Instructional coaching offers great promise for school improvement efforts. It is being recognized as strong, job-embedded professional development for teachers that has potential to positively impact both instructional practice and student achievement.  The PA Department of Education (PDE) is providing significant financial support, coordination, and integration of coaching into school improvement initiatives at all levels of the system. PDE has launched five major statewide initiatives with coaching components as part of the initiative design and implementation.  Following is a list of initiatives, the focus of each, level of funding, educational level impacted, and contact information:

· Accountability Block Grant:  ABG, now in its third year of state funding, provides an option for districts to focus their efforts on coaching to support school improvement at all levels.  For more information contact Geraldine Miller at gerimiller@pa.gov .

· Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI):  PAHSCI is funded by the Annenberg Foundation at $31 million dollars over three years.  The project focuses on instructional coaching to improve teacher instructional practices and raise student achievement in the areas of math and literacy at the high school level. The program is in year two of a three-year grant.  For more information contact Ellen Eisenberg at eeisenberg@pacoaching.org 

· Reading First:  Reading First is federally funded at $30 million dollars annually with a focus on teaching of reading at grades K-3.  The program is in the fourth year of a six-year federal grant.  For more information contact Susan Popielski at  spopielski@pa.gov  .

· Getting to One  (GTO):  GTO is state funded at 1 million dollars and an additional $300 thousand dollars from federal funds. The focus of this initiative is on the integration of technology into curriculum and instructional practices to enhance student achievement at the high school level.  For more information contact Kathleen Brautigam at kbrautigam@pa.gov.

· Classrooms for the Future (CFF):  CFF is state funded at the level of  $26 million dollars ($20 for equipment and $6 million for professional development).  It is the first year of a high school project that provides technology, professional development and coaching to enhance the integration of technology into the curriculum and instruction with an overall goal of increasing student achievement. For more information contact Holly Jobe at c-hjobe@pa.gov .

Evaluation of these initiatives is a key component in each project, usually conducted by a contracted external evaluator. Evaluation measures are both qualitative, focusing on changes in instructional practice, and quantitative, focusing on changes in student achievement. Evaluations are conducted through strong research strategies, often with control groups built within the evaluation plan. 

PDE has developed several on-line courses in the area of coaching.  These courses were produced by Learning Sciences International (LSI) and are available through the PDE website at www.learningaccount.net/Site/locate_course.cfm . The courses help coaches to make the transition from teachers to teacher leaders.  They also provide specific coaching strategies/ activities and train coaches in their application.  Courses can be taken for Act 48 hours, CPE credits, and in some cases graduate credit.  Many of the coaching initiatives are using course as required professional development for coaches.

PDE has created a Collaborative Coaching Board to meet monthly with all initiatives in order to ensure consistency of coaching practices.  The Board hopes to develop a common model of coaching and evaluation across programs in order to effectively demonstrate the positive impact of coaching as a whole. Guidance for coaching models and supportive documentation will be posted at this site as they are developed and disseminated.

Coming soon to the PDE EdHub will be a "community" for coaches to communicate, share successes, discuss issues, and offer help and support to one another.  This will be provided across initiatives and be open to coaches of any content and across the Commonwealth. Watch for the announcement.