Consistently implement instructional best practices

The “what” is defined by our state academic standards, and we measure “how well” students are mastering those standards through assessment. Teachers have autonomy in terms of the “how” through their pedagogy – or instructional practice. We must ensure that our teachers understand best practices and are able to integrate them in their classrooms to facilitate student learning.

Action Steps:

• Create and adopt an instructional framework that sets baseline expectations for effective lessons utilizing research based practices across all classrooms in Hamilton County.
• Incorporate continuous, embedded PD focused on key strategies into school action plans.
• Continue to refine Project COACH to align with district expectations and work with administrators to provide quality feedback to teachers throughout the year that leads to improved teaching and learning.
• Leverage evidence gathered from instructional walk-throughs to help administrators get the “big picture” view of implementation fidelity of key strategies from school action plans and to help district teams determine next steps for additional teacher support.
• Revamp the instructional coaching model to clarify expectations of coaches to support professional learning and continuous improvement in teaching practice.
• Increase evidence-based decision-making through identifying national and international best-practices, as well as adopting recommendations resulting from peer-reviewed research.