During the 2025-26 school year, the Norwood Professional Learning Team (PLT) invested time deepening their understanding of the early literacy observation tool, evidence-based literacy practices, internalization protocols for strong HQIM implementation, and impact cycles for continuous literacy improvement. The team built intellectual capacity and laid the groundwork for systems needed for full implementation in the year ahead.
Over the summer, Norwood developed a plan to scale those practices across the district, while simultaneously launching new HQIM in PreK and K-5. With several significant initiatives underway, Norwood remained focused on creating coherence across efforts, ensuring that curriculum implementation and professional learning worked together to advance the district’s early literacy vision.
The Norwood district leadership team strategically planned for targeted professional development across the vertical spine in both stand alone and job-embedded learning opportunities. Rather than treating professional development as a series of separate learning opportunities, the district aligned learning across roles, formats, and providers. For example, school leaders are engaged in a professional learning series to build their capacity leading systemic instructional improvement efforts through learning walks, PLC structures, and internalization routines.
The strength of Norwood’s approach lies not in any single professional learning opportunity, but the coherence across them. Whether learning is facilitated by district staff or one of their consulting partners, and whether it occurs during a stand-alone PD session, a PLC, a learning walk, or a feedback conversation, each experience is intentionally anchored in the same early literacy vision and goals and reinforces consistent expectations.
By Sarah Lichtenberg, TNTP Senior Manager