Our People, Our Passion, Our Impact
Cultivating a Culture of Engagement, Belonging, and Purpose at UnboundEd
At UnboundEd, our greatest strength is our people. For the past decade, we’ve been building more than an organization — we’ve been building a culture. One rooted in reflection, collaboration, and an unshakable belief in the power of educators to change the trajectory of students’ lives.
From how we collaborate as a team to how we partner with school systems, our culture reflects our commitment to excellence, equity, and transformation. We believe that the conditions we create inside our organization must reflect the outcomes we strive to create in schools: environments where everyone feels valued, challenged, and empowered to grow.
The Spark That Lit the Way
As a team of former teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, and researchers, the UnboundEd team came together with one clear goal: to break the predictability of historic achievement patterns by cultivating the mindsets, knowledge, and skills at the heart of truly transformative teaching and learning.
But we also knew that to create the change we wanted to see in the world, we had to build an organization that nurtured the very same culture of support, growth, and collaboration we wanted to see in schools.
From the outset, we turned to experts and influential thinkers to shape our organizational culture. Glenn Singleton and Gloria Ladson-Billings’s works served as touchstones, as did Dr. Zaretta Hammond’s research on the intersection of culture and brain-based teaching.
These foundational texts didn’t just influence our work — they shaped a workplace where conversations about engagement and structural challenges are the norm. By applying these principles to our own internal practices, we ensure that the culture within UnboundEd mirrors the experiences we strive to create in schools.
The Impact on Education and GLEAM® Instruction
UnboundEd’s internal culture is the foundation for everything we do, including how we support educators in schools. We have woven the principles we uphold internally into the very fabric of our organization.
When we look at grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM® — instruction, we don’t just see what we want for the students we work with, but also important tenets to cultivate in our organizational culture. Our internal commitment to mutual respect and ongoing learning directly shapes how we train and support educators. When our internal practices consistently reflect these values, we ensure that every educator we work with has the tools to implement change with purpose and clarity in their own classrooms.
GLEAM® Instruction
Grade-level: Instruction that is aligned with the grade-appropriate college and career standards.
Engaging: Instruction that fosters persistence, active learning, and academic agency by tapping into students’ assets.
Affirming: Instruction that builds a caring, collaborative classroom community by uplifting students’ identities and experiences in service of learning.
Meaningful: Instruction that cultivates civic agency and critical thinking by making learning relevant to issues students encounter beyond the classroom.
Ultimately, the power of UnboundEd’s impact on education begins with our own culture. The transformative work we do externally is built on our solid, unwavering commitment to fostering a supportive, engaged, and accountable team environment. When we practice what we preach, we create a ripple effect, empowering educators to mirror this culture of belonging and engagement in the classrooms they lead.
To our people — past, present, and future — thank you.
You are the heart of this work. And your passion has helped change what’s possible for thousands of educators and millions of students across the country.
Here’s to the next decade of impact.
