Weber High principal urges more classroom visits, posts visit notes publicly to boost teacher practice

Dr. Ryan Catchhold, principal of Weber High School, told the Weber School District Board that he has spent large amounts of time this year making brief, informal classroom visits and posting notes about those visits on the school's website to highlight instructional practices.

"We are obsessed with events," Catchhold told the board, urging leaders to slow down and spend time in classrooms rather than prioritize only calendar-driven tasks. He said the notes focus on observable instructional strategies, and he framed the work as support, not formal observations: "No doubled up formal classroom observations there," he said, adding the practice is intended to support teachers rather than serve as evaluative documentation.

Catchhold said the practice has prompted unsolicited emails and handwritten notes from teachers, increased morale and given educators more detailed feedback and peer visibility for instructional strategies. He asked fellow administrators to spend time on "things that don't seem that obvious," describing the visits as a high-leverage practice that has helped teachers feel they can influence student outcomes.

The principal also described broader challenges facing schools'student movement to charter and homeschooling, the impact of artificial intelligence on assessment and the state's rapid growth'to illustrate why instructional leadership and focus on classroom practice matter to local outcomes. He encouraged school leaders to prioritize teaching and learning as a foundation for other system improvements.

Ending

The board thanked Catchhold for the presentation; several board members and the superintendent commended the practice and the principal's focus on teacher support and visibility of instructional work.