Our Approach
Twenty years of building the best urban schools in the country — distilled into a clear, executable system for school leaders who are ready to get results.
The 5 Dimensions of School Leadership
All of our work is built around what we believe to be the five critical dimensions of school leadership — the levers that, when pulled together, create truly great schools.
School & Network Readiness
Great schools don't happen by accident — they're built before the first day of school. We guide leaders through a rigorous readiness process to ensure the right systems are in place and clearly communicated: goals, roles and responsibilities, coaching schedules, leader calendars, PD calendars, and common pictures for every routine that matters. We provide exemplars with clear criteria for success for every critical readiness item — so leaders aren't guessing, they're executing.
Leader Mindset and Skill Development
Knowing what great leadership looks like isn't enough — leaders have to be able to do it, repeatedly, under pressure, with real people. We rapidly build skill through intensive practice and feedback in the areas that move schools most: practice-based coaching meetings, leading practice clinics, real-time coaching, data analysis and action planning, critical conversations, and building strong adult cultures. Every module is built and refined from years of doing this work at the highest level — and customized for each partner we work with.
Winning on the Arc of the Year
Leaders need a curriculum just as much as teachers do. We've broken the school year into its natural arc — six-week PD and coaching cycles covering classroom environment, feedback on student work, deep thinking and discussion, test preparation, and readiness for the following year. Each phase comes with a complete leader curriculum: weekly PD modules, video exemplars, coaching tools, and more. We support leaders before each phase begins and coach them through it in real time.
Excellent Implementation of High-Quality Curriculum
Choosing a strong curriculum is only the first step. We help schools select proven, rigorous, standards-aligned curricula — and then build everything needed to implement it well: roles and responsibilities, coaching guides, video exemplars, data trackers, student work analysis processes, and intellectual prep protocols. Through intensive PD and coaching, we ensure every leader can set a clear vision for each curricular area and coach teachers to excellence within it.
Simple and Clear Talent & Culture Systems
All the systems in the world fall apart without great people to execute them. We support schools to build and run a clear, proven talent calendar — with exemplars and training for every critical moment. Gone are the hours-long observations and dreaded end-of-year write-ups. In their place: clear, focused meetings aligned to agreed-upon goals, built on a foundation of countless shorter observations and practice sessions throughout the year.
What Makes Us Different
We've done this work at the highest level.
Doug McCurry co-founded and co-led Achievement First — a network of 40+ schools serving 15,000+ students, where 98% of students were Black or Latino and 85% qualified for free lunch. Under his leadership, AF 8th graders outperformed the wealthiest districts in New York. AF Amistad High was named the #1 school in Connecticut. AF Iluminar Elementary was the #1 school in Rhode Island — not the #1 school serving low-income students, the #1 school in the state. Riley Bauling was AF's highest-performing principal before becoming superintendent of AF's top-performing region. We don't teach theory. We teach what we built and proved.
We only play the varsity team.
Every Simply Great Schools partnership is led by either Doug or Riley. Every SGS consultant has a track record of breakthrough achievement as a school principal or superintendent. You will always get an A-player — no junior staff, no bait and switch.
We keep it simple.
Too many schools get bogged down in complex tools and processes that slow teacher development instead of accelerating it. We focus on the simple, repeatable leader actions that actually work: clear tools, shorter observations, and practice-based coaching sessions. If a leader can't execute it efficiently in the middle of a hectic school day, we don't use it.
We bring the playbook.
American education figured out that asking teachers to build curriculum from scratch was too much. We haven't figured that out yet for leaders — and they're struggling because of it. We've spent years building a complete, turnkey playbook: readiness exemplars, summer training PDs, during-the-year PD modules, team meeting templates, talent processes, coaching tools. Everything a leader needs to do their job — not find time outside their hectic day to plan it.
We make sure you practice. A lot.
The bulk of everything we do is practice. PDs — lots of practice. Coaching meetings — lots of practice. Data debriefs — practice there too. One of our favorite pieces of feedback: "We got so much better at every skill you taught us — but the best thing is that we're bringing a culture of feedback and practice back to our school. That will be game-changing." Theory without practice doesn't move schools. We don't let that happen.
We have fun.
This work is too hard and too important not to enjoy. We laugh. We celebrate. We build team intentionally. A CAO once told us her organization had a core value of ebullience — and that we were A+ on that. We'll take it.
Ready to lead a truly great school?
Let’s talk about what’s possible for your school or network.