MA Instructional Institutes

2025 Institute Details

District teams can apply for either the virtual March or in-person April session. Priority will be given to districts with one or more schools identified by the Accountability System as requiring assistance.

District teams can apply at Instructional Prioritization Institute Application.

• Virtual IPI will occur March 4th & 5th from 9:00–11:00 and 12:00–2:30. Virtual IPI is open to districts who have attended IPI in previous years.
• In-person IPI will occur April 9th & 10th at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA from approximately 9:00–4:00. In-person IPI is open to all districts, and differentiation will be provided for districts returning to IPI year-over-year.
• This year, we will offer an optional virtual follow-up session to continue strategy and action planning with a dedicated coach. Districts will select one time slot on May 13th or 14th.

District applicants will receive an email confirming their participation and next steps.

Institute Overview

Each school year, effective school districts identify clear improvement priorities and the highest leverage practices to improve student learning. From there, they implement a focused and cohesive set of systems and structures to drive improvement and provide schools with timely, data-informed support and feedback aligned with those priorities. This spring, DESE is partnering with TNTP to offer an in-person and virtual Instructional Prioritization Institute — a two-day learning experience that will support district leaders in their efforts to plan for sustainable improvement in SY 2025-26.

The Institute is designed to support your team at all stages of the process, from reflection on your instructional improvement efforts to date, to focused planning for the future. If you have previously participated in the Institute, attending this year at either the virtual or in-person session will allow the time and space to reflect on the work you have been doing and refine your strategy for SY 2025-26. If this is your first year participating, the in-person Institute will empower your team to elevate the essentials and identify a clear and motivating instructional improvement priority to improve teaching and learning for all students. District teams will have space and time to do the following:

• Articulate or refine an instructional improvement priority, informed by data and a deep understanding of your system's context and capacity, and begin to operationalize a plan to drive instructional improvement in SY 2025-26.
• Ensure your plan reflects best practices for progress monitoring and change management, is inclusive of diverse stakeholders who will contribute to the collective effort of improving outcomes for all students.
• Identify key strategies and action steps that support the identified priority.

This Institute will be a high-engagement learning experience. TNTP and DESE will provide teams with the opportunity to learn from and with their peers across the state and explore research-based and innovative practices. Teams will walk away with actionable deliverables that will drive immediate and long-term impact.

Who Should Attend

Teams should be comprised of 4–6 leaders who are charged with instructional improvement and have decision-making authority and locus of control to implement learning from Institute. Participants should represent a diverse set of perspectives and experiences in role, tenure, school-based, race, special education, and EL.

This page will be updated soon with information about the 2025 Instructional Leadership Institute. Information about the 2024 Institute can be found below.

2024 Institute Details

This institute is open to all Massachusetts districts and will have two components, running over 3-days during the week of July 29th.

The Institute will occur at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA:

• July 29th and 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (in person)
• July 31st from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (virtual)

District applicants will receive an email confirming their participation and next steps.

Institute Overview

The Instructional Leadership Institute will be a 2-day in-person, 1-day virtual professional learning and planning experience for district and school leaders to deeply engage and build expertise in MA Standards Frameworks, with a focus on instructional equity. Participants will plan for the key components of instructional improvement systems in order to better monitor and improve instructional practice. District teams will engage in sessions that will support them to:

• skillfully implement high-quality instructional materials that support culturally and linguistically sustaining practices and foster deeper learning for all learners at the rigor of the standards,
• plan with district teams to identify and build equity-centered routines and systems for instructional leadership teams to effectively support high-quality culturally responsive instruction across all classrooms and drive professional learning, including:
  • examine mindsets, actions, and policies and their impact on educator support and student outcomes, and
  • develop an action plan to lead high-quality instruction within their respective roles.
• collaborate and connect with fellow job-alike leaders to learn and share best practices.

This Institute will be a high-engagement learning experience. DESE and other partners will provide teams with the opportunity to learn from and with their peers across the state and explore instructional through an equity lens and develop the systems necessary to support high-quality instruction. Teams will walk away with a deeper understanding of the MA Standard Frameworks and an action plan to lead to high-quality instruction within their respective roles.

Who Should Attend

K–12 school and district-based instructional leadership teams, with attention to leaders who are changed with instructional improvement and have decision-making authority and locus of control to implement learning from the Institute. Educators can participate as a member of the school and/or district team if they are key teacher leaders who are either responsible for leading their teams in CPT and/or PLC time or who are members of their school's ILT. Teams should be between 3–10 people and represent a diverse set of perspectives, experiences, roles, and identities.