Good morning everyone!

School starts back up for a lot of us in the next week or two, and the pace is picking up everywhere, including here. I hope you're doing well. As always, thank you for being part of this community — if any of this resonates, forwarding it to another education leader is the best way to help it grow.

Let's jump in. Here's what's in this edition:

• Funding a vision for classroom instruction
• A case study on structuring collaborative teacher teams for the PLC process (plus a template for building teacher commitment)
• Research turned into practice you can use tomorrow
• A quick poll to help shape the first Finance for Instructional Leaders podcast episode

If something resonated, hit reply and let's talk about it.

Funding a vision for classroom instruction:

The great equalizer: leading a model of instruction implementation If you want to spot the difference between an instructional leader and an imposter, look no further than the challenge of implementing and resourcing a model of instruction in a school. See the proficiency scale for principals on model of instruction

This photo, and its caption, comes to mind every time I think about my journey implementing instructional models in schools. Funding and resourcing that model is the great equalizer — it's what separates decent leaders from visionary, tactical ones. Another level unlocks when a principal or district leader can strategically put financial resources behind the right work to ensure its stability and efficacy.

Here's my list of what it takes to start building a model of instruction in a school or district:

• A high-fidelity, research-aligned Guiding Coalition made up of the principal, high-influence faculty, and a counselor — supported by robust stipends and a bought-out prep period for the teacher who leads it
• A team of exceptional instructional coaches (at least 1 FTE per 600 students)
• Contractually embedded release time (early outs, late starts, etc.)
• A substantial middle infrastructure of teacher team leaders supported by robust stipends (teacher teams of no fewer than 3 and no more than 8)

The model of instruction is first and foremost contingent on a school principal who can unapologetically and fiercely state that there is no more important task or topic than classroom instruction in a school.

A case study on structuring collaborative teacher teams for the PLC process:

"But if teams learn, they become a microcosm for learning throughout the organization." – Peter Senge

Sometimes, despite what the research says, you just have to pivot — at least for a minute. I once worked in a school where everyone knew the right way to structure teacher collaboration. We'd read the books and knew exactly what needed to happen. The problem? It never moved from words to behavior. Team learning was completely paralyzed — no momentum anywhere, not even in pockets. The culture was so misguided that no one, not even faculty members, stopped to ask, "what if we just collaborated on something we're passionate about?" The image above is the real, if unconventional, solution to a major collaboration bottleneck in that school. Once it was implemented, teachers started learning in their teams, and teams started learning from each other. The school saw massive gains in outcomes.

My advice:

• You must merge passion and purpose for teacher collaboration to thrive
• Put the responsibility of team leadership on one teacher, not two, and give them a written recipe for success
• Train the teacher leaders
• Prescribe coaching protocols for teacher team leaders

Watch your school's culture — and its focus on instruction — blossom.

Research turned into practice:

The concept of vertical equity "Most nations have organized their school systems at the national level. The United States chose, instead, to place the responsibility for educating its citizens with the states" (p. 10). Great empirical article on this topic

I write about this one a lot, so for my more senior and tenured readership, you can skip this one if you want.

There's a concept that makes the case that students with greater need should, unequivocally, receive substantially more financial resources. As a school leader for almost 10 years, across two states and highly variable communities, I've earned the right to say this is absolutely necessary, especially if we want our poorer and more vulnerable student populations to achieve at high levels.

Here's how you can turn this research concept into practice tomorrow:

• On your next budget ask, don't split it evenly "to be fair." Look at your data — failure rates, EL growth, IEP numbers — and let one grade or subject get more than another on purpose, because they need it more
• Stop staffing every classroom the same. Put your strongest teacher or extra aide time where the kids are furthest behind, not spread thin evenly across the building
• Ditch the one-size schedule. Give your struggling readers or math kids extra blocks (double-block, tutoring, whatever) instead of the same minutes as everyone else

Finance for Instructional Leaders podcast topic selection:

I'm considering adding an AMA or live webinar for this community — if that sounds useful, hit reply and let me know. And if there's something you want to see in the newsletter that hasn't shown up yet, tell me. Chances are, if you're wondering, someone else is too.

That's the shape of this edition: a vision worth funding, a team structure worth building, research worth putting into practice, and a topic worth voting on for the podcast. I appreciate you spending part of your Saturday here every week. If any of this would help a colleague, an aspiring administrator, or another school leader you know, forward it their way. That's the best way this list grows.

Thanks,

Ryan

Ryan Kachold, EdD Money matters for student outcomes. I help K-12 education leaders understand how. ​​​​

​