Instructional Coach Literacy

The Instructional Coach (Literacy) works with teachers and school administrators to enhance the ability of teachers

and other instructional personnel to provide instruction that is engaging, academically rigorous, culturally responsive, and

aligned to the curriculum standards and frameworks. The Instructional Coach (Literacy) focuses his/her work on the

implementation of school and district instructional priorities and adopted curricula, using student performance data and

classroom observations to guide their work. This individual uses the structures of department/grade level team meetings,

professional development hours, and classroom-based coaching. In addition, the Instructional Coach (Literacy) works

with teachers in small groups and one-on-one to support their improvement practice.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A valid Louisiana Teaching Certificate (Type C or Level 1)
• A bachelor's degree in field
• Additional criteria as the Board may establish

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: The Instructional Coach (Literacy) shall have at least four (4) years of successful

experience as a Certified and Highly Qualified (HQ) literacy teacher. The Instructional Coach (Literacy) should -Ideally

possess a Master's Degree or higher; however, a documented record of significant student achievement in literacy and as

teacherleader may substitute for the ideal preferred degree.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Coordinate and implement high-quality reading curriculum
• Facilitate professional development for teachers
• Observe teachers, provide feedback, and identify next steps to improve instruction in core ELA instruction for the purpose of support and not evaluation
• Monitor interventions conducted by the classroom teacher
• Model exemplar lessons
• Support lesson preparation using high-quality curriculum
• Model and support high-quality interactions with students
• Analyze data, identify trends, and support teachers to adjust instruction based on data
• Support teachers with effective parent communication and family involvement
• Communicate a belief in all students’ abilities to become successful readers
• Attend all required meetings and trainings
• Communicate with leadership team on school-wide literacy progress

• Works with the administrators and teachers at assigned school to develop instructional plans consistent with the district literacy improvement effort.
• Facilitates student learning by training professionals to accurately collect, disaggregate, analyze, and interpret student data for planning content specific literacy strategies grounded in scientifically based research.
• Determines job-embedded professional development needs of instructional staff based on assessment data, classroom observations, conferences, needs assessments, and administrator recommendation.
• Facilitates weekly peer coaching study team meetings.
• Provides professional leadership in developing, coordinating, and implementing the district literacy program in cooperation with appropriate central office and school level personnel.
• Participates in professional growth opportunities to continue to develop their own skills, knowledge, and dispositions.
• Promotes high quality staff development by implementing the appropriate district, state, and national standards.
• Assists in the selection, production, and use of instructional materials.
• Monitors the implementation of the district's literacy program in elementary school, middle school, and high school classrooms.
• Works with teachers and other instructional personnel on diagnosis and solutions in relation to literacy problems including developmental dyslexia.
• Informs teachers of current research and recommendations in literacy in the content areas.
• Develops and delivers professional development to site administrators and teachers.
• Keeps abreast of current educational trends in literacy and informs teachers of current research and recommendations in literacy.

The aforementioned and foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties that may be signed or skills that may be required.

PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES

As part of our commitment to excellence in education, this position aligns with the National Institute for Excellence in

Teaching (NIET) standards. These standards are designed to support educators in delivering high-quality instruction,

fostering professional growth, and improving student outcomes. The successful candidate will demonstrate a deep

understanding of and commitment to these standards, ensuring that they contribute to a culture of continuous

improvement and collaboration within our school community.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Most learning objectives and state content standards are communicated. Sub-objectives are mostly aligned to the lesson’s major objective. Learning objectives are connected to what students have previously learned.

Expectations for student performance are clear. State standards are displayed. There is evidence that most students

demonstrate mastery of the objective

MOTIVATING STUDENTS

The teacher sometimes organizes the content so that it is personally meaningful and relevant to students.

• The teacher sometimes develops learning experiences where inquiry, curiosity, and exploration are valued.
• The teacher sometimes reinforces and rewards effort.

PRESENTING INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT

Presentation of content most of the time includes:

• Visuals that establish the purpose of the lesson, preview the organization of the lesson, and include internal summaries of the lesson.
• Examples, illustrations, analogies, and labels for new concepts and ideas.
• Modeling by the teacher to demonstrate his or her performance expectations.
• Concise communication.
• Logical sequencing and segmenting.
• All essential information; and no irrelevant, confusing, or nonessential information.

LESSON STRUCTURE AND PACING

The lesson starts promptly.

• The lesson’s structure is coherent, with a beginning, middle, and end.
• Pacing is appropriate and sometimes provides opportunities for students who progress at different learning rates.
• Routines for distributing materials are efficient.
• Little instructional time is lost during transitions.

ACTIVITIES AND MATERIALS

Activities and materials include most of the following:

• Support the lesson objectives.
• Are challenging.
• Sustain students’ attention.
• Elicit a variety of thinking.
• Provide time for reflection.
• Are relevant to students’ lives.
• Provide opportunities for student-to-student interaction.
• Induce student curiosity and suspense.
• Provide students with choices.
• Incorporate multimedia and technology; and
• Incorporate resources beyond the school curriculum texts (e.g., teacher-made materials, manipulatives, resources from museums, cultural centers, etc.).

QUESTIONING

Teacher questions are varied and high quality, providing for some, but not all, question types:

• Knowledge and comprehension.
• Application and analysis; and
• Creation and evaluation.

Questions are usually purposeful and coherent.

• A moderate frequency of questions asked.
• Questions are sometimes sequenced with attention to the instructional goals.
• Questions sometimes require active responses (e.g., whole class signaling, choral responses, or group and individual answers).
• Wait time is sometimes provided.
• The teacher calls on volunteers and non-volunteers,

ACADEMIC FEEDBACK

Oral and written feedback is mostly academically focused, frequent, and mostly high quality.

• Feedback is sometimes given during guided practice and homework review.
• The teacher circulates during instructional activities to support engagement and monitor student work.
• Feedback from students is sometimes used to monitor and adjust instruction.

GROUPING STUDENTS

The instructional grouping arrangements (either whole class, small groups, pairs, or individual; heterogeneous or

homogeneous ability) adequately enhance student understanding and learning efficiency.

• Most students in groups know their roles, responsibilities, and group work expectations.
• Most students participating in groups are held accountable for group work and individual work.
• Instructional group composition is varied (e.g., race, gender, ability, and age) to, most of the time, accomplish the goals of the lesson.

TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

• The teacher displays accurate content knowledge of all the subjects he or she teaches.
• Teacher sometimes implements subject-specific instructional strategies to enhance student content knowledge.
• Teacher sometimes highlights key concepts and ideas and uses them as bases to connect other powerful ideas.

TEACHER KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS

• Teacher practices display understanding of some students’ anticipated learning difficulties.
• Teacher practices sometimes incorporate student interests and cultural heritage.
• Teacher provides differentiated instructional methods and content to ensure children can master what is being taught.

THINK

The teacher thoroughly teaches one type of thinking:

• Analytical thinking, where students analyze, compare, contrast, and evaluate and explain information.
• Practical thinking, where students use, apply, and implement what they learn in real-life scenarios.
• Creative thinking, where students create, design, imagine, and suppose; and
• Research-based thinking, where students explore and review a variety of ideas, models, and solutions to problems. The teacher provides opportunities where students:
• generate a variety of ideas and alternatives; and
• analyze problems from multiple perspectives and viewpoints.

PROBLEM SOLVING

The teacher implements activities that teach two of the following problem-solving types:

• Abstraction
• Categorization
• Drawing Conclusions/Justifying Solution
• Predicting Outcomes
• Observing and Experimenting
• Improving Solutions
• Identifying Relevant/Irrelevant Information
• Generating Ideas
• Creating and Designing

PLANNING

Instructional plans include:

• Some evidence of the internalization of the plans from the high-quality curriculum;
• Objectives aligned to state standards and aligned high-quality curriculum, both in content and in rigor;
• Activities, materials, and assessments that:

? Are aligned to state standards; content, including high-quality curriculum; and success criteria;

? Are sequenced and scaffolded based on student need;

? Build on prior student knowledge; and

? Provide appropriate time for student work and lesson closure;

• Evidence that the plan is appropriate for the age, knowledge, and interests of learners; and
• Evidence that the plan provides

Assignments are:

• Aligned to the rigor and depth of the standards and curriculum content.
• Aligned to the lesson’s objective and include descriptions of how assessment results will inform future instruction.

Assignments require students to:

• Interpret information rather than reproduce it;
• draw conclusions and support them through writing; and
• connect what they are learning to prior learning and life experiences.

ASSESSMENTS:

• Are aligned with the depth and rigor of the state standards and content, including curriculum resources;
• Are designed to provide feedback on progress against objectives;
• Use a variety of question types and formats to gauge student learning and problem-solving;
• Measure student performance in more than two ways (e.g., in the form of project, experiment, presentation, essay, short answer, or multiple choice);
• require written responses as appropriate; and
• include performance checks and student reflection on performance throughout the school year.

ENVIRONMENT EXPECTATIONS:

• Teacher engages students in learning with clear and rigorous academic expectations and uses aligned high-quality materials and resources for students to access
• Teacher encourages students to learn from mistakes.
• Teacher creates learning opportunities where all students can experience success.
• Students complete their work according to teacher expectations.

ENGAGING STUDENTS and MANAGING BEHAVIOR

• Students are mostly engaged in behaviors that optimize learning and increase time on task.
• Teacher establishes rules for learning and Behavior.
• Teacher uses a variety of techniques (e.g., rewards, approval, contingent activities, consequences, etc.) that maintain student engagement and promote a positive classroom environment.
• Teacher often recognizes and motivates positive behaviors and does not allow inconsequential behavior to interrupt the lesson.
• Teacher addresses students who have caused disruptions, yet sometimes he or she addresses the entire class.

ENVIRONMENT:

The classroom:

• Welcomes all students and guests.
• Is organized to promote learning for all students.
• Has supplies, equipment, and resources accessible to provide opportunities for students.
• Displays current student work.
• Is arranged to promote individual and group learning.

RESPECTFUL CONDITIONS

• Teacher-student interactions are generally positive and reflect awareness and consideration of all students’ backgrounds.
• Teacher and students exhibit respect and kindness for the teacher and each other; classroom is free of unhealthy conflict, sarcasm, and put-downs.
• Teacher is receptive to the interests and opinions of students.

PROFESSIONALISM:

Growing and Developing Professionally

• The educator is prompt, prepared, and participates in professional learning and teacher collaboration meetings, bringing student artifacts (student work) when requested.
• The educator appropriately attempts to implement new learning in the classroom following professional learning and teacher collaboration meetings.
• The educator develops and works on a plan for new learning based on analysis of school improvement plans and new goals, self-assessment, and input from the teacher and school leader observations.
• The educator participates in self-reflection and growth by select specific activities, content knowledge, or pedagogical skills to enhance and improve his/her proficiency.

REFLECTING AND TEACHING

• The educator makes thoughtful and accurate assessments of his/her lessons’ effectiveness, as evidenced by the self-reflection after each observation and offers specific actions to improve his/her teaching.
• The educator accepts responsibilities contributing to school improvement.
• The educator utilizes student achievement data to address the strengths and weaknesses of students and guide instructional decisions.

SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT

• The educator supports school activities and events.

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

• The educator accepts responsibility and/or assists peers in contributing to a safe and orderly school environment.
• The educator adheres to the system and school policies.
• The educator keeps timely and professional records.

PROFESSIONALISM:

In the CoBSS, the Instructional Coach (Literacy) acknowledges that he or she must maintain a high standard of

professional conduct. Breach of said professional conduct includes, but is not limited to, neglect of duty, dishonesty,

engagement in acts that are contrary to CoBSS policy, unlawful activities, or any other conduct which is seriously prejudicial

to the school system. Moreover, he or she shall be expected to a) conduct occasional district, state, and national travel, and

b) participate in occasional prolonged and irregular hours.

• Follows the time and/or duty schedule authorized by the school principal for the school day and extracurricular activities.
• Notifies the principal promptly in case of absence, and communicates in advance the date of return so that proper provisions can be made for hiring substitute teacher
• Maintains neat, accurate, current and complete records and reports and submits same on time to the appropriate personnel when requested
• Informs principal when a student is absent three consecutive days or five days overall
• Assesses and evaluates each student's progress on a regular basis.
• Attends school regularly and arrives punctually
• Always observes professional lines of communication with individuals inside and outside the school system
• Maintains the confidentiality of school and student records
• Maintains communication with immediate supervisor, keeping him/her informed of problems, concerns, and significant developments.
• Demonstrates positive support through actions and words as ambassadors of the schools and districts.
• Uses proper administrative procedures/chain of commands for making requests and resolving conflicts.
• Follow directives as assigned by your supervisor
• Communicates effectively with students, staff, parents, and community.
• Assumes outside classroom duties as related to school.
• Assists in enforcing school/board rules and policies.
• Ensures proper care of textbooks, teaching aids, and equipment.
• Participates in professional development opportunities to further develop effectiveness.
• Creates partnerships with parents/caregivers and colleagues.
• Supports school programs and displays a positive attitude.
• Completes reports and records as assigned.
• Projects well-groomed appearance.
• Meets the criteria for a Professional Growth Plan following the guidelines in the City of Baker School System Personnel Evaluation Program.
• Perform all other duties or responsibilities not listed as delegated by the principal of the school.
• Attending back to school night events.
• Participate and attend parent teacher conferences.
• Attending student activities functions as directed by Principal: ie. Dances, programs, prom, sporting events, professional development meetings, in-service training and other programs as deemed an essential component of the school’s programming.

TECHNOLOGICAL ABILITIES:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be proficient in widespread use of a computer, the use of email as a

form of communication, and other job-specific equipment, software, and/or applications.