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District 11 spotlights coaching, student agency and new reading curriculum as school year begins
Summary
Superintendent Gaul and district leaders told the board that District 11 is expanding 'direct-to-teacher' coaching, piloting CKLA in early grades and promoting student agency, citing early teacher-reported gains and a plan to accelerate classroom-level interventions.
Colorado Springs School District 11 on Wednesday outlined a set of instructional changes designed to tighten feedback to teachers and improve student outcomes, including expanded embedded coaching, classroom-focused assessment cadence and wider use of the CKLA early literacy program.
At the board’s Sept. 3 meeting, Superintendent Gaul presented the district’s “direct-to-teacher” supports, saying the model shortens the layers between central office data and classroom instruction so staff can deliver real-time help. “We are asking for partnership. We are asking for collaboration,” Gaul said, framing the work as a complement to principals and coaches rather than a replacement.
Charlie Ryder, director of academics for the southeast region, told the board every new teacher in the district is participating in a full-cycle coaching process this fall. Brent Urban, the district’s embedded secondary coaching coordinator, said embedded coaches completed more than 125 mini coaching cycles in August and reported strong uptake among both new and veteran teachers.
Fifth-grade teacher Jordan Lockett, who said he transitioned from a career in cybersecurity and the U.S. Army, described classroom changes: “With our school-embedded coach… I can 100% say my students are reaping the benefits of that coaching,” he said.
Teachers described using instructional empowerment (student agency) approaches and collaborative problem-solving tasks. Mitchell High School teacher Hannah Anderson said well-balanced teams and clearer teaming norms allowed her to present more rigorous tasks and see greater student engagement in science and astronomy lessons.
Kindergarten teacher Hannah Shaw reported results from a CKLA pilot: she said students began reading short phrases months earlier than under the district’s prior reading resource, and cited a shift from 72% below/at-below expectations under the prior program to about 22% in the CKLA pilot year on midyear indicators in her class. Crystal Rasmmanson, chief of curriculum, said the district will require end-of-module online assessments to accelerate interventions; Rasmmanson noted an upcoming CKLA module assessment set for Sept. 19.
Why it matters: District leaders said the combination of embedded coaches, common assessments and a focus on student agency aims to reduce variation across classrooms and deploy supports more quickly when students are off track. The board directed staff to continue reporting midyear results and data from classroom-level assessments at future work sessions.
What’s next: District leaders said they will report midyear outcome data to the board and continue to expand coaching cycles and related professional development through the school year.
