BetterLesson Partners with EL Education to Expand Access to High-Quality Curriculum Implementation Support
- Heather Harman
- Sep 9
- 3 min read
BetterLesson is proud to partner with EL Education in its Certification Program Pilot to support districts in delivering high-quality, curriculum-based professional learning.
Educators implementing EL Education’s K-8 Language Arts curriculum will soon have unprecedented access to expert-led professional development through BetterLesson’s newly certified facilitators.
BetterLesson is a launch partner in EL Education’s pilot Professional Learning Partner Certification Program—a new initiative designed to equip educators and organizations with the skills to design and deliver high-quality, curriculum-based professional learning.
This competency-based, blended learning program provides digital credentials tied to specific EL Education curriculum products, ensuring quality, alignment, and validated expertise in implementing our top-ranked instructional materials.
This partnership brings together BetterLesson’s comprehensive professional learning services with EL Education’s award-winning K-8 Language Arts curriculum—and will make BetterLesson the first professional learning provider currently authorized to deliver EL Education-certified training on both the 2017 and 2019 versions of EL’s Language Arts curriculum.
This marks an important step toward making high-quality, curriculum-specific professional learning more accessible to educators nationwide.
Through EL Education certification, BetterLesson professional learning facilitators will have completed rigorous training on the curriculum’s design principles, instructional components, and implementation strategies. Districts can be confident they’re receiving professional development from providers who truly understand the nuances of Module lessons, Skills Block, and ALL Block—rather than generic training that misses the curriculum’s specific instructional shifts.
In today’s budget-conscious environment, this expertise helps ensure your PD investment translates to lasting classroom improvements.
Bridging the gap between curriculum and classroom practice
Schools and districts investing in EL Education’s K-8 Language Arts curriculum face a familiar challenge: how do you ensure teachers feel confident and capable of implementing research-based instructional materials with fidelity? The answer lies in sustained, high-quality professional learning that meets educators where they are.
Through this partnership, BetterLesson’s certified professional learning facilitators and instructional coaches will connect proven practices with a deep expertise in EL’s curriculum design principles, Module lessons, Skills Block, ALL Block, and assessment practices.
This means districts can access high-impact curriculum implementation support that spans initial training through ongoing coaching and refinement.
“The quality of our K-12 instructional materials matters—but we only see that impact if it’s being implemented with fidelity,” said Matt Kennard, BetterLesson CEO. “Our partnership with EL Education is based on our shared belief that when teachers and leaders have access to expert-led professional development that’s specifically designed around their curriculum, students experience more coherent, engaging learning experiences.”
What this partnership delivers
Certified expertise: By the end of September 2025, BetterLesson facilitators will complete rigorous EL Education certification training for the EL Education Language Arts curriculum, 2017 and 2019 editions—ensuring they understand the nuances of Module lessons, Skills Block, ALL Block, and the instructional shifts required for successful implementation.
Comprehensive, ongoing professional learning: BetterLesson’s approach includes in-person launch experiences, virtual workshop series, and on-demand learning that can be adapted to district contexts and educator needs. Educators and leaders reflect and deepen understanding during 1:1 coaching time while guided Learning Walks inform ongoing support and improvement efforts.
Sample BetterLesson EL Education Learning Plan
Support for instructional leaders: Successful implementation depends on more than mastering knowledge and skills at the educator level—it also requires targeted, ongoing guidance from your instructional leadership. BetterLesson builds instructional leadership capacity through 1:1 coaching, guided learning walks, and workshops so that your coaches, principals, and other instructional leaders are building the pedagogical understanding they need to improve classroom practice.
Multi-year implementation support: BetterLesson’s EL Education implementation spans one to three years—incorporating in-person, virtual, group, and self-directed learning experiences throughout the full school year to support both teachers and leaders from implementation to continuous success.
Supporting student-centered learning at scale
EL Education promotes a multi-dimensional view of student achievement that includes: mastery of knowledge and skills, character, and high-quality work. This approach aligns seamlessly with BetterLesson’s commitment to student-centered practices and ensures that more students across the nation have access to the transformative learning experiences that the EL Education Language Arts curriculum, 2017 and 2019 editions, makes possible.
Get started with BetterLesson
BetterLesson’s EL Education-certified facilitators look forward to supporting districts currently implementing the EL Education Language Arts curriculum, 2017 and 2019 editions, as well as those considering adoption. This partnership represents a significant step forward in making high-quality, curriculum-specific professional learning accessible to more educators and students nationwide.
“We’ve spent a decade helping K-12 organizations build student-centered classrooms,” said Kennard. “Now, as districts and states face increased budgetary scrutiny, it’s never been more important that critical initiatives like adopting high-quality ELA curriculum are paired with the tailored implementation support that ensures successful adoption and world-class outcomes for our students.”
Districts interested in learning more about BetterLesson’s EL Education professional development offerings can visit the EL Focus Area site or contact us.
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