For Schools

Professional development with one goal: visible change in classrooms.

I've seen strong ideas improve classrooms, and I've also seen them lose traction when the systems around them aren't in place. That's why this work focuses on what sticks: practice, coaching, and the structures that help teachers keep using what they learn after I leave.

Get in touch ➞

Selected schools and systems

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Every partnership starts with a clear goal

This work builds on what teachers are already doing. It also responds to a shift many schools are seeing: more students need support not just analyzing texts, but reading them in the first place.

Before I recommend a structure, I look at the needs of the school, the strengths of the teachers, and the routines already in place. From there, we build toward a clear outcome, with practice built into every session.

Learning doesn't happen without practice. Teachers work with me in real classrooms, see approaches live with their own students, and get coaching in the moment so they can carry it back and use it the next day.

What working together actually looks like

  • Targeted Institutes

    Launch a key practice across your school through model lessons, teacher practice, and shared language across teams. A focused entry point that builds momentum quickly.

    1–3 days

  • In-Class Coaching and Modeling

    Demonstration lessons with your students. Real-time coaching with your teachers. The focus is transfer, not just observation, so teachers can see approaches live and make them their own.

    Flexible duration

  • System and Curriculum Planning

    Align curriculum to student needs, build schedules and routines that support reading, and support adoption of key instructional practices. This is the planning work that helps everything else stick.

    Planning intensive

  • Ongoing Support 

    Follow-through coaching for teachers and instructional leaders, in person or virtually. Designed to reduce time burden, increase consistency, and help good ideas keep their traction.

    Ongoing

What school leaders and teachers say

  • “Gerrit is one of the strongest reading practitioners and coaches I know. He was instrumental in setting up programming at our school and set a high bar for rigor. As a teacher, I also saw him build the best reading culture I have ever seen.”

    — Benjamin D. (High School Principal), Chicago, IL

  • “Gerrit has a rare ability to help students fall in love with reading, particularly those who struggle or lack confidence. His use of purposeful routines led to exceptional reading growth, and his impact extended far beyond his classroom through his work supporting and developing other reading teachers.”

    — Adam Meinig (Principal of Gerrit’s School), New Orleans, LA

  • “Gerrit assesses the needs of the whole school and the unique skills of each teacher. He doesn’t give you rote methodology — you get someone who tailors things to you, your kids and your school. We are miles ahead of where we were.”

    — Amanda Olson, high school teacher, Bogotá, Colombia

Also interested in outdoor learning?

I also lead The Yaupon Project, an urban ecology nonprofit that connects native plant restoration with hands-on learning. Through Wild Schoolyards, students plant, observe what returns, and connect that work to reading, writing, and science over time.

If your school is interested in combining literacy and environmental learning, I’m happy to talk about what that could look like.

Learn more about Wild Schoolyards ➞

Ready to talk about your school?

Share what’s happening across your classrooms, curriculum, or reading data, and I’ll be in touch within a few days. If it seems like a good fit, we’ll set up a call to talk through where I may be able to help.