Nothing happens in education without teachers. Teachers are the front line, the “last mile”, in the delivery system that turns curricula and instructional material into learning.  

As we look for solutions around accelerating learning recovery, there are many to consider. Yet teacher effectiveness comes to the forefront when we look at what makes the biggest difference for students. And teacher effectiveness can’t be solved just by offering annual trainings. Instead, intentional teacher development is individualized and sustained over time, and it incorporates observation, mentoring and coaching. 

Moreover, by engaging, motivating, supporting and rewarding teachers, intentional teacher development can help address the need to support teacher retention given the post-pandemic retirements and burnouts that created staffing gaps. When teacher development designs apply the principles of how adults learn, teachers are empowered and efficacy increases. Coaching is one feature of intentional teacher development that is emerging at the forefront of many conversations. A recent meta-analysis reviewed more than 60 studies of programs that included coaching and concluded: “With coaching, the quality of teachers’ instruction improves by as much as — or more than — the difference in effectiveness between a novice and a teacher with five to 10 years of experience, a more positive estimated effect than traditional PD and most other school-based interventions.” 

Join us for this special rebroadcast to hear how colleagues in Florida, Mississippi and Pennsylvania have redesigned their teacher development strategies and, as a result, have improved outcomes for students. Learn from our panelists how they have approached the challenges of staff restructuring, scale and financial sustainability, and what has worked for them.