Typical “top-down” professional learning structures often feel like this by the time they make it to classrooms.
Curriculum Implementation
MTSS
Integrated ELD
Inclusive Classrooms
Science of Reading
Standards-Based Grading
Curriculum Implementation MTSS Integrated ELD Inclusive Classrooms Science of Reading Standards-Based Grading
Our belief is that coherence isn’t about how we align our priorities.
It’s when our practice makes them all visible together at once.
That’s where ARC was born.
The ARC Reading Framework weaves together the priorities that nearly all districts care about. But instead of treating them like separate priorities, it treats them as one coherent model of instructional practices that ensure all students can succeed.
ARC is a Three Read Framework that works across grade level, content areas, and curriculum. It closes foundational comprehension gaps through strategic scaffolding while keeping the cognitive demand at grade level. Read below about our Core Practices.
Read 1: Access
Every student deserves access to grade-level text and the thinking it demands. Read 1 helps teachers identify sources of text complexity using the Reading Rope and provide strategic scaffolds that maintain rigor while increasing access. Through explicit modeling and metacognitive think-alouds, students learn how proficient readers make meaning, monitor understanding, and overcome challenges.
The result is an equitable instructional foundation where multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and diverse learners can engage in the same rigorous content, academic discourse, and knowledge-building experiences as their peers.
Integrates: Science of Reading, SIOP/ELD, MTSS Tier 1, Special Education Inclusion, UDL, Educational Equity, Academic Language Development, Curriculum Implementation, and Differentiation.
Read 2: Rigor
Rigor is not about giving students harder work. It's about ensuring they do the unique thinking required by grade-level standards. Read 2 helps teachers identify the specific cognitive demands of a standard by examining its progression across grade levels and clarifying what is truly new, challenging, and essential for students to master.
Once that clarity is established, teachers intentionally lead students into productive struggle. Through strong models, think-alouds, and carefully designed learning experiences, students enter the learning pit with a clear destination and the tools needed to navigate the challenge. The result is grade-level rigor that builds independence, confidence, and deeper understanding while keeping all students engaged in meaningful cognitive work.
Integrates: Grade-Level Standards Alignment (GLSA), High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), Academic Rigor, Standards-Based Learning, Depth of Knowledge (DOK), Productive Struggle, College and Career Readiness, Learning Acceleration, Unit Mapping, and Teacher Clarity.
Read 3: Consolidation
Consolidation is not about reviewing learning. It's about making learning meaningful. Read 3 helps students connect new knowledge to their identities, experiences, values, and existing understanding through rich, relevant reflection and discussion.
Using frameworks such as TSEL standards, essential questions, learner profiles, graduate outcomes, or school values, teachers create opportunities for students to make meaning of what they have learned and why it matters. The result is stronger learning transfer, deeper student belonging, and classrooms where students develop not only academic understanding, but also a stronger sense of who they are and how they contribute to the world around them.
Integrates: TSEL/SEL, Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP), Student Belonging, Student Agency, Learning Transfer, Identity Development, Asset-Based Instruction, Student Voice, Engagement, Relationship-Centered Learning, Portrait of a Graduate Competencies, School Values, Character Education, Community and Culture Initiatives, and Project-Based Learning.
ARC is a base. We can also help you tailor it to fit your school or district’s unique priorities.
Chat with us
Book a free 30 minute chat with us to talk through your school or district’s needs. No strings attached— and we aim to have you walk away with valuable insight no matter if you end up booking with us or not.