Our Approach

The CORE Approach to Building and Sustaining Lasting Academic Excellence

What does it take to create and maintain significant improvement in educational quality in our nation’s schools? How can we ensure that the students of today are equipped to handle the challenges of tomorrow? Our years of experience have taught us that in order for education reform to be successful, school systems must work together to ensure that the educators’ knowledge, student learning tools, and leadership structure are all working together.

We have learned that sustainable improvement includes three critical components:

• Ongoing professional development to build research-based knowledge and skills
• Support in selecting and implementing effective, research-based instructional tools
• Establishment of local support systems to build sustainable success

Grow a solid knowledge base

Professional development is critical to equip teachers and school leaders with the research-based knowledge they need to design reading and math programs, select the right tools and use them well, and develop support systems. The most effective school implementation designs take into account the need for ongoing professional development and job-embedded learning in order to create and sustain a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Get the right tools and use them well

School systems should choose materials and other tools, such as assessment instruments, intervention programs, and core programs, that reflect current research. School leaders need to ensure that teachers get the support necessary to master these tools.

Build institutional capacity and implementation success

CORE’s district leadership and expert technical assistance teams will help build your staff’s critical literacy knowledge, choose and master effective tools, and successfully implement and sustain your reading program by building the capacity of your educators. 

The following documents contain more information about our approach:

The CORE Literacy Improvement Blueprint – School Districts

Implementing and Sustaining an Effective Reading Program (a CORE elementary briefing paper)

Implementing and Sustaining a Middle and High School Reading and Intervention Program (a CORE adolescent literacy briefing paper)

Triage for Literacy

When All Means ALL – Struggling Readers

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