building a culture of instructional coaching in a …...betterlesson coach. student-centered: 7 of 9...

Building a Culture of

Instructional Coaching

in a Safe and Supportive

Environment

Dr. Laurie Barron

Superintendent

Evergreen School District

Kalispell, Montana

2013 National Middle School Principal of the Year

[email protected]

@LaurieBarron (Twitter)


2Ever Giving ~ Ever Growing ~ Evergreen

The Place to Be!

Ever Giving ~ Ever Growing ~ Evergreen

Evergreen Is the Place to Be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RkY5OB5-fQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RkY5OB5-fQ

Why Coaching?


Providing personalized instructional

coaching is one of the most direct and

impactful ways to build teacher capacity and

therefore improve student achievement.


Coaching


Desired Impact of



Vision for Coaching

Every teacher will have a coach who equips him or her

to be a reflective, collaborative contributor to school

culture.

Goals of Coaching

• To develop a growth mindset

in teachers that continuous

growth and having a coach

are expected parts of the

profession; coaching is

positive and for everyone

• To see, as a result of coaching,

improvements in student achievement

Approach to Building a

Culture of Coaching


During a first year pilot, we:

• Recruited teachers willing to participate in coaching

• Had all administrators participate in coaching

• Developed a plan to go full-district with coaching

After piloting, we:

• Established district-wide process for providing coaching to everyone in

district

• Hired a full-time instructional coach to support teachers across the

district

• Ensured additional support (through external coaching) to people who

wanted to invest in their professional growth

• Created additional structures, time, and space for feedback and

reflection

Focus on overcoming the narrative of coaching as remediation. Use coaching to build a growth-mindset culture across the district.

Impact of Personalized Instructional Coaching


Since focusing on building a

coaching culture, we’ve seen:

• Increased teacher ownership

of reflection and growth

• Focused, intentional reflection

on practice

• Anecdotal evidence of

coaching improving outcomes

for students.

• One teacher’s student

achievement data

increased by 21%.

Our Results


“As a master teacher who has worked in special education pull out, co-taught, and general education classrooms, I have always worked to differentiate. BetterLesson coaching has allowed me to focus on making a concerted effort at not only meeting individual student needs but also challenging students to push themselves in academic content and social, emotional, and behavioral goals.”

Teacher, Evergreen Flathead Crossroads Program

“Asking students for their input and opinion has made my classroom more student centered. Moving to math stations has made my class more student centered.” Teacher, East Evergreen Elementary School

Staff Perceptions of

District Support


Staff survey category that experienced largest year-

over-year increase:

“a formal process is in place to support new staff

members in their professional practice”

Grew from 2.88 to 3.62


External Coaching


Likely to Take Risks: 7 of 9 teachers are more

likely to take risks and experiment in their

classroom as a result of their BetterLesson Coach.

Educator Morale: 6 of 9 teachers report that their

morale has improved as a result of their

BetterLesson Coach.

Student-Centered: 7 of 9 teachers report that

their classrooms have become more student-

centered as a result of working with their

BetterLesson Coach.

Educator Growth: 9 of 10 educators and

instructional coaches are more able to grow as a

result of working with their BetterLesson Coach.


ExternalCoaching


Meeting Attendance: 92 of 99 of meetings scheduled

were held.

Would Recommend: 8 of 10 educators would

recommend BetterLesson Coaching to a colleague.

Personalized Experience: 9 of 10 educators

feel that BetterLesson Coaching has been

personalized to meet their needs.

Coach Satisfaction: 9 of 10 educators are satisfied with

the support they've received from their BetterLesson

Coach.

Alignment: 10 of 10 educators agree that BetterLesson

Coaching is aligned to what they are already asked to do

by their school's administrators.

Professional Learning

Focus


Professional Learning Focus Five Year Plan

Year Professional Learning Focus

2018-2019*Instruction: Differentiation

Assessment: Using Formative Assessment to Adjust Instruction

2019-2020Instruction: Effective Lesson Planning

Assessment: Diagnostic Assessments

2020-2021Instruction: Higher Order Thinking Skills

Assessment: Summative Assessments

2021-2022Instruction: Grouping Strategies

Assessment: Balanced Assessments

2022-2023Instruction: High Expectations

Assessment: Effective Teacher Commentary


Focus


2018-2019 Professional Learning Monthly Focus*

Differentiation Formative Assessment

Skill Groups

Tiered Assignments

Scaffolding

Learning Menus

Preview/Review/Enrichment

Task Cards

Process/Stations

Choice Boards

Benchmark Data

Entry/Exit Tickets

Student Self-Assessment

Student Grouping and Observation

Curriculum and Classroom

Assessments

Student Responders

Graphic Organizers

Questioning/Journaling


Implementation


Professional Learning Implementation

How Often--TIME Grouping Who--TALENT What—TRAINING Notes

Yearly District All Staff Professional Learning

Focus

Determined through District and

School Strategic Planning

Yearly Individual All Certified Staff Smart Goal Based on Professional Learning

Focus*

Weekly Small

Group

Administration and

Instructional Coach

Planning and

Communication Meeting

Job Embedded

Monthly District All Staff Professional Learning

Focus*

Job Embedded

(early release for students)

Monthly (tenured)

Bi-Monthly (non-tenured)

Individual All Certified Staff District Instructional

Coach Meeting/Visits

Job Embedded

(during prep/classroom instruction)

Bi-Monthly Individual 10 Certified Teachers

(voluntary)

BetterLesson


Job Embedded/Personal Time

Monthly Grade

Level/

Subject

All Certified Staff District Instructional

Coach Data Meeting

Job Embedded

(during prep)

Monthly Small

Group

All New

Certified Staff

Specialized Topics to

Support New Teachers

After School

Quarterly Individual All Certified Staff Reflective Video of

Instructional Practice

Job Embedded

(during classroom instruction)

Semester Grade

Level/

Subject

All Certified Staff

(others as needed)

Planning Day Job Embedded

(substitutes provided)

Semester District All Certified Staff

(others as needed)


and/or Planning Day

Job Embedded

(no school for students)

Our Team




in a Safe and Supportive

Environment

Dr. Laurie Barron

Superintendent


Kalispell, Montana

2013 National Middle School Principal of the Year

[email protected]

@LaurieBarron (Twitter)

building a culture of instructional coaching in a …...betterlesson coach. student-centered: 7 of 9...

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