October brings many things to our schools. For some, it’s Friday Night Football and homecoming court. For others, it’s turkeys in the hall and costumes on a school night. And likely for all of us, it’s digging deep into the curriculum we teach, launching our first round of testing, and ensuring that our students are settled in and making progress. This work often happens with the support of an instructional coach, who can help to dig into the curriculum and make sense of assessment data and student growth.
To show your appreciation, take time to celebrate your coaches on National Instructional Coaches Appreciation Day.
What Is Instructional Coach Appreciation Day?
Instructional Coach Appreciation Day is a day each year that is dedicated to acknowledging and praising the coaches who help your school or district. Starting in the fall, coaches begin the steady climb toward success for a campus—its teachers, and especially, its students. And while educators might at times experience that fall frenzy, with coaches by your side, you can feel a sense of belonging, of support, and that your staff has everything under control. Your instructional coaches have a lot to do with making that happen.
When Is National Instructional Coaches Day in 2024?
National Instructional Coaches Day is celebrated on October 6th. In 2024, October 6th is a Sunday.
What Does an Instructional Coach Do?
Instructional coaches build relationships first and work tirelessly to foster collaboration and positive learning experiences that feel supportive, not evaluative.
Here are some of the ways an instructional coach can provide professional support for a school or district:
- Participate in collaborative lesson planning: Work with teachers to co-plan rigorous, relevant, and engaging lessons.
- Analyze data and student work: Provide insight into what is working (and not working!) in the classroom.
- Support implementation of adopted programs and curriculum: Work with teachers to integrate new programs into their lesson planning.
- Co-teach lessons: Jump in and participate with the teacher. They help guide classroom lessons and work with both teachers and students.
- Observe student discourse: Observe live or recorded lessons in the classroom. Instructional coaches give insight into what the teachers and students are doing and debrief afterward to support growth and learning.
- Provide professional development or lead Professional Learning Communities: Equip teachers with tools to deepen their educational practice, meet their professional goals, and positively impact student achievement.
In a nutshell, instructional coaches often put themselves in the background so educators can shine. They motivate others and find joy in watching students and teachers thrive. Not to mention, they’re at the ready for rainy car duty, pep rally crowd control, and to step in for a teacher who needs a break or a day off. There are so many ways that instructional coaches can propel schools toward their goals, and that’s why we want to celebrate them on Instructional Coach Day.
What Are Some Instructional Coaches Day Celebration Ideas?
If you are looking for ways to celebrate instructional coaches, try these ideas.
- Personalized Messages with Coaching Appreciation Cards: Collect handwritten notes or emails from teachers and students explaining how an instructional coach made a difference in their lives. Share them at a staff meeting, board meeting, or on the announcements each morning! Download a template to create fun coaching appreciation cards below.
- Social Media Spotlights: Create a dedicated hashtag for Instructional Coach Appreciation Day and ask your district/campus leaders and teachers to share testimonials and success stories about their impact on teaching and learning.
- Wall of Fame: Create a bulletin board in a common area of your school celebrating your instructional coaches. Pick a theme like “You Build Us Up!” or “Our Coaches Help Us Fall in Love with Learning!” to say thank you and communicate how much their support means to your campus. See an example of a bulletin board design below.
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