As Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum at Newark Central School District, Krista Lewis oversees professional learning, instructional coaching, and classroom walkthroughs. The district was striving to make all three strategic, data-driven, and genuinely impactful.

The problem was getting there.

Professional learning sign-ups lived on paper. Coaching records varied from session to session and coach to coach. Walkthrough data sat in spreadsheets that rarely talked to each other. Lewis could tell that work was happening. She couldn't tell whether it added up to anything: whether teachers were getting the support they needed, or whether coaches' time was landing where it mattered most.

There was a further wrinkle. Some teachers were wary of coaching data in general. Past experiences with data collection had made them cautious about how information from coaching interactions might be used, worried it could become evaluative rather than supportive.

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When everything lives in a different place

"Before KickUp, professional learning was tracked manually with sign-up sheets and spreadsheets," Lewis says. "It was inefficient, overwhelming, and completely reliant on individuals making sure data got entered correctly. We also had no way to effectively pull data from our classroom walkthroughs and coaching sessions to analyze trends and improve instruction."

That last point was the crux of it. PD, coaching, and walkthroughs ran as three separate strands at Newark, with no way to see them together. Coaches worked tirelessly, but there was no systematic way to measure their impact or ensure support was being directed where it was needed most. With information scattered across spreadsheets and disconnected systems, it was nearly impossible to see the full picture of instructional improvement efforts.

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One system, built on trust

Newark moved its professional learning registration and attendance from paper sign-ups to a fully digital, automated system, eliminating manual data entry and reducing administrative workload. Coaches began logging their interactions with teachers directly, giving insight into where coaching support was most needed and how it was making a difference. Classroom walkthroughs moved into the same system, with administrators collecting and analyzing the data in real time to track instructional trends and adjust support accordingly.

Newark also worked closely with its teachers' union to ensure coaching and walkthrough data were used for support, not evaluation, which led to greater buy-in from educators.

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Data that shows the full picture

Newark has eliminated the chaos of paper-based tracking, creating a centralized, efficient professional learning system. Coaching and walkthrough data are available in real time, empowering administrators to make informed, data-driven decisions. Coaches' time is being spent where it has the greatest impact, and professional learning is aligned to district priorities, with data guiding PD offerings to address real instructional needs.

One goal makes that concrete: the district set a target of 80% implementation of differentiated instruction strategies by the end of the year, and uses KickUp to monitor progress.

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What's next

Newark is committed to deepening its use of KickUp to refine professional learning strategies and ensure instructional support is both targeted and effective. With leadership transitions on the horizon, Lewis sees KickUp as a critical tool for maintaining continuity and consistency across district-wide professional learning initiatives.

"KickUp is a system that's working," Lewis says. "If we don't have KickUp, we're going to lose a lot of important pieces with our coaching team."

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Why this matters for district leaders managing coaching at scale

Newark's story speaks to a specific problem: coaching and PD teams that work hard but can't prove it. Paper sign-ups and disconnected spreadsheets aren't just inefficient. They make it nearly impossible to know where instructional support is making the biggest difference.

For assistant superintendents and PD directors overseeing multiple strands of instructional support, Newark's experience offers a clear lesson: a single system for PD, coaching, and walkthroughs doesn't just save administrative time. It builds the kind of transparency that earns staff trust and gives leadership the evidence to know their investment in coaching is paying off.