Lasting Change, Built Together

Building Capacity That Lasts

We began this partnership under the premise that materials alone don’t transform instruction; people do. So our model was never just about curriculum — it was about systems-level leadership. Through ongoing support, coaching, and collaborative planning, we helped district and school leaders:

• Develop a shared vision for instruction aligned with their chosen curricula (Open Up Math in GCS and i-Ready in MPUSD)
• Build implementation teams that could carry the work forward
• Create professional learning structures tied directly to instructional materials
• Institutionalize regular classroom walk-throughs centered on integrity, not compliance

Our foremost focus was creating systems that work because they’re built with the people who will sustain them.

And the results? Both districts reported increased leadership capacity, better data systems, clearer expectations for teachers, and stronger alignment across departments and initiatives. In GCS, walk-throughs became a standard approach. In MPUSD, district leaders credited UnboundEd’s support with making their instructional vision tangible.

When Instructional Leadership Grows, Teacher Support Follows

In both districts, school leaders developed greater confidence and clarity in how they supported teachers. They gained hands-on experience with the curriculum, used shared rubrics to calibrate what implementation should look like, and participated in learning walks that sharpened their instructional lens. According to leaders, this resulted in a stronger school-wide culture of instructional leadership. Additionally, in both districts, the majority of surveyed teachers reported that their school leaders:

• Set clear expectations for curriculum use
• Conducted observations beyond formal walk-throughs
• Offered actionable feedback aligned with the curriculum

Even more telling: in GCS, more than 85% of teachers said their math professional learning was clearly connected to their curriculum and daily instruction. That’s a testament to the way school leaders took ownership of the work and translated it into real, day-to-day support.

Scaling the Work Beyond the Cohort

One of the most hopeful findings in the EA report is that both GCS and MPUSD are not only sustaining this work, they’re expanding it.

District leaders reported plans to use what they’ve learned to scale implementation across new grade levels and subjects. The structures, systems, and relationships built through the EIC project are now guiding decisions in other areas. This is what systems change looks like: not just short-term wins, but long-term shifts in how a district supports great teaching.

The Challenges Are Real — But So Is the Commitment

Of course, the work hasn’t been easy. Leadership turnover, competing priorities, and capacity constraints remain challenges. But across interviews and survey data, one theme stood out: a shared commitment to keep going. Educators in both districts saw this work not as one more initiative, but as the foundation for all other instructional efforts.

In MPUSD, a smaller district with fewer resources, the impact was especially notable. Leaders shared that without UnboundEd’s support, this level of sustained and coherent curriculum implementation wouldn’t have been possible.

Lessons We’ll Carry Forward

This work reminds us that real change doesn’t happen overnight. It happens when we trust educators to lead, equip them to do so, and create the conditions for their success. From this project, we’ve learned:

• Implementation is a leadership practice. When leadership is clear, consistent, and grounded in evidence, teachers thrive.
• Data matter, but so does culture. Walk-through tools and dashboards help track progress, but shared language and aligned mindsets make implementation stick.
• Sustainability starts on day one. By designing with the end in mind — building capacity, not dependency — we help systems own their own growth.

A Decade In, Still Committed to the Work

As we celebrate 10 years of UnboundEd, this evaluation is more than a reflection. It’s a validation of what we’ve always believed: that every student deserves grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful instruction — and that supporting the adults who make that instruction happen is the surest path to equity.

To our partners in GCS, MPUSD, and EA, thank you for your courage, commitment, and trust. The changes you’ve made will echo far beyond this project. And to every district wondering whether transformational curriculum implementation is possible, we’re here to say: Yes. It is.