Without clear purpose and goals, PLCs can devolve into unproductive venting sessions that waste time and resources, create disillusionment, and decrease teacher morale. So how do districts set their PLCs up for success? Instructional coaches. An instructional coach can be a powerful asset to get the PLC off the ground and provide ongoing support for its practice, just like they would an individual teacher. Let’s explore how one coach might help a whole PLC group reach its full potential:

We’re pleased to present this guest post from Drs. Alyson Lavigne and Mary Lynne Derrington, instructional leadership experts and authors of Actionable Feedback to PK-12 Teachers. This is Part 1 of a four-part series on actionable feedback. Stay tuned for the next posts that will focus on Leadership Content Knowledge (LCK) and teacher feedback in the areas of STEM, Literacy, and Early Childhood Education.

Learning Forward’s annual conference is always a highlight of the year — and 2022 was no exception. Learning Forward brings together innovative districts, exceptional teacher-leaders, and a host of sessions exploring the future of professional learning. A few takeaways from four of our favorite sessions:

Heading to Nashville for Learning Forward '22? Join us for a chat, a session, or a free gift!

Calling all coaches: Get KickUp Coaching for free and start organizing your activity, communication, progress and more.

A large Southern California school district needed a professional learning platform that could help its teachers seamlessly attend and receive credit as well as compensation for ongoing development. By adopting KickUp just before the COVID-19 pandemic, Corona-Norco USD was able to keep professional learning on track while students and teachers were at home – and has continued to build upon that foundation since returning to campus.

Think you're a true PD data nerd? Measure up against our top 10 signs.

Action Items is a Kickup feature that allows for collaborative tracking of to-do items, communicating next steps, and sharing of resources between a coach and teacher or mentor and mentee. Read how to leverage them for powerful 1-on-1 conversations and actionable support.

The data is clear: instructional coaching has a strong and quantifiable impact on teacher practice and student outcomes. But the same data shows that larger programs have diminishing returns. So how do modern school districts scale up their programs while keeping a focus on quality?