The Path to Instructional Excellence and Equitable Outcomes

This report explores District of Columbia Public Schools' innovative approach to supporting teaching instruction, called Learning Together to Advance our Practice, or LEAP. LEAP is based on research that has found the most effective professional learning is school-based and content-specific, grounded in the instructional materials and strategies that teachers will use with their students. It is based on the belief that, by establishing a clear vision for instructional excellence across a district grounded in standards-aligned curriculum and giving teachers a safe space in which to learn and collaborate, students will experience less variability in expectations and the quality of instruction from classroom to classroom, grade to grade, and school to school.