculum, and equity. Participants learn a step-by-step process for internalizing and preparing lessons from their high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum and various specific practices for engaging all students in rigorous thinking during every class period. By the end of the week, participants come away with a vision for GLEAM instruction in their classrooms, a prepared set of lessons from their own curriculum, and a set of next steps for continuing to enhance their practice in the weeks and months to come.