The Zones of Regulation has always been rooted in practice. From the time the curriculum was first created in 2006, it has been shaped by the voices of educators, therapists, and families working to support learners in managing their daily regulation. That influence continues today.
Zones users (like you!) help us understand what works, what needs tweaking, and how we can provide deeper support. Your insight keeps The Zones of Regulation® Digital Curriculum grounded in the realities of classrooms, clinics, and homes, and helps ensure it continues to evolve to meet the needs of both learners and leaders alike.
Why Your Input Matters
No two learning environments look the same. A go-to strategy in a kindergarten classroom may need to be suitable for a middle school social-emotional skills group. An approach that engages one learner may not be accessible to another. When we hear where implementation is strong and where it is challenging, we can respond with clearer guidance and more relevant resources that better support both you and your learners.
Multiple Ways Your Voice Reaches Us
We learn from our community in many ways. Post-training surveys, curriculum surveys, and implementation check-ins give us early insight into what educators and clinicians notice as they begin using The Zones. Outreach from users often highlights thoughtful questions about specific lessons, materials, or strategies, helping to inform our ongoing development.
We also gather insight through our work with district teams, coaches, and researchers who observe the curriculum in action. Internal evaluations and implementation reviews show how lessons unfold across ages, developmental profiles, and instructional settings. Together, these sources provide a more complete picture of how The Zones is working in practice.
Innovation Inspired by Our Users
User input has directly shaped many, if not most, of the updates and improvements to The Zones of Regulation Digital Curriculum. Here are just a few examples:
We heard you were looking for more support for onboarding for the curriculum. We developed the Getting Started Training, which is now included in every curriculum subscription.
We heard you were looking for more accessible resources for language support. We added Vocabulary Flashcards and Word Wall Cards, as well as ready-to-use visuals for AAC (Assistive and Augmentative Communication) devices and communication boards.
We heard you were looking for more materials in Spanish. We provided translated versions of each of our Zones Bridges for caregivers and other team members and have more Spanish materials on the way.
We heard you were looking for storybooks aligned with the curriculum. We added a new list of Books to Support Early Learners, making supports for early and emergent learners easier to find and implement.
We heard you needed more options for managing group accounts. We created a new Account Dashboard to simplify the process of managing users and access to the curriculum.
Growing The Zones Together
The Zones of Regulation continues to evolve because of the people who use it. Your experiences, questions, and observations directly shape how the curriculum grows and improves. When you share what is working and where you need support, you help ensure the curriculum remains meaningful, accessible, and effective for all learners across settings.
