Teaching Lab

05/28/2026

What does it take for a curriculum change to actually change outcomes for kids?

New research from Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University examined what happened when school districts across the country chose a different path: shared, high-quality curriculum paired with the systems to make it work.

The answer they found, consistently: curriculum is just the launchpad. What drives results is everything built around it.

NYC District 25 is one of the districts profiled. Three years in, 3rd-grade reading proficiency is up 16 percentage points. Students with disabilities improved by 7 points. Multilingual learners gained 4.6 points.

Teaching Lab served as the district’s literacy coaching partner throughout that shift. And what we saw reflected the research: the scores moved because the systems did. Because grade-level teams had structured time to collaborate. Because coaching was sustained instead of episodic. Because leaders created space and grace for teachers to learn.

One teacher put it plainly: “It doesn’t feel so scary anymore.”

That’s what instructional confidence looks like when it’s been earned.

As Teaching Lab and Relay come together, this work feels even more important. The report reinforces something we believe deeply: sustainable instructional change happens when educator preparation, coaching, leadership development, and classroom practice are connected instead of siloed.

Explore the full All Systems Go report:

Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University investigates how shared, high-quality curriculums help school districts reach higher, together.

05/21/2026

Teachers have always known this: catching kids up is one of the hardest things to do in a classroom. In a room of 25–30 students, figuring out who is behind, why, and what to do about it, while keeping everyone else moving, is a nearly impossible ask without the right support.

A new op-ed in The 74 digs into why American schools struggle so much with this challenge, and spotlights work happening right now in the Bronx — including Teaching Lab's partnership with Achievement Network and Kiddom, where AI tools and professional coaching are being paired together to help teachers do exactly that.

What does it actually look like? Real-time student assessment. Specific, evidence-informed instructional recommendations. And coaching that shows up during the school day, not just at a once-a-year PD.

This is the kind of support teachers deserve as standard practice. Read the full piece and see what's possible when the right tools and the right professional learning work together.

Weisberg: Artificial intelligence can fill gaps for teachers who lack time & tools for getting kids back on track while keeping the class moving ahead.

05/21/2026

Last week, our NYC Math Team hosted Teaching Lab’s 2nd annual end-of-year Capstone Event for the Transfer Schools District, bringing together educators from across the district to reflect on the work they’ve done this year, the challenges they’ve worked through, and the impact they’re seeing with students.

What made this year different was the way the learning stayed active all day long.

Alongside teacher-coach spotlights, we built in time for teachers to immediately apply ideas from each session into their own lesson plans in real time. We grounded the day in a shared Do The Math and Lesson Internalization routine, so everyone was working from a common experience and pushing their thinking together.

The best part wasn’t just hearing about growth. It was watching educators collaborate, revise, problem-solve, and leave with ideas they could use right away in their classrooms.

These events are a reminder that strong professional learning isn’t about isolated workshops. It’s about creating the time and space for educators to learn from each other!

05/07/2026

Teachers should not have to get "lucky" to get a high-impact year of learning with meaningful support from a coach; it should be expected when they enter the teaching field. Our President and CEO Dr. Sarah Johnson shares a vision that she is putting into practice: a teacher development system that leads to better student outcomes.

At Relay GSE and Teaching Lab, we want every single teacher to receive high quality support every year of their careers without leaving it up to chance. Listen to the full episode of Big Ideas That Matter podcast here: https://youtu.be/vTH78G4chbk?si=FROxR82tmbBNyB6-

05/05/2026

Happy ! Today we're celebrating the educators who don't just inspire our work — they shape it.

Teaching Lab's Teacher Advisory Board (TAB) was built on a simple belief: professional learning for teachers should be built by them. TAB members are teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders from across the country who vet and inform the materials and professional development reaching educators nationwide.

As TAB member Dr. Tanya Kennedy, an instructional advisor for the Office of Multilingual Learners at Memphis Shelby County Schools, put it: "A lot of companies — educational companies, educational publishers — the teacher voice and that teacher vetting process is sometimes missing."

Not here. At Teaching Lab, your expertise belongs in the room where decisions get made.

If you're an educator who wants to add your voice, TAB accepts applications on a rolling basis. Learn more at the link: https://teachinglab.org/teacher-advisory-board/



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05/05/2026

Relay GSE and Teaching Lab believe teacher preparation and teacher development shouldn't operate in silos. They should be one continuous system built around helping every teacher get better for every student. That's the vision our Dr. Sarah Johnson brought to the latest episode of Deans for Impact's podcast Hand in Hand, Place to Place.

Sarah's call to the field is simple but bold: make every teacher prep program a practice-based program. Think about how people get better at anything that truly matters. In sports, in medicine, in music, it's deliberate practice combined with expert feedback. Teacher preparation should work the same way. And when you add a real commitment to innovation, including how emerging technology can scale that expert feedback, transforming teacher prep starts to feel not just possible but urgent.

The episode is out today. What would it take to make practice-based preparation the norm, not the exception?

Give it a listen and tell us what resonates:
https://www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-resources/podcast-hand-in-hand-place-to-place
deansforimpact.org/podcast-spotify
deansforimpact.org/podcast-apple

04/23/2026

DCPS Math Coaching in Action in Washington, DC!
Our incredible coaches facilitated a powerful session for DCPS Math Coaches focused on coaching for math discourse, with an emphasis on Mathematical Language Routines (MLR) 7. Participants experienced a modeled coaching conversation, unpacked real scenarios, and engaged in deliberate practice to strengthen their coaching moves.

Math coaches walked away with clear success criteria for MLR 7 and actionable strategies to elevate math discourse across their campuses. Coaches led with intentional planning, strong facilitation, and unwavering commitment to building coaching capacity and driving meaningful instructional impact.

04/15/2026

We came to ASU+GSV with a question: What if AI tools in the classroom actually worked together?

We shared a vision where tools aren't competing for a teacher's attention or adding to the noise, but working in concert so teachers can stay focused on instruction and every educator gets the support they deserve. We put that vision in front of a room full of education leaders today at our AI Revolution Lab Session. They engaged, explored, and pushed the thinking forward with us.

This is what we're building at Teaching Lab Studio, and it's bigger than any single tool. See what we mean: teachinglabstudio.com

Still at the conference? We're at Spot S2, 2nd Level, Seaport Foyer. Stop by our booth!

04/01/2026

At 2026, Dr. Sarah Johnson challenged a common assumption that innovation in education will be solved by technology alone. The reality is more complex. AI can unlock powerful possibilities, but without educators shaping how it’s designed, tested, and implemented, it risks students not learning at the highest levels.

What actually works looks different: educators and engineers in true partnership, building, testing, and refining together. Real R&D grounded in classrooms.

We’ve seen what’s possible when that happens, from Teaching Lab educators contributing to AI benchmarking research to co-developing tools at Teaching Lab Studio that reflect the realities of teaching and learning in US classrooms. Watch the clip and learn more about the studio's work here: teachinglabstudio.com

03/19/2026

Our incredible Teaching Lab team led an Early Childhood Education and Literacy workshop for New York City's District 25 families last week! Following the presentation, families had the opportunity to practice live strategies to support their student’s language and literacy development.

We made sure to hold an informative and accessible workshop for all families and students. Join us in celebrating our D25 ECE team!