Board hears plan to boost classroom instruction with new walkthrough app, principal training

Dr. Lewis, an administrator, told the Berkeley County Board of Education on July 21 that the district has begun phasing five "high-impact" instructional practices and unveiled a new walkthrough app to give principals and district leaders immediate classroom feedback.

The update stemmed from an instructional meeting with principals last week that divided elementary and secondary leaders and focused first on practices one and two: curriculum alignment to standards and crafting performance-based objectives tied to those standards, Lewis said.

"When the app opens up, it'll have a one-pager that shows all of our principals the district approved curriculum that they should be looking for," Lewis said. "They're gonna get that immediate feedback." The district demonstrated that a principal who submits feedback through the app receives an email copy within a minute, Lewis said.

Board members who questioned the rollout emphasized device needs and time. Board member Miss Long asked whether principals are expected to enter feedback while in classrooms; Lewis answered yes, adding that tablets or laptops are preferable but phones may be used.

The district described supporting materials for teachers: an instructional framework that lists teacher actions and corresponding student actions, and an instructional planning guide with deep-dive planning questions. Lewis said principals were advised to ask teachers to focus initially on the first four planning questions while the district phases later elements into practice five.

Lewis said the district also will provide a data dashboard that can be filtered by teacher, school and author of the walkthrough; district leaders said the dashboard will allow supervisors to see the number of walkthroughs, items answered "yes" or "no" and to follow up with support. "There will be a data dashboard where myself and Dr. Sachs, we can actually see every walkthrough in the district," Lewis said.

Principals who tested the tools told administrators the initial checks — for example, whether a teacher is using district-approved curriculum or whether a visible objective is aligned to standards — are quick to perform. The longer observations tied to literacy and deeper practice will take more time, Lewis said, and principals asked for additional time and training to implement those observations.

Board members pressed on implementation: how devices will be used, how quickly feedback must be entered, and whether the district can audit walkthrough activity. Lewis said the dashboard will show the author and counts of walkthroughs at building and district levels and added that central office administrators will use the same form so teacher feedback is consistent across observers.

Lewis said the principals had already begun collaborating on how the practices will look in different school settings and that the district’s goal is to build to 90% staff capacity in the practices through phased professional development and coaching.

The board did not take a formal vote on the instructional materials at the meeting; Lewis presented the update and answered questions so the district can continue the phased rollout before the start of the school year.