Donna Spangler

For many instructional coaches, the paperwork—filling in coaching logs and calendars—never seems to stop. By Friday, many coaches have carefully logged every meeting, email, and walk-through, but have nothing captured about what actually shifted in instruction or student learning. There is a difference between tracking “coaching activity” and “coaching impact.” Tracking coaching activity tells us where time went; impact data tells us whether that time mattered.

Instructional coaches regularly walk a tightrope between maintaining trust and demonstrating the impact of coaching to administrators. The teachers you support often only agree to coaching support because it is confidential and private. However, your principal requests evidence that coaching is effective. As stewards of limited resources, they need to demonstrate a return on investment in educational coaching and a clear indication of your coaching effectiveness.

The United States is experiencing a national education shortage of teachers leaving the profession in droves, coined “The Great Resignation” due to high anxiety, burnout, safety concerns, low salaries, and challenging job demands. This shortage is further fueled by in teacher preparation programs. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 300,000 public school teachers and other staff left the field alone between February 2020 and May 2022.