Novice Teacher Instructional Coach

Instructional Coaching is part of the professional development system in Albemarle County Public Schools. The mission/vision of the coaching model is to promote a culture of collaborative, public, and reflective practice, and to support the continuous improvement of curriculum, assessment, and instruction by partnering with teachers to actualize professional goals. Overall, the job of the instructional coach is to work within a team of instructional coaches to build the capacity of teachers to meet the needs of all students through implementation of the Division's three levers: (1.) Framework for Quality Learning; (2.) Professional Learning Community; and (3.) Educator Performance Appraisal. The effective coach is seen as an equal partner with both novice and experienced teachers, spending the majority of the time collaborating around teaching practices (i.e., co-planning, modeling, observing, co-teaching, debriefing). Coaches facilitate job-embedded professional development alongside teachers to enhance understanding of curriculum, assessment, and instruction as informed by the Framework for Quality Learning. Coaches provide support to teachers as they engage in ongoing professional learning and to groups of teachers as they work in Professional Learning Communities to analyze student work and data. The instructional coach is non-supervisory and non-evaluative. The instructional coach is assigned to a team that supports a cluster of schools and is evaluated and supervised by a centrally based Lead Coach.