EDInnovator Spotlight
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Modern Classrooms Project
Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) equips educators to build classrooms where students have access to high-quality grade-level content and appropriate support to build deep content mastery. MCP leads a movement of educators in implementing a self-paced, mastery-based instructional model that leverages technology to foster human connection, authentic learning, and social-emotional growth.
What sets MCP apart?
Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) helps educators leverage their existing math curriculum to meet every learner's needs and build deep content mastery. Instead of relying solely on technology to do the heavy lifting, MCP pairs supplemental resources with coaching from educators who know the curriculum deeply and understand the specific challenges teachers face in the classroom. With MCP, educators build truly student-centered classrooms, spending more time teaching one-on-one and in small groups, using data to drive differentiation.
Modern Classrooms Project resources allow educators to jump into a student-centered classroom without abandoning the curriculum they already use. By supporting Tier 1 math instruction with supplemental content, instructional resources, and personalized coaching, teachers can spend more time with students correcting misunderstandings as they arise, pulling targeted small groups, and building genuine mastery. In addition, MCP’s consultative support helps administrators create the conditions for student-centered learning to take hold school-wide. This combination of classroom-level and leadership-level support makes the difference between a one-teacher success story and a school-wide shift.
How does MCP support educators and center learners?
The Modern Classrooms Project model hinges on a self-paced, mastery-based instructional approach that gives educators more time to work with students one-on-one and in small groups, tailoring instruction and support to what individual students need.
That shift doesn't happen in isolation — teachers are supported by MCP coaches who bring deep curriculum knowledge and a focus on each educator's specific classroom context, not a one-size-fits-all playbook. And because MCP also works with instructional leaders, teachers have the administrative backing to make sustainable changes that stick.
Story from the Field
Lee Elementary School in Chicago is part of MCP's first cohort through LEAP Innovations’ EdInnovators Collective. The experience at Lee offers a clear picture of what happens when human-centered coaching meets a school genuinely committed to change. The school’s leadership invested in MCP's resources and coaching to support their student-centered learning goals. Teachers worked directly with MCP coaches who focused their support on each educator's specific needs and classroom realities, making connections to their knowledge of the curriculum.
"Modern Classrooms has really redefined my role in the classroom,” said fifth grade math teacher Joy Ambriz, enabling her to provide individualized support for her students. “I've gained flexibility to pull small groups and offer personalized interventions to students that need additional support on a skill,” she explained.
MTSS Coordinator Peggy O'Connor pointed to the structural clarity MCP has brought to the classroom: “MCP has given all of us an easy structured format in order for our students to self-pace and achieve mastery of necessary math skills.” Just as importantly, she noticed a shift in student agency. Peggy explained that “students are taking ownership of their learning and are becoming less dependent on me.”
At Lee Elementary School, educators are empowered, leaders are aligned, and students are driving their own learning forward. This change is just one example of what's happening in Modern Math Classrooms across the country.