Gates Chili outlines districtwide push for stronger Tier 1 instruction, expanded teacher-leader roles

A Gates Chili Central School District staff member presented the district's annual curriculum and instruction update, outlining a districtwide emphasis on high-quality Tier 1 instruction, a restructure that expands teacher-leader roles, and new screening and data systems intended to make student progress more visible.

The presentation said the district has nearly 80 teacher leaders under a new structure, seven full-release K'–12 district leaders, expanded building-level released positions for literacy and math, and that the teacher leaders logged more than 1,000 hours of formal professional learning recorded in Frontline. The report linked those changes to student growth, saying K'–5 reading at or above benchmark rose 17 percent year to year and graduation rose 10 percent.

District staff said the 2025'–26 instructional focus centers on three priorities: clear learning targets with success criteria and timely feedback; engaging instruction that increases student talk and ownership; and data-informed scaffolds and differentiation. "High quality Tier 1 instruction goes beyond just simply putting something on the board," the staff member said, adding that teachers must ensure students understand "the what, the why, and the…