Cutting Through the Noise with Priority Standards

Teachers are asked to do everything — personalization, differentiation, voice and choice, standards-based instruction… but rarely is anything taken off the plate.

In this episode of the Podcast, I sit down with Larry Ainsworth, the nationwide expert on unwrapping standards, priority standards, and creating clear learning targets.

We dive into:

✨ How to identify what’s truly essential for student learning ✨ The REAL (Readiness, Endurance, Assessment, Leverage) framework

✨ Turning standards into meaningful learning targets & success criteria

✨ Supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities

✨ Why AI is a tool — not a replacement — for teacher expertise

✨ How schools that prioritize standards see real gains in student achievement.

If you’ve ever wondered, “How do I teach what’s essential when everything feels essential?” — this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now and bring clarity back to teaching.

Larry Ainsworth LinkedIn Page

Larry Ainsworth Website

Essential Standards for Multilingual Learners

Music by Aylex