SE Grand Rapids News

A teacher support program was discussed during the April 17 board meeting of the Hastings Area School System.

Math coach Kristin Benedict provided the board with a presentation on curriculum and instruction. She specifically described how their coaches can help support teachers and improve classroom performance. The district uses these coaches for technology, literacy and math across the district.

Benedict said coaches help support teachers by being classroom observers or additional support during complicated group work to keep classrooms managed and calm.

“An instructional coach works to collaborate with teachers to enhance student learning and teacher instruction,” she said. “I'm a support for teachers. I do that by looking at data and helping to go over that with the teachers.”

Her objective is to cultivate classrooms that facilitate learning via fun environments that encourage student participation. Much of her work centers on making sure classroom instruction and lessons are focused on their specific grade-level standards, which helps connect lessons from grade to grade and helps students improve their performances on state assessments.

“I'm researching and looking for evidence-based practices in the teaching profession,” said Benedict. “We always want to make sure that we're using evidence-based practices, things that are supported by research and studies that have been shown to be effective. Modeling: teachers will invite me into the classroom and I'll get to Model Lesson, which is one of my favorite things to do because I was a teacher. And so it's fun to get back and then get to jump back into that role coaching meetings. So sometimes teachers will schedule meetings with me and we'll either talk through the next unit together to plan, look over data together, or ask. They'll ask for strategies and things like that and provide professional learning.”

Math interventions were new to the district this year and are supposed to help spur classrooms and students to achieve better grades. Benedict, along with other coaches, helps teachers analyze data from the NWEA assessments to determine areas of group weakness that they could target in their lessons, as well as identify students who need extra help.

Benedict has helped teachers create end-of-unit assessments that help them determine what areas students excelled in and what areas they did not master. The board was happy that the program was starting to generate results.