Instructional coaches outline new framework, cite data and staffing limits
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Summary
District instructional coaches presented a framework focused on growth, collaboration and student learning; they described data-driven coaching cycles, an IXL instructional playbook under development and said coaches are stretched across multiple buildings.
District instructional coaches presented the district’s instructional coaching framework and explained how their daily work supports teacher practice and student learning.
“My name is Andrea Hartman. I have been in the district for 18 years, and this is my first year as secondary instructional coach,” Andrea Hartman said, introducing the coaching team. Coaches described roles including curriculum specialist, resource provider, instructional specialist and classroom supporter, and tied the work to the district strategic plan’s teaching-and-learning and staffing-support quadrants.
Coaches said they use data to measure impact, citing unit-assessment tracking (ELA unit sequences), FastBridge and MAP data, and midyear/end-of-year coaching surveys. They highlighted specific tools and supports: district-wide use of IXL, an IXL instructional playbook the team is developing, and a mentor–mentee program that pairs novice teachers with experienced teachers in the same building.
One coach raised a capacity concern: coaches cover multiple buildings (one coach described supporting six schools; another said seven), which limits the time available for deep coaching cycles, co-planning and observations. “The biggest challenge that I have is being the only instructional coach,” a coach said, noting the trade-offs between breadth of coverage and depth of support.
Why it matters: The coaching program is intended to reduce turnover, improve instruction and raise student achievement through targeted support. The board heard that the program is relatively new to the district, includes a 40-person cohort of teachers this year and is funded in part through the learning community structure.
Next steps: Coaches offered to provide more documentation (slide decks and linked materials were referenced) and invited board members to attend mentor–mentee and PLC sessions; they also indicated plans to continue measuring outcomes through assessment tracking and teacher surveys.