YOUR programs + OUR expertise = PROVEN results
Our mission is to take what you have and help you expertly use it, all while improving teacher expertise and raising student achievement.
Our hearts and minds are set on serving the lowest socio-economic regions in the country. And we do it well – the numbers tell the story!
We know that it’s not about “the stuff,” but about the quality of the moment-by-moment interactions between teacher and student.
We help make school life simpler.
When things are too convoluted, they don’t get done. We solve this problem with you.
Many of our clients are inundated with multiple consultants from many firms – brought in to “help”. We support schools in organizing all of the work that they have to get done – prioritizing the work that will have the biggest effect on student achievement is our specialty.
One of the things we notice is that a lot of work schools is done outside of the classrooms and seems to have lost touch with the teaching that needs to happen every moment of every day.
We don’t waste our/your time on activities that don’t directly improve the core of instruction in the classrooms, with the kids.
We aren’t afraid of resistance along the way, either!
We know that in order to transform your schools, there will be some naysayers, some who drag their feet, some who have snarky conversations or threaten to quit. We also know that this resistance is TEMPORARY if you manage it and is a very typical reaction to a change in practice.
We help you muster up the strength to endure the resistance and successfully make it to the other side. And there IS another side…and most of your former resisters will be there cheering for you once you’re there! That’s the funny thing about resistance…it oftentimes breeds confidence.
The #1 thing we want you to know?
We customize your plan. Every time. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
But these next 7 Steps will give you a basic idea about how we tend to deliver the work…it’s a broad outline because we don’t want you to “copy” someone else and say, “We want THAT plan!” We want to analyze, discuss and plan YOUR perfect plan that will help you meet YOUR school improvement goals. No two plans are exactly alike!
Step 1
We do an Instructional Audit to determine what’s going well, what’s not so hot and what needs immediate attention. We provide you with a detailed snapshot of your whole instructional system from top to bottom. This becomes the foundation for our work plan!
Step 2
Plan and deliver customized professional development series for leaders and coaches. The goal? To develop a realistic literacy system at each school. To do this, we organize the work of individual teachers and their teaching teams around what really increases the scores and has big impact on the quality of instruction.
If you have a ELA program, we link the training for leaders and coaches to these materials – they are a sure-fire starting point for all of our professional development and coaching!
We develop non-negotiables, set our instructional schedules, create a singular focus tailored for each site, facilitate important conversations about the role of the coach and the principal, practice how to have tough conversations with resistors, and lots more. We operate under this idea: without a plan and a backbone, not much will get done!
Step 3
Plan and deliver Phase I customized professional development for classroom teachers and interventionists. This typically focuses on tying your literacy program/materials directly to the research-based practices that are critical for every student to be receiving every day. This is all about getting everyone in the school and district on the same page.
If you have a ELA program and interventions, we link the training for teacher to these materials – these are what teachers cling to when they are prepping, planning and collaborating around instructional practices!
Step 4
Start on-site coaching, which allows us to model, model, model and coach, coach, coach – this is entirely customized work based entirely on the needs of the individual school and might vary from school-to-school based upon their needs. Ideally, the visits span the entire school year (every 4-8 weeks), depending on need.
Step 5
Plan and deliver Phase II of customized professional development for leaders, coaches, classroom teachers and interventionists. It’s common at this point to move to a focus on differentiating instruction for all students (advanced, benchmark, strategic and intensive).
We provide foundational training on how to profile students in groups, how to design lessons, how to deliver powerful small group lessons and how to monitor and adjust instruction in the short term and long term.
Step 6
Continue on-site consultation with a focus on differentiated instruction (see Step 4 above).
Step 7
With your Leadership Team, we will complete the post-Instructional Audit. We will discuss what is looking great, what is looking good, what needs support in the long-run and what needs immediate attention. We will complete a full data study with your team to determine what evidence we have that shows student achievement growth. After all, if the work isn’t showing up in the student outcomes, then what’s the point?
The #1 Difference Between Jackson Consulting and Other Firms?
We get our hands dirty in the trenches WITH YOU– we practice what we preach and bring the work to the classroom level much more quickly than others.
If you’re thinking, “You know what? This sounds like this might be a great fit for us!” then pick up the phone and call us right away – we’re here preparing for you right now…even as you read this! Contact us at 888-586-4862.