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Principals praise in‑person coaching as district rolls out Center for Model Schools program
Summary
Merced principals said leadership coaching and the Five Essentials framework have improved trust, clarified school visions and helped align teacher collaboration. The multi‑session partnership includes in‑person full‑day coaching, PD sessions and a January survey with root‑cause work planned for April.
Merced City School District principals told the board on Nov. 18 that a new partnership with the Center for Model Schools is already yielding leadership and instructional benefits at participating campuses.
Deputy Superintendent Francisco Romo described a multi‑session rollout using the Five Essentials framework (effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment and ambitious instruction). The program combines five professional‑learning sessions with in‑person full‑day coaching visits, virtual check‑ins, anonymous surveys for parents/teachers/students and a root‑cause analysis day planned for late April.
Principals who spoke to the board said one‑on‑one coaching has helped them focus leadership priorities and translate school vision statements into concrete instructional practices and professional learning community work. One principal said her coach “didn't tell me what to do, but helped me figure out my own leadership style” and that the work has transformed her approach to using the site vision to guide teacher teams and interventions. Survey response rates and immediate coaching feedback were strongly positive in early evaluations: staff‑level surveys following sessions returned overall usefulness scores above 90 percent.
Center for Model Schools coaches will continue monthly in‑person contact (six to seven visits per school), virtual check‑ins, data‑driven root‑cause work and co‑planning with district office staff. Trustees asked about confidentiality of coaching conversations and whether the program will expand; district staff said coaching is intentionally a confidential, trust‑based process and that more principals and teacher leaders will participate in coming sessions. Staff suggested survey results will be shared in a phased way after collection and recommended slow‑roll public reporting so schools can act on findings.
Next steps: five‑essential surveys for parents, students and staff will be conducted Jan. 13–Feb. 6; schools will perform root‑cause analysis on results April 29–30; the program continues through June with planning for the following year.
