IMplement MA

Coming Soon: In spring 2026, a revised and redesigned IMplement MA Guide.

The IMplement MA Guide is a robust, comprehensive resource to equip leaders to transition their district and schools toward a collective commitment to instructional excellence.

The guide provides a clear roadmap for navigating the evaluation, selection, launch, and implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) to facilitate educational equity for all students through universal access to high-quality Tier 1 core instruction. The guide provides:

• Step-by-step, evidence-based guidance and practical tools
• Real-world written and video case studies of IMplement MA in action in districts and school throughout the Commonwealth

IMplement MA Self-Assessment: The IMplement MA Self-Assessment is a diagnostic tool—not an evaluation—designed to help educator teams map their progress within the curriculum lifecycle. This quick check-in uses intuitive follow-up questions to pinpoint educator teams' current phase and connects them directly to the specific resources they need to move forward.

Curriculum Matters: IMplement MA Video Playlist : This video series highlights districts using collaborative structures-such as common planning, peer walkthroughs, and coaching-to internalize and support HQIM implementation. Through student-centered instruction and targeted language routines, these districts facilitate student-centered learning and utilize language routines to provide equitable access for all learners, including multilingual learners (MLs) and students with IEPs. Their focus on unified systems fosters greater instructional coherence across schools necessary for student success at scale.

• Resource: PLC Discussion Guide and Agenda Example

Cultivating Deeper Learning Instructional Videos: The videos in this series feature strong daily instructional practices and strategies with high-quality instructional materials that foster the learning conditions to cultivate deeper learning and equity.

• Resource: Questions to Support Reflection, Discussion, and Action

Instructional Planning Tools Collection: Intellectual preparation is the key to instructional equity. By leveraging DESE's instructional planning tools, educators can transform high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) into daily lessons that cultivate deeper learning for every student—particularly students with IEPs and multilingual learners—helping to create a more equitable learning experience through evidence-based practices that are inclusive and culturally & linguistically sustaining.

Intellectual preparation is the ongoing, disciplined process by which educators—individually or in teams—internalize the cognitive demands of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). It represents a fundamental shift in instructional planning, moving the focus from teacher actions (What am I doing today?) to student cognition (What are my students thinking and learning today?)

Intellectual preparation focuses on the "intellectual labor" required to facilitate rigorous, student-centered, and equitable grade level-learning. The process consists of two routines: unit unpacking and lesson internalization.

• Unit Unpacking is the systemic process by which educators analyze an upcoming unit within high-quality instructional materials to deconstruct its instructional "DNA." Educators identify the core content and language standards, distill the "big ideas," identify the final performance tasks, and map the instructional arc. This ensures teachers understand how each lesson serves as a building block toward student mastery, allowing them to see the end goal before the first day of instruction begins.
• Lesson Internalization is the process by which educators prepare to facilitate a lesson with HQIM by first experiencing the "cognitive lift" of the lesson themselves. Educators engage deeply with the content to anticipate student thinking and potential misconceptions. This preparation allows teachers to plan strategic instructional moves and leverage students' cultural and linguistic assets as "entry points" for learning. The ultimate goal is to provide necessary scaffolds that uphold grade-level rigor, ensuring that all students access complex content without it being simplified or "watered down."

The Evaluate & Select HQIM Network blends differentiated virtual sessions with personalized support to guide district teams through a robust, inclusive curriculum selection process that supports their development of curriculum literacy. Aligned with DESE's IMplement MA Guide, the network supports districts' cultivation of genuine buy-in from a diverse stakeholder group in selecting high-quality instructional materials that meet their specific local needs.

Guided by DESE staff and equipped with DESE-developed tools and other resources, participants focus on the first two phases of the IMplement MA curriculum lifecycle:

1. Learn & Prepare: Establishing a strategic foundation for a successful selection and beyond.
2. Investigate & Select: Conducting a collaborative, evidence-based evaluation process to select the "best fit" high-quality materials while solidifying the infrastructure to sustain change.

Participants commit to (A) attending a 1-hour team-leader kickoff and all seven virtual sessions and (B) meeting as a working leadership team between sessions to advance the IMplement MA process within their local district. By soliciting the input of diverse voices and perspectives throughout the process, districts create the stakeholder support critical for sustained, effective implementation of high-quality instructional materials to drive instructional equity and positive outcomes for all students.

Registration for the 2025-26 Evaluate & Select HQIM network is now closed. For content-specific questions about HQIM evaluation and selection, email the appropriate DESE content support staff.

• Comprehensive Health and Physical Education: Beth.Williams-Breault@mass.gov
• ELA/Literacy: Octavia.Nixon@mass.gov
• Mathematics: Jennifer.L.Sauriol@mass.gov
• Science and Technology/Engineering: Casandra.Gonzalez@mass.gov

The Implement & Monitor HQIM Network is designed for district and school leaders who are ready to shift from curriculum selection/adoption to instructional transformation. This network focuses on supporting leaders to strengthen the coherent systems, structures, and practices that create enabling conditions to advance instructional equity for all students, particularly students with IEPs and multilingual learners.

Facilitated by DESE staff, the network provides a virtual collaborative space for leaders to engage in cross-district learning and thought partnership. The network includes:

• A 1-hour team leader kickoff to align goals.
• Monthly 2-hour virtual sessions focused on scaling instructional improvement efforts.
• (Optional) Participating local education agencies implementing Math or Science HQIM can join an optional 1-hour post-session Community of Practice (CoP) for deeper content dives or collaborate to navigate complex, adaptive change.

Informed by the IMplement MA Self-Assessment and aligned with the IMplement MA Guide, participating district and school leaders commit to advancing one or more foundational systems or practices during the school year. By strengthening structures, district and school leaders provide the necessary environment for teachers to enact high-quality instruction that actualizes their instructional vision for teaching and learning that drives all students, particularly students with IEPs and multilingual learners, to achieve at or above grade level.

Registration for the 2025-26 Implement & Monitor HQIM Network is now closed. For questions, email Jeff Pera .