Coaching

Corps members receive support from their Teach For America manager of teacher leadership and development (MTLD), their peers, and Teach For America regional staff, and have access to the support resources available to other beginning teachers in their regions. Ongoing individual and team coaching helps corps members become successful teachers who can make a substantial impact on student achievement.

Regional Orientation and Tools
The initial regional training helps corps members create achievement-focused classrooms from the very first day of school. In-person and online sessions during the late summer and early fall help corps members establish goals, create long-term plans for the school year, and develop detailed lesson plans for the start of the year. Corps members can also access regionally-recommended student achievement resources to maximize student learning in their classrooms.  These resources include sample assessments, trackers, planning templates, and reference guides, among others.

One-on-one Support
Each corps member is assigned a manager of teacher leadership and development (MTLD) who provides support, guidance, and constructive feedback.  At least four times during the year, corps members and these managers conduct co-investigations into student progress.  During these co-investigations, they review assessment results and share their observations of student behavior and work.  Together, they identify the drivers and barriers to progress, prioritize the actions that will raise achievement, and develop specific plans for improvement.

Learning Teams
Corps members are grouped into regional learning teams based on the subject or grade that they teach. These teams are led by teachers with demonstrated records of success including Teach For America alumni and second-year corps members. Learning teams discuss challenges specific to their grades and/or content areas, share best practices, and work together to increase knowledge and skills in focused areas of teaching.