Teacher-support coaches (e.g., instructional coaches, teacher leaders, technology coaches) deliver general trainings and personalized support to enhance teacher instruction. However, administrators often struggle to align coaching roles with district and school needs. This report explores how administrators standardize coaching practices across subject-areas and schools. The report discusses effective teacher-support coaching practices and also, coach management processes.
Offer regular and consistent coaching supportContinuity in support allows coaches to build strong mentoring relationships with teachers and personalize coaching strategies to individual teacher needs. For example, coaches at School D and School E work with teachers in months-long coaching cycles to focus on specific areas of instructional improvement.
Contacts at School B, School D, and School E recommend assigning coaches to particular school buildings to increase coaches’ opportunities to develop relationships with specific groups of teachers.
Effective instructional coaching promotes personalized coaching techniques and relationship-building.
Define coaches’ administrative responsibilities clearlyMultiple stakeholders can request coaches’ support on tasks that do not directly enhance teacher instruction. To preserve coaches’ time for direct teacher support, district-level administrators at School D create centralized expectations for how coaches spend their time. Specifically, they require coaches to spend 40 percent of their time in coaching cycles with teachers, leaving 60 percent of their time for administrative tasks and professional development.
Standardize and support coaching roles district-wideSchool-level differences in coaching services and coach trainings can lead to variance in the quality of support provided to teachers across schools. To standardize coaching roles and the type of support coaches provide, district-level staff (e.g., curriculum coordinators,…