Overview:

As schools continue to evolve, one trend remains clear—many of our extracurricular coaches are no longer classroom teachers. While this brings fresh perspectives, it also creates a growing gap: these influential adults often receive little to no professional development, feedback, or alignment with building goals. In contrast, we invest heavily in developing our classroom teachers through ongoing PD, coaching cycles, data analysis, and instructional evaluations.

Purpose:

This session will explore how schools can intentionally support coaches with the same energy and purpose we apply to classroom teaching. Coaches spend countless hours with students outside the bell schedule, often forming the most trusted and lasting relationships in a young person’s school experience. If we fail to connect these powerful mentors to our building mission, vision, and culture, we miss a valuable opportunity to elevate student success and reinforce our collective goals.

Key Questions We’ll Explore:

• How are coaches being prepared, supported, and held accountable?

• What professional learning is available for non-teacher coaches?

• In what ways can coaches reinforce the cultural and academic expectations of the school?

• How do we create intentional systems for feedback and growth within our extracurricular programs?

Goals of the Session:

• Advocate for systemic alignment between coaching and teaching standards.

• Share examples of how to build professional learning communities for coaches.

• Provide practical tools and structures to support coach development.

• Offer strategies to leverage coaches as culture builders and student success drivers.

Why It Matters:

When we ask "Who's coaching your coaches?", we're not just posing a clever phrase—we're questioning whether we're truly investing in the people who influence students most profoundly outside the classroom. Let’s bridge that gap and give our coaches the tools they need to lead, inspire, and contribute meaningfully to our school culture.