From High-Quality Materials to High-Quality Implementation

High-quality instructional materials give teachers strong tools, coherence, and built-in supports. But using them well often requires teachers to shift what they teach, how they teach, and how they assess learning. Sarah Milo Hoskow explained that these shifts can be profound, especially in social studies where instructional time or structures may not have been consistently protected.

When asked how teacher change actually happens, Sarah noted that many people expect beliefs to shift first. She explained that research points in another direction, saying that change begins when teachers try new practices and see students learning through them. As she put it, teachers must often take a leap of faith and then let student learning fuel their confidence in the approach.

“When we ask teachers to start using HQIM, we are often asking them to shift what they teach, how they teach, and how learning is assessed.”

She added that helping teachers understand the structure of the curriculum and providing continuous support are key parts of the transition. Without this, even strong materials can remain unused or used inconsistently.

Curriculum-Based Professional Learning in Action

To make the concept concrete, Sarah Milo Hoskow shared a story about learning to cook using Blue Apron meal kits. She described how she had long believed she was not a good cook and had never felt confident in the kitchen, even after taking classes and collecting recipes. But when she tried Blue Apron, the structured steps, clear ingredients, and hands-on practice started to change things. She explained that each week she became a little faster, a little more confident, and more able to improvise.

“How did I go from saying I do not cook to I am going to sauté the aromatics? It was ongoing practice-based learning.”

Sarah said the experience mirrors how curriculum-based professional learning works for teachers. Instead of expecting teachers to master a new curriculum immediately, CBPL gives them the opportunity to practice, get feedback, and understand how the materials are structured. She noted that teachers will not be experts on day one and that it is normal for the learning curve to feel slow at first.

Sarah emphasized that this kind of support helps teachers take risks and try new approaches, even if things feel messy early on. She said that teachers need space to try lessons, make mistakes, reflect, and adjust, because that process ultimately builds skill and confidence over time.

Building the Conditions for Successful Implementation

Rachel Strang shifted the discussion to the systems that make implementation possible. She said that even when districts use the same materials, implementation looks different because instructional time, leadership roles, and infrastructure vary. She described the conditions for successful curriculum implementation, which include a shared vision, clarity around roles, structured time, and opportunities for reflection.

“Everybody might be using the same resource, but the way it shows up in a district is going to look a little different because their infrastructure looks different.”

Rachel noted that time is one of the most consistent challenges across districts. She said leaders may feel they cannot control the schedule, but they often have influence through collaboration with principals, conversations about priorities, or realistic pacing decisions. She also clarified that fidelity means understanding how the curriculum was designed to maximize impact, not following a script.

Rachel explained that implementation is a journey. Teachers and schools move from awareness to discovery, activation, and eventually to using the curriculum as intended. She added that leaders play an important role in helping teachers move one step further along that path.

Lessons From Alexandria City Public Schools

Priorities for Selecting HQIM

ACPS serves more than 16,500 students, and more than 100 languages are spoken across the district. Social studies had not always received consistent time or clear structures. Sarah Whelan shared that leaders wanted social studies to be meaningful and connected to students’ identities and community.

She said they looked for materials that made inquiry visible, supported knowledge building, and brought history, geography, civics, and economics together in a coherent way.

“We have always wanted social studies to be this rich thing that goes beyond rote memorization and worksheets.”

Supporting Teachers Through the Shift

Before adopting HQIM, teachers had standards, guiding questions, and collections of resources, which created a varied and sometimes disconnected experience. Sarah said that the shift to a coherent inquiry-based sequence required time for teachers to understand how units connect and to explore the materials gradually. She also said teachers’ experiences with HQIM in other content areas helped them engage with the structure.

Carolyn Wooster added that supporting teachers meant balancing the rich work expected in classrooms with tools that make that work possible.

Cross-Content Partnerships

One of the strongest themes from ACPS was the collaboration between social studies and literacy. Sarah said this partnership was grounded in their shared belief in educating the whole child. Carolyn said the work of social studies aligns well with the science of reading because sustained inquiry builds the knowledge that supports comprehension.

She described the collaboration as mutually beneficial.

“There is such depth in how these units are designed and how that builds lasting knowledge, which we know is critical for reading comprehension.”

Sarah noted that teachers often already see the natural links and appreciate having support to bring them together more intentionally.

Early Teacher Breakthroughs

ACPS leaders also shared the story of a fifth grade teacher who began the year skeptical about inquiry and overwhelmed by time constraints. Sarah said that after trying the Inquiry Journeys unit, the teacher reported deeper student conversations and strong engagement, especially among multilingual learners. Carolyn said these experiences show how a consistent baseline of high-quality instruction can support teachers with a wide range of strengths.

Strategies for Building Momentum

ACPS is building systems to support teachers at different stages. These include a cohort of inquiry champion teachers, lighthouse schools that model strong implementation, classroom modeling from partners, and structures for celebrating student work. Sarah said these efforts help build enthusiasm and clarity across the district.

“We are trying to get people excited about the possibility of this for our students.”

Looking Ahead

Even in the early stages of their implementation, ACPS is seeing promising signs. Carolyn said it has been encouraging to see teachers with different levels of experience using the curriculum in consistent ways, which provides a strong foundation for growth. Sarah said that the curiosity students show during inquiry is one of the most encouraging indicators of success.

Both leaders emphasized that the work continues and that each step builds momentum for the next phase of implementation.