Coaching Can Benefit Children Who Have: A higher hill to climb

摘要

Can a team of two or three academic coaches embedded as on-site staff developers raise student achievement in one year? The answer is a resounding yes. When the new superintendent reviewed the Lewisville (Texas) Independent School District's state standardized test scores in June 2001, he found some schools had a high number of students failing. The district's board agreed to commit $750,000 to those students who faced "a higher hill to climb," and within a month the district had initiated Accelerated Instructional Services (AIS): a team of 10 educators (eight instructional specialists, a secretary, and an executive director) who would develop a plan for on-site coaching to improve teacher and student learning.