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District expands coaching and PD; Panorama surveys show mixed student self-efficacy and gains in belonging
Summary
District leaders described expanded professional development and coaching, reported thousands of classroom walkthroughs and course completions, and previewed Panorama student-survey results showing steady engagement and mixed self-efficacy measures.
District instructional leaders told the board they expanded professional development (PD) and instructional coaching this year, doubled district PD course completions to date and are using classroom walkthroughs and coaching to measure whether training is reaching students.
Interim Chief of Coaching and Development Carol Fry and other academic leaders said the PD strategy is anchored to the district’s best-first-instruction approach and includes eight additional PD days this year, targeted supports for new teachers and long-term substitutes, and an effort to ‘‘coach the coaches’’ through area instructional coaches who work on-site with building coaches.
Leaders said the district tracked PD effectiveness through multiple measures: teacher PD surveys (relevance and immediate classroom takeaways), implementation checks via coaching and walk-throughs (more than 1,300 in nine weeks reported), and correlations between curriculum module use and assessment outcomes (district presenters cited a roughly 0.8 correlation for Eureka modules and STAR outcomes and said they will provide module-level data in upcoming reports).
On student voice, presenters reviewed Panorama survey response rates and subscales for self-efficacy, learning strategies and engagement. Staff said question readability changes in Panorama affected comparability; adjusted scores account for question updates. Panorama highlights included steady or improved belonging for grades 6–12 in some schools, and school-reported bright spots where instructional empowerment and specific policies (for example a cell-phone policy at Sabin) correlated with improved engagement.
Board members asked for more disaggregated analyses. Staff committed to provide cohort and subgroup breakdowns, cross-tabulations of socioeconomic status (free/reduced-price lunch) with race/ethnicity, and links between PD/coaching activity and student outcomes. Leaders also invited board members to visit model classrooms and said they will include PD session schedules and materials in upcoming board packages and public reports.
