“Freedom Dreaming” in the context of school improvement is about envisioning and creating a 

more just and equitable future for all learners. It is an approach that requires active participation 

from all stakeholders and a commitment to ongoing reflection and action towards social 

transformation and justice. But how do we evaluate such school improvement efforts?

The Quality Review is a process rooted in the NYC School Quality Rubric to evaluate how well 

schools are organized to support student learning and teacher practice. Experienced educators 

conduct a two-day school visit observing classrooms and speaking with school leaders, 

teachers, students, and parents/caregivers to inform feedback and ratings across all 30 subindicators of the NYC School Quality Rubric. 

The 2022-2023 NYC School Quality Rubric has been enhanced based on current research and 

stakeholder input to align with State standards and Culturally Responsive and Sustaining 

Educational framework. It reflects NYC Public Schools’ commitment to improving learning 

results for all students by creating well developed, culturally responsive-sustaining, equitable 

systems of support for achieving dramatic gains in student outcomes. 

In this session, we will share ways that reviewers leverage the enhanced Rubric language and 

use questioning to engage school leaders, faculty, students, and families in reflection about 

school improvement efforts to improve outcomes for all students, including students in 

historically marginalized groups. We offer the Rubric as tool for all participants to support their 

discussions with school communities and make explicit their focus on the impact of culturally 

responsive and sustaining education practices and the impact of those practices on the quality 

of teaching and student learning