'By Your Side' coaches report high teacher approval and retention after in-class coaching pilot

A for‑profit coaching service, By Your Side Teaching, presented four years of data to the Roswell board showing high teacher satisfaction and strong principal support for classroom coaching.

Donna Todd, founder of By Your Side, said the organization has worked in Roswell classrooms for four years and has provided an average of five to six coaching days per participating teacher. Todd reported the program supported 137 teachers across elementary, middle and high schools and that roughly 81 percent of teacher reflections rated the service "exceptional or highly effective." Todd said 100 percent of responding principals said they wanted the service back and that teacher retention for coached teachers exceeded 95 percent in the collected sample.

Superintendent Luck and board members praised the data. Board members asked how widely the program had been deployed this year; Todd said the coaching team had worked across 16 schools this year and in 19 sites over the four-year period. Trustees discussed funding and clarified that By Your Side is a private provider that contracts with schools or principals based on available funds.

Why it matters: the district is pursuing multiple strategies to strengthen classroom instruction and teacher retention; principals and the district said the side‑by‑side coaching model has shown measurable positive feedback in Roswell.

Next steps: Todd said she would continue the partnership and share full reflections with district leadership; the board encouraged district staff to consider how to expand teacher coaching within available budgets and to coordinate with literacy and professional-learning initiatives.