Redesigning Schools: Models to Reach Every Student With Excellent Teachers

Model Summaries [pdf]

In the schoolhouse, nothing matters more to students’ learning than their teachers. But only about one of every four U.S. classrooms has an “excellent teacher”—one who produces enough learning progress to close achievement gaps quickly and help all students leap ahead to higher-order learning. What can schools do, now, to reach many more students with excellent teachers year after year and help all teachers improve and contribute to excellence? Schools can “extend the reach” of the top 25 percent of U.S. teachers to more students.

This report, based on the information that appears here on our website, provides brief descriptions of more than 20 school models that extend excellent teachers’ reach by using job redesign, technology, or both. By making the right changes, schools can provide all teachers with career advancement opportunities, and promote collaboration, development, and excellence for every professional. Ten detailed models, available here on our website, further explain how changes in teaching roles, time use, and technology can allow teachers who achieve the best student outcomes to reach more students and help peer teachers produce excellent results, too.