TNTP Blog ‘Your Why Should Be a Lighthouse’: A District Leader on Equity and High-Quality Curricula

By Shauna Hart With a growing number of states mandating the use of high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials, many school and district leaders may find themselves wondering if the investment of time and resources will result in meaningful changes for student academic performance. Can the right curriculum paired with strong instruction make a measurable impact, even with the setbacks of the pandemic? This question was front and center when we began our partnership with Passaic Public Schools in 2021. TNTP worked closely with this small, urban district in New Jersey, to select, adopt, and implement new curricula in ELA and math across all its K-12 public schools—including a full set of materials in Spanish for multilingual learners. TNTP’s Northeast Partner Shauna Hart sat down with PPS Director of Elementary and Secondary Education, Lisa Rowbotham, to discuss why having a clearly articulated vision for your students matters and how to engage entire school communities when launching a new curriculum. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. View the article on tntp.org »