Cultivating Instructional Excellence with Coaching and SchoolStatus

District Overview

Just two years ago, Farmington’s instructional support landscape was scattered. Instructional coaches, then called facilitators, worked from the central office, providing help as requested, without a consistent vision or structure. A few “equity coaches” had been deployed to high-needs schools, but without a shared coaching model, efforts quickly diverged.

That changed when the district committed to a bold shift: placing dedicated instructional coaches at each elementary school, giving them a clear framework, and investing in their growth. The entire cohort, both new and transitioning staff, underwent Jim Knight’s intensive training. It gave the district a common language and set of expectations.

But that was just the beginning. Just two years into the new model, embedded coaches were forming real relationships with teachers, pushing instructional practice forward, and creatively partnering with school administrators. 

Coaching the Coaches: Data-Driven Leadership with SchoolStatus

Supporting ten coaches across ten schools required a new layer of leadership. “You can’t be in ten places at once,”  Jennifer Bowles, Director of Early Education, admitted. That’s where SchoolStatus became an indispensable tool, allowing her to have eyes in each of the elementary schools even when she couldn’t be there physically. 

Every coach logs their time, tracks their progress through Knight’s coaching cycle (Identify → Learn → Improve), and tags focus areas aligned to district priorities like assessment and direct instruction. This data fuels weekly team meetings between the coaches, mid-year progress checks, and realignment conversations with school administrators.

Highlights from the data:

• Coaches initially spent 80–90% of their time on non-coaching tasks. With support and visibility, that dropped to about 60%, with coaching rising to 40% of logged time.
• 174 high-impact, measurable PEERS goals were set with teachers in a single school year.
• Surveys revealed increasing teacher optimism and self-efficacy, with more teachers reporting feeling supported and empowered in their practice.

Easy access to data dashboards on SchoolStatus has made it easy for Ms. Bowles to advocate for her team and show the impact of their work on student learning. 

Empowering Principals and Protecting Coaching Culture

Early on, some principals questioned whether instructional coaching might overlap with their own responsibilities. After all, they considered themselves the instructional leaders in the building. To that concern, Ms. Bowles provided a powerful reframe: administrators provide Tier 1 walkthrough support for all; instructional coaches offer Tier 2 intensive, sustained support for a few.

This clarified vision led to stronger alignment across schools:

• Monthly meetings between the district leader and each principal
• Beginning, mid-year, and end-of-year cross-school meetings between principals and coaches to align on vision and expectations
• A teacher-led coaching model where teachers voluntarily opt into cycles, ensuring buy-in and fostering trust

What Success Looks Like

The broad investment in instructional coaching at Farmington came with the expectation that the results would be widespread. And so far, that’s been the case:

• Teachers who once struggled are now being praised by administrators for remarkable growth
• “Repeat customers” regularly return for new coaching cycles
• Coaches collaborate deeply, using shared SchoolStatus data and peer feedback to refine their practice

And it’s not just anecdotes. With nearly 200 coaching cycles conducted in one school year and full coach retention heading into next year, Farmington has built a thriving, sustainable coaching culture.

Looking Ahead: Raising the Bar

As Farmington looks to the future, the focus is on both quality and equity:

• More time spent in the “Learn” and “Improve” stages of the cycle
• Expanding coaching access across grade bands, special education, and specials teachers
• Vertical collaboration with secondary instructional leaders to build K–12 coherence
  

Ms. Bowles explained the power of her team’s role: