In urban public schools, educators are often navigating a complex mix of opportunity and challenge: diverse student needs, resource constraints, evolving standards, and heightened expectations for results. The conversation about student outcomes cannot be separated from the conditions in which teachers work.
Supporting teachers is not about adding more to their plates. It is about creating the right systems, tools, and culture so they can do their best work every day. When we get this right, the impact on students is profound.
1. Provide High-Quality Instructional Materials and Time to Use Them Well
Research has shown again and again and again that high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) improve student outcomes. To be successful, teachers must be provided with HQIM, protected time, and focused support to understand the curricula, plan lessons, and anticipate where students may struggle. With these prerequisites in place, teachers can focus less on creating content and more on delivering it effectively. It’s important to note that “curricula” encompass the full range of instructional materials, not just textbooks or prepackaged publisher resources. (For more details on high-quality curricula, click here.)
2. Invest in Job-Embedded Professional Learning
One-off workshops rarely change practice. What does make a difference is ongoing, job-embedded professional learning that is directly connected to what teachers are doing in their classrooms. Instructional coaching, peer observation, and collaborative professional learning communities allow teachers to refine their craft in real time. In classrooms where student needs can vary dramatically, this kind of support is essential. Teachers benefit from seeing effective strategies modeled, practicing them, and receiving feedback in a continuous cycle.
Professional learning must also reflect the realities of the classroom and address topics like culturally responsive teaching, supporting multilingual learners, and integrating social-emotional learning with academic instruction. The Council of the Great City Schools has identified a core set of criteria for what high-quality professional development entails.
3. Strengthen and Support School Leadership
As the research also confirms, principals play a critical role in shaping the conditions for teaching and learning. In schools where leaders prioritize instructional quality, protect teachers’ time, and foster a culture of trust, teachers are more likely to stay and thrive.
Supporting teachers, therefore, also means supporting principals. School leaders need training and coaching to be effective instructional leaders, not just managers. They must be equipped to give meaningful feedback, facilitate data-driven conversations, and build strong teams. When principals are focused on instruction and relationships, teachers feel supported rather than evaluated, and that distinction matters.
4. Create Systems That Use Data as a Tool, Not a Burden
Data should illuminate the path forward, not overwhelm. In today’s schools, teachers often have access to large amounts of student data, but not always the time or tools to use it effectively. School systems should strive to simplify and streamline data systems so teachers can quickly identify where students are excelling and where they need support. This means providing user-friendly, integrated dashboards, and structured time for teams to analyze results together. School leaders may find this resource helpful as they build a data-driven school culture.
Most importantly, data conversations should be framed around problem-solving, not compliance. When teachers see data as a resource to inform instruction, it becomes a powerful driver of student success.
5. Address Teacher Workload and Well-Being
It is impossible to talk about supporting teachers without acknowledging their workload. Today’s educators serve as instructors, mentors, advocates, and sometimes first responders, to students’ needs. To ensure teacher retention, districts must be intentional about reducing unnecessary burdens. This can include streamlining administrative tasks, rethinking schedules to provide planning time, and ensuring access to support staff such as counselors and paraprofessionals.
Equally important is creating a culture where teacher well-being is prioritized. This is not about surface-level gestures; it is about respecting teachers’ time, valuing their expertise, and recognizing the emotional labor of the profession. Evidence-based resources for cultivating teacher well-being are curated here and here.
6. Elevate Teacher Voice and Leadership
Teachers are closest to the work, and their insights are invaluable. Yet too often, decisions about curriculum, policy, and practice are made without their input. Supporting teachers means creating structures for their voices to be heard and acted upon. This can take many forms: teacher advisory groups, leadership pathways, and opportunities to pilot and refine new initiatives. It is especially important to create career ladders to allow teachers the opportunity for leadership without leaving the classroom entirely. Some examples and frameworks are here, here, and here.
When teachers are treated as partners rather than implementers, they are more invested in the work and more likely to stay in the profession. There are many research-based resources to support elevating teacher voice and increasing teacher retention, including this, this, this, and this.
7. Build Strong Partnerships with Families and Communities
Our public schools are deeply connected to the communities they serve. Teachers cannot do this work alone. Strong partnerships with families and community organizations can reinforce learning and provide additional support for students.
Districts can support teachers by creating systems that facilitate communication with families, providing translation services, and connecting schools with community-based resources. When families are engaged as partners, teachers are better positioned to meet students’ needs. A research-based framework for family-school partnerships, including case studies, is here.
8. Stay Focused on Coherence, Not Initiative Overload
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in education is the constant influx of new initiatives. Each one may be well-intentioned, but taken together, they can create confusion and fatigue. Districts must strategically abandon initiatives that are not yielding outcomes.
To support teachers, districts must prioritize coherence. This means aligning curriculum, assessments, professional learning, and accountability systems around a clear set of goals. It also means being disciplined about what not to do. When teachers have clarity and consistency, they can focus their energy where it matters most: on student learning.
A Shared Responsibility
Ensuring that students in urban public schools meet the highest standards is not solely the responsibility of teachers, but teachers are at the center of the effort. Supporting them requires thoughtful leadership, strategic investment, and a commitment to creating the conditions for success.
The question is not whether teachers are capable of helping students achieve at high levels. The question is whether we are providing them with the support they need to do so. When we invest in teachers, we invest in students. And when we get it right, the results speak for themselves, not just in test scores, but in the opportunities that open up for young people across our cities.
