Many districts don’t have a clear, holistic picture of the impact coaching has on instruction and student achievement. We’ve outlined four ways to assess your coaching program to maximize coaching’s impact on teaching and learning.

1) Vision

For a coaching program to flourish, there needs to be a clear understanding of the district’s vision and priorities at all levels in the organization—from district leaders to teachers. Once the vision and priorities are in place, coaches can provide coaching and other professional development to support the needs of each teacher. But how do you know where to focus PD and coaching efforts? That’s where to data comes in.

2) Tracking

We all agree that it’s impossible to make confident, data-driven decisions about your coaching program if you’re not collecting data. Tracking coaching activity is essential to truly understand what’s working and what’s not. One way to combat insufficient data or inconsistency is to have everyone within your organization use the same processes to collect data. Now, pen and paper or Google sheets may get the job done, but integrated online tools for consistency across the district are the way to go.

3) Access

Once you are collecting and tracking data, you need an easy, quick way to access it so that you get a clear picture of what’s happening with your coaching program.. Online tools—like TeachBoost Coach—make it easy for districts to run reports that show how instructional coaching aligns with the district’s strategic and PD priorities. When data is readily accessible, instructional leaders can showcase specific areas where the organization is shining and pinpoint areas to focus their PD efforts moving forward. This is the district’s chance to ditch the one-size-fits-all PD model that meets the needs of its staff.

4) Implementation

Having a mission and vision, tools for tracking coaching activities, and real-time data is excellent, but what happens next? Instructional coaching programs that excel build a culture of collaboration among coaches and leaders who practice a growth mindset. When instructional coaches and district leaders regularly meet to strategize how to apply data and best practices to grow the coaching program, districts realize the full potential coaching has on teacher and student growth.

Want to learn more?

Now that you’ve learned the four pillars of impactful coaching programs, you can begin to apply them to your district. To get started, download our one-page checklist: Is Your District’s Coaching Program Working?

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