Curriculum Leadership Institute

10/09/2026

Now THIS is team spirit!

Shoutout to our partners at Kankakee School District 111, who had "Curriculum Ninja" shirts made for their team. We love seeing educators take pride in the hard work of building a strong, aligned curriculum, and we're honored to be part of their journey.

Keep up the stealthy (and not-so-stealthy) great work! 👏

10/08/2026

The System Overview Session is designed as a focused four-step process that moves from preparation to discussion, analysis, and findings.

District leaders share context and evidence. CLI analyzes what we learn. Then we come back together to review strengths, needs, and considerations for next steps.

Focused process. Clearer picture. More informed next steps.

Learn more: https://calendly.com/d/dvyd-k58-thw/system-overview-info-session

10/07/2026

What do you walk away with after a System Overview Session?

A clearer understanding of your current system.

You’ll gain an outside perspective on your curriculum, instruction, and assessment work, identify strengths worth protecting, recognize areas that may benefit from additional attention, and begin determining where future effort may be most valuable.

See where you are. Identify what matters. Prioritize what comes next: https://calendly.com/d/dvyd-k58-thw/system-overview-info-session

10/06/2026

Strong curriculum systems don’t happen by chance.

They’re built through clarity, teacher leadership, and through intentionally connecting the pieces of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

As we head to the School Research Nexus Elite Symposium next week, we’re looking forward to conversations about what it takes to move from having curriculum pieces in place to building a coherent system.

Swipe through for a preview of the conversation we’re bringing. ➡️

10/05/2026

In this episode of Leaning Into Leadership, Dr. Darrin Peppard Ed.D. recognizes the important work school principals do every day, much of it behind the scenes.

A fitting listen for and a great reminder to thank the leaders who make a difference in our schools.

Quickly and easily listen to Leaning into Leadership for free!

10/05/2026

New service announcement!

Our new System Overview Session helps district leaders step back, see the big picture, recognize what’s working, and identify opportunities to strengthen alignment across the system.

See your system clearly. Strengthen what comes next.

Learn more or schedule your System Overview Session: https://calendly.com/d/dvyd-k58-thw/system-overview-info-session

09/30/2026

CLI is headed to the School Research Nexus Fall Elite Symposium!

Stacey and Reagan are excited to join K–12 leaders for a few days of learning, connection, and thoughtful conversation about the work happening in schools and districts across the country.

We value opportunities to step outside of the day-to-day, exchange ideas, and learn alongside leaders who are navigating many of the same opportunities and challenges.

We’re looking forward to the conversations and to thinking together about how we continue moving schools forward.

09/14/2026

As conversations around assessment practices continue to evolve, understanding the data behind grading policy trends is essential. Where Have All the Zeros Gone, a new CALDER study by Dan Goldhaber, Maia Goodman Young, and Luke Caldwell offers a closer look at how "no-zeros" policies are structured and adopted across districts, highlighting key trends and unexpected patterns in implementation.

At CLI, we are committed to following emerging research to deepen our collective learning around the role of grading and assessment in today's educational climate.

How is your team or district navigating conversations around grading policies this year? Read the full study here:https://caldercenter.org/sites/default/files/2026-08/CALDER-WP-345-0826.pdf

09/10/2026

When a single administrator leaves, does your district's academic momentum leave with them?

It’s the silent progress-killer in public education: a talented leader builds a strong initiative, but the moment they transition out, the system resets to square one. Teachers face initiative fatigue, focus shifts, and hard-earned academic gains simply evaporate.

In a recent Education Week article, "Why Superintendents' Top Concerns Changed Fast in 2026," author Evie Blad highlights national survey data showing how district leaders are increasingly overwhelmed by administrative burnout, budget shifts, and rapid turnover. When instructional vision lives in a single office, it becomes deeply vulnerable to these exact pressures.

Sustainable growth requires moving away from single-leader dependency.

By establishing a Curriculum Coordinating Council (CCC), a standing, shared governance structure composed of cross-role educators, districts anchor their vision in collective ownership. When leadership is distributed, the instructional strategy stays steady even when administrative roles change.

Is your instructional vision built to outlast administrative turnover?

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-superintendents-top-concerns-changed-fast-in-2026/2026/07

09/07/2026

When a district has a clearly defined curriculum, teachers share expectations for what students should know and be able to do, but that doesn’t mean instruction has to look the same in every classroom.

Teachers still bring their professional expertise, respond to the needs of their students, and choose the strategies that will best support learning.

📘 Curriculum sets the destination.
🍎 Instruction chooses the route.

Aligned classrooms can, and should, look different.

Same destination. Different paths.

How does your team balance shared expectations with teacher flexibility?