Our services.
At the CIE Teaching and Learning Lab, we equip secondary English programs with professional learning, curriculum design, and instructional tools that blend the Science of Reading, the Science of Writing, and the CIE Framework (Know Thyself, Make Meaning, Make Space).
Every engagement begins with a Foundation Package that ensures clarity, alignment, and shared language — and then schools may choose how deeply they’d like to partner with us through tiered services.
Our foundation to partnership.
Every partnership with the CIE Teaching and Learning Lab begins here. The Foundation ensures that administrators and teachers start with clarity, shared vision, and a practical introduction to the CIE Framework before moving into deeper tiers of engagement.
The Instructional Portrait + The Cosmic Me
The Instructional Portrait
We learn your school’s context, pain points, and aspirations, then deliver a customized roadmap for advanced literacy instruction. Each Portrait includes:
Alignment to your chosen standards (AP, IB, state, or district).
Mapping onto the CIE Framework and Four Literacies.
Recommended texts and media curated as a sample Literary Constellation tailored to your goals.
Reading and writing practices grounded in the Science of Reading and Writing.
Recommended next steps for deeper partnership.
Deliverable: A 2–3 page PDF report with findings, constellation suggestions, and clear recommendations forward.
The Cosmic Me
Teachers are introduced to the CIE Framework through Zora Neale Hurston’s “How It Feels to Be Colored Me.” This professional learning session is both a literary experience and a framework orientation — grounding teachers in the art of teaching as praxis.
Each session includes:
Literary Engagement: close reading of Hurston’s essay, modeling deep literary study as instructional anchor.
Framework Orientation: interactive introduction to Know Thyself, Make Meaning, Make Space.
Dialogic Practice: discussion protocols teachers can take back to their classrooms.
Reflection & Praxis: teachers explore their identities and practices as literary practitioners.
Application: guided connections to literacy goals and chosen standards.
Deliverable: A teacher-facing session 90 minutes or half - day learning session with practical tools and shared language to carry forward into Salons and Studios.
Tier 1: The Literary Salon
A reading club for teachers - lively, communal, and joyful. In the Salon, teachers experience a Literary Constellation as readers first, reconnecting with literature in community. Each Salon is designed as an experience that brings texts to life.
Deliverable: A professional learning experience (90 min–half day) with shared insight, sample texts, and ready-to-use discussion protocols.
Tier 2: The Design Studio
Where inspiration becomes curriculum. Teachers select a Literary Constellation — a Unit of Three (poem, short story, and long fiction) and work with The CIE Lab to develop it into a rigorous, Culturally Intentional unit.
Deliverable: A digital Unit of Three packet with standards alignment, essential questions, socio-political context, assessments, rubrics, and classroom strategies.
Why Partner with CIE Lab?
Partnering with CIE Lab means giving teachers the tools and inspiration to teach with joy and purpose while equipping students with the advanced literacy instruction they deserve. Our work re-centers educators as readers and practitioners, while also closing achievement gaps in Title I schools through rigorous, Culturally Intentional curriculum and community-driven learning experiences.
