Every Student Holds a Spark—Let’s Ignite Their Brilliance
Transform your school or district into an incubator for student passion, persistence, and success with the Institute for Learning (IFL). Together, we’ll break through the unique challenges holding school systems back from delivering an inspiring education – and give students the life-changing learning they deserve.
From developing riveting lessons to nurturing collaborative practices, we partner with educators to create classrooms, schools, and districts where every student thrives.
English Language Arts
Our ELA practices lead to instruction that gets students excited about learning - and motivated to excel.
Emergent Multilingual Learners
We empower teachers to build on Emergent Multilingual learners' assets, so they can reach new heights.
Student Centered Practices
We coach practices and routines that drive collaborative knowledge building, skills mastery, and persistence.
Why It Matters
National Reading Levels Have Hit a 20-Year Low.
Nearly a third of 8th graders struggle to read at a basic level. Socio-economic disparities, inconsistent teaching practices, and the lasting impact of the pandemic hold many students back from reaching their highest level of mastery as they prepare for life after high school.
Percentage of 8th graders who don't meet basic reading benchmarks
*SOURCE: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2022 School Survey, Institute of Education Sciences
What We Offer
A Practical Path to Transformative Results
Our services help educators create learning experiences that move students from interested to passionate, from passionate to persistent, and from persistent to successful.
Tailored Tools
Use customized change packages to overcome school and district-specific challenges. Implement innovative practices, and use data to guide ongoing refinements.
Proven Practices
Empower students to excel in reading, writing, reasoning, and problem-solving through practices and routines that engage every learner in meaningful, demanding work.
Custom Solutions
Through tailored guidance and hands-on support, make small data-driven changes at the classroom, school, and district level that make a difference now while driving longterm goals.
Culture Building
Develop habits of teaching excellence by refining instructional practices and sparking collaboration with educators in your school, district, and beyond.
Angela Allie
Executive Director, Institute for Learning
We engage in this work from a collaborative standpoint. Leaders, teachers, and students are committed to continuous improvement, have opportunities for feedback, are speaking the same language, and have a clear vision.
Our Impact in Texas
Engaged Learners, Exceptional Outcomes
We worked closely with 7 middle schools and 7 high schools committed to removing barriers to student excellence. By integrating continuous improvement methods, our network helped these Dallas Independent School District schools significantly improve literacy outcomes.
Dallas Middle Schools
Dallas High Schools
Students over six years
Student Outcomes
When comparing NSI Schools to Non-NSI Schools within the Dallas ISD on Student Growth in ELAR, every subgroup of students at both NSI middle and high schools outperformed their counterparts.
Gains in Middle School 2022 STAAR Reading Assessment
Gains in High School 2022 English I & II Assessment
Participant Experience
Rekindle the magic of teaching with the time, tools, and strategies needed to create impactful solutions—all in a low-pressure, collaborative space.
When it comes to standardized testing, IFL gives students the space to think. That is the ‘Ah-ha’ of it all—students can just think freely. Then, those standardized questions aren’t that hard to do. The students have thought so far outside of the box, the questions become a little bit easier for them.
8th grade teacher
When it’s more student-centered, students grasp it more. So whenever I’m having them collaborate and work together, instead of me directly teaching, or teaching over and over again, I give students the time they need time to process things on their own.
9th grade teacher
It’s nice to know that an IFL meeting is an open space where we can come, and say, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ By the end, we know exactly what we’re going to do for students, what the recommendations are, and the next steps. I’d rather stay after school an extra hour to get some things done than miss that meeting.
9th grade teacher
IFL is here to help, so we can be honest. They go with us to the drawing board, help us plan out lesson, and then give us something to work with. Not that I don’t feel safe talking to my assistant principal, but having time to talk to someone who’s outside of the bubble and can give an outside perspective is really valuable.
9th grade teacher
Case Study
There’s Nothing Too Hard For Emergent Multilingual Students
Being multilingual is an asset. We helped middle school teachers develop Instructional practices that leverage the distinct skillsets multilingual students bring to the classroom, making it possible for these learners to tackle any challenge that came their way.
Quick Facts
We worked with two 7th grade teachers determined to give emergent multilingual students learning experiences that fuel the mastery of English language arts skills and academic success.
Centering students' language assets inspired deep engagement and grew students' confidence as readers, writers, and collaborators.
Scaffolded reading tasks helped students with key vocabulary and cognates, discussion, and collaborative idea generation, making complex texts accessible and nurturing success.
Peer collaboration such as discussion, charting, and gallery walks gave students opportunities to problem solve and grow together.
Student-centered practices fostered ownership, encouraging students to take the lead in their learning.
Opportunity
Every student can tackle complex, grade-level texts with the right scaffolds. High expectations and purposeful instruction help students grow as confident, engaged readers and thinkers.
Insight
Teacher mindsets play a critical role in shaping effective, inclusive instructional planning.
Adapting curriculum thoughtfully can make complex texts accessible to all, including emergent multilingual learners.
Scaffolds and student-centered practices empower students to take ownership of their learning and lead classroom discussions.
Instructional Change
Scaffolded reading comprehension uses purposefully sequenced, open-ended questions to help students process the ideas in small chunks of text and then put those ideas together to understand the text as a whole. This scaffold maintains the rigor of the task while using key vocabulary, cognates, writing, and discussion to provide every student access to the text.
Students Rise To The Heights Of Your Belief
7th grade teachers at Thomas C. Marsh Preparatory Academy implemented intentional teaching practices grounded in high expectations and meaningful support. The result? Emerging Bilingual Students improved their college and career on-track rates from 35 percentage points in 2017-18 to 80 percentage points in 2021-22.
Emerging Bilingual Students’ College & Career On-Track Rates:
45 Percentage Point Improvement From 2017-18 to 2021-22
Before discussing any engaging strategies that lead to success in my classroom, it is important to mention that I have an unshakable belief that my students can handle any text, any essay question, and any task I throw at them. Everything starts with the belief that our students can handle on- and above-grade level texts with the right supports. Nothing can flourish in your classroom until you have faith that they can do it all.
Emma Raleigh
7th Grade Teacher, Thomas C. Marsh Preparatory Academy
