Posts by Sarah Rosskamm

At Hendy Avenue Consulting, we believe every child deserves excellent instruction, every day, in every classroom. This foundational belief has guided our work with schools and districts across the country for over a decade. Now, we’re thrilled to share a tool that embodies this commitment: the Instructional Excellence Rubric.

This free, equity-focused tool is designed to provide a clear and actionable vision for teaching and learning. With its detailed structure and emphasis on both teacher actions and student outcomes, the rubric is more than a framework—it’s a roadmap for achieving excellence in classrooms.

At Hendy, we have had the privilege of partnering with school systems across the country as they endeavor to implement observation rubrics that support great coaching and development for teachers, and improved outcomes for students. The Hendy Instructional Excellence Rubric is the product of several engagements over several years. With our partners, we saw the need for a higher quality observation rubric that better met school systems’ needs, and we worked to create this rubric in partnership with teachers and school leaders from across the country. We’ve supported several systems to successfully implement versions of this rubric, and have seen the positive impact it has had on schools. We are excited now to make this rubric available, for free, to everyone for the benefit of schools, teachers, and students. 

What Makes the Instructional Excellence Rubric Unique?

The Instructional Excellence Rubric stands apart because it balances rigorous academics with social-emotional learning, ensuring that all aspects of a student’s success are prioritized. It reflects years of experience working directly with teachers, leaders, and schools to define what truly works in classrooms.

Here’s how the rubric is structured:

1. Classroom Culture: Focuses on creating a predictable, joyful, and equitable environment that maximizes learning time.
2. Lesson Content & Implementation: Emphasizes rigorous, purposeful, and differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students.
3. Student Thinking: Highlights the importance of students doing the thinking, speaking, writing, and creating during lessons.
4. Responsiveness to Learning: Centers on using feedback and data to adapt teaching and ensure every student grows and succeeds.

Each domain contains clear indicators of excellence, articulated across four levels of performance. These descriptors help educators identify what success looks like and provide actionable steps for improvement.

How Can the Rubric Help You?

Whether you’re a school leader, instructional coach, or system administrator, the rubric can:

• Provide a shared language for excellence across your school or district.
• Guide teacher coaching and development with clear, equity-focused expectations.
• Support classroom observations that prioritize student outcomes.

It’s a comprehensive tool for anyone committed to improving teaching and learning at scale.

The Power of Training and Support

While the rubric is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, its full potential is unlocked through thoughtful implementation and training. That’s where Hendy Avenue Consulting can help.

We offer tailored training and support packages to ensure schools and systems:

• Norm around expectations: Build consistency in how the rubric is used across classrooms.
• Develop coaching capacity: Equip leaders to use the rubric as a tool for meaningful teacher development.
• Customize for your context: Adapt the rubric to align with the unique needs and goals of your school or district.

Our team has a proven track record of helping educators implement tools like this successfully, driving real change in teaching and learning.

Ready to Get Started?

The Instructional Excellence Rubric is available for free download:

• Download the Rubric

Let us help you bring it to life. Reach out to Jess to schedule a call!

Together, we can ensure every child experiences the excellent instruction they deserve.