Table of Contents

Phase 1: Strategic professional development at the school level ➡️ How did BetterLesson measure impact?

Phase 2: Scaling to districtwide professional development for three shifts: curriculum implementation, pandemic response, and leadership support

CMS in the news: Continued historic growth in grade-level proficiency districtwide

About Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is one of the 20 largest districts in the country, serving more than 148,000 students with a staff of 9,400 teachers. Its student population is diverse, with students representing hundreds of nations, languages, and dialects.

It has drawn national recognition for honors such as the 2011 Broad Prize for Urban Education and consistently NAEP high scores. But like many other districts, CMS was still not satisfied with student outcomes (for example, with proficiency scores below 60% at several key grade levels), and made it a priority to address achievement gaps across student groups.

Phase 1: Strategic professional development at the school level

2016-17 through 2018-19 School Years

The Challenge: Improve student outcomes in three Title I elementary schools

In 2017, three Title I elementary schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg sought an effective way to raise student proficiency and growth. In addition to these quantitative outcomes, school leaders wanted to see the following changes:

1. Shifting to more student-centered classrooms

2. Developing environments in which students could be more self-reflective

3. Providing teachers with support to better differentiate their instruction

The solution: A holistic approach to school improvement

Nations Ford Elementary partnered with BetterLesson (2016-17) to bring personalized, job-embedded coaching to a cohort of teachers. The results were powerful, which inspired the leadership teams of Piney Grove Elementary and Starmount Academy of Excellence to initiate their own partnerships with BetterLesson heading into the 2017-18 school year.

Across the three schools, 28 teachers were selected to work with BetterLesson coaches, with the goal of making significant progress toward the schools’ quantitative and qualitative goals.

Implementing 1:1 coaching for teachers

BetterLesson worked alongside leaders from Nations Ford, Piney Grove, and Starmount to establish clear outcomes for coaching. Once a plan for implementation was developed, coaches were matched with teachers based on individual teacher needs.

Throughout the school year, coaches and teachers met one-on-one every other week via videoconference. BetterLesson’s iterative coaching process supported teachers to try proven strategies, measure student growth, and learn from the impact of the new strategies in their classrooms — our try-measure-learn approach used by all BetterLesson coaches.

Teachers collected and shared evidence of growth (theirs and their students) in the BetterLesson Lab. Coaches served as both thought partners and accountability partners to teachers to encourage risk taking, data-driven experimentation, and a learner mindset.

Via an administrator dashboard in the BL Lab, principals could assess the specific outcomes individual teachers were working on and evidence of progress. BetterLesson also met quarterly with principals to evaluate the progress of the entire cohort.

How did BetterLesson measure the impact of coaching on teacher practice and student learning at CMS?

Each school collected data to measure the correlation between BetterLesson’s coaching and changes in student growth, student ownership, and teaching practices in the 28 teachers’ classrooms. Teachers and principals also provided qualitative feedback through mid-year and end-of-year surveys, and during the quarterly progress meetings.

Teachers participating in bi-weekly coaching cycles shifted toward more student-centered learning.

• 84% of teachers focused their efforts on differentiating instructional action plans based on formative assessment data, student learning preferences, and interests.
• A majority of teachers supported students to set personalized learning goals, reflect on their progress regularly, and adjust their learning pathways based on this data.

Teachers confirmed coaching improves instructional practice and classroom culture

In the 2016-17 End-of-Year Participant Survey and the 2017-18 Mid-Year Participant Survey (December 2017), initial and expanded cohorts of participants confirmed the impact. Teachers affirmed that this type of professional development was much more effective for them than any other type of PD. They rated BetterLesson Coaching 5 out of 5 for its impact on students’ ability to reach their outcomes that year. And:

• 100% would strongly recommend BetterLesson coaching to a peer
• 100% observed a positive impact on student outcomes
• 100% agreed there was alignment with administrator’s expectation

Student achievement rose with reachers who received BetterLesson coaching

The strategic focus on these outcomes led to a steady improvement in teaching and learning practices that also translated into impact on student achievement at each school. Leaders isolated data from teachers coached by BetterLesson from the rest of the staff to better measure the impact of the coaching.

How did CMs schools measure the impact of BetterLesson coaching on teacher practice and student learning at CMS?

Piney Grove Elementary School

Principal Campbell examined the proficiency levels of Piney Grove students on the last Case assessment and found that 77% of all students who achieved proficient scores were taught by two out of three fourth grade math teachers who worked with BetterLesson coaches.

Starmount Academy of Excellence

Principal Nancy Martinez focused her analysis on the various MAP assessments given to students this year. BetterLesson coaches worked with 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers at Starmount.

From Spring 2017 to Spring 2018, Principal Martinez observed double-digit growth in students’ math and reading scores for all grade level teachers who were coached by BetterLesson.

Nations Ford Elementary School

In its third year of partnership with BetterLesson, Nations Ford Elementary School achieved an overall EVAAS school Growth Composite of 5.51. The institute had a science growth rate of 6.0, and the highest 4th grade math growth rate of 7.2—outpacing all other 169 elementary, middle, and high schools.

In 3 years, Nations Ford went from being rated a D/F school by the state to a C school under Alejandra Garcia’s leadership, and she strategically invested in BetterLesson coaching to support this growth.

Phase 2: Scaling to districtwide professional development (2019–2021)

Following the proven impact of BetterLesson at the school level, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools chose to expand the partnership to support district-wide strategic initiatives.

Since 2019, CMS had navigated several shifts in its instructional model and professional development approach—some strategic and intentional, some forced upon it by the global pandemic.

Throughout that time, CMS has invested in rigorous curricula from Open Up Resources (OUR) and EL Education, and partnered with BetterLesson to provide teachers and leaders the in-depth, customized support they need via 1:1 coaching and action-oriented workshops.

With the right professional learning program, the district was able to adapt to three urgent instructional shifts and build capacity for the long term.

Shift #1: Adopting a rigorous, student-centered curriculum — districtwide

2019–20 School Year

In 2019, CMS announced its 2024 Strategic Plan, including these three goals:

1. Every student graduates with meaningful employment or higher education opportunities.
2. Every student has access to a rich, diverse, and rigorous curriculum.
3. Every student has access to more social and emotional support.

While in the past each school had chosen its own curriculum, CMS leaders decided that the most equitable path forward was to select one, highly rigorous curriculum for all schools. To this end, CMS selected middle school math curriculum OUR – and selected BetterLesson to provide curriculum-aligned PD.

Adopting a new, highly rigorous curriculum districtwide required not just content expertise and an effective professional development model, but a change management approach that was sensitive to each school’s needs.

Curriculum-aligned PD workshops

From the fall of 2019 through February 2020, BetterLesson facilitated seven full-day, in-person “Design Workshops” for 250 8th grade math teachers, three full-day onsite coaching experiences for district math specialists, and two Virtual Workshops for middle school math teachers, designed to introduce the new curriculum and build fluency with it. Each experience included time for teachers to unpack standards, explore strategies, and create plans for implementing the curriculum in their classrooms.

1:1 instructional coaching for job-embedded support

BetterLesson coaches also worked with two district specialists to hone their instructional leadership skills, such as running effective PLCs, observing instruction and giving feedback, and maintaining teacher communication systems.

Measurable impact on teacher confidence in implementing new curriculum

CMS leaders and teachers soon saw the value of bringing together teachers from across schools to learn about one curriculum. 80% of participants in the OUR workshops said they were moderately to extremely confident that they could implement what they learned in the sessions. The district was on track to a successful first year of curriculum adoption.

Shift #2: Adapting to distance learning during the pandemic

Spring 2020

In the middle of March 2020, as schools across the country closed suddenly due to the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, CMS administrators and teachers worked to adapt to an entirely new remote learning model and ensure that all students had device and Wi-Fi access.

CMS district leaders and BetterLesson collaborated to shift their focus from curriculum adoption toward supporting teachers with “flexible learning”—meaning that schools meet students where they are—academically, emotionally, and physically, whether that’s in distance learning, hybrid, or in person.

CMS’ PD support staff were swamped with helping about 8,000 of the district’s approximately 10,000 teachers learn how to use their Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas. But about 2,000 were using Canvas already, and primarily needed guidance on how to deliver high-quality remote instruction.

BetterLesson coaches and learning designers had a long track record of providing virtual PD, and thus had a stable of strategies to share regarding effective virtual instruction.

Within less than a week, BetterLesson arranged to offer a Virtual Workshop covering the fundamentals of remote learning. Virtual Workshops are delivered in a small-group format (i.e., with a ratio of 1:20 facilitators to participants) and built around the same hands-on, collaborative, inquiry-based model of in-person Design Workshops.

Teachers learned how to create a safe and inclusive culture online, as well as how to foster student participation. On the first day it was offered, five teachers signed up for the 8am session. But word quickly spread, and by the 1pm session 141 teachers had participated.

Over three days, 400-plus teachers joined that Virtual Workshop, with another 400-plus attending Workshops offered in April and May. When asked how likely participants were to recommend the PD to a colleague on a scale of 1–10, the average answer was 9. In response to surveys sent about six weeks after the sessions, 95% of participants said that they had implemented or were planning to implement a strategy they learned, with 90% saying it went moderately to extremely well.

Throughout the spring, BetterLesson worked closely with CMS leadership to develop and lead additional workshops related to “flexible learning” strategies, including:

• Choosing and setting up an online learning environment, like an LMS
• Structuring learning time
• Designing synchronous and asynchronous learning tasks
• Scaffolding instruction to meet all students’ needs

BetterLesson and CMS also decided to offer a Virtual Workshop for leaders, focused on creating strategic plans to “lead through change.” Those sessions, too, quickly hit their registration capacity as leaders were eager for support in navigating an unprecedented reality.

CMS leaders and their BetterLesson partners worked together to quickly adapt to an unprecedented shift in instructional models.

CMS leaders reported being pleased that BetterLesson was able to customize their PD support to meet CMS’s needs. It was becoming clear that having a long-term professional learning partner who knew the district’s context, goals, and capacities was beneficial to building a flexible and sustainable approach to educator professional learning.

Participant feedback on the spring 2020 distance learning PD further confirmed the impact:

“This Distance Learning PD has been a breakthrough of knowledge for me. I’m now equipped with the resources to empower students, families, and staff.”
– Media Coordinator

“This is the most I have learned from a PD thus far. I had access to so many useful resources and the time and support to learn how to use them.”
– Teacher

“This session was exactly what I needed to get back on track with setting goals and creating next steps.”*
– Instructional Coach

Shift #3: Building even deeper instructional leadership

Summer & Fall 2020 — and beyond

Before the pandemic, CMS had decided to make yet another shift: to focus on growing its internal capacity for instructional leadership.

This meant that CMS would take over all training and support for teachers, but would work with outside experts to support its district specialists, school leaders, and district administrators.

This strategy would reduce dependency on outside talent, create greater alignment across the district, and form the path to a robust, long-term educator growth strategy that would fulfill CMS’s promise in the 2024 Strategic Plan to “support teachers with development and learning equal to performance expectations.”

Supporting school principals’ instructional leadership capacity with coaching and workshops

In the summer of 2020, CMS and BetterLesson partnered to deliver a robust PD opportunity to help CMS principals prepare for the coming school year.

All principals were required to attend “Teaching and Learning Flexibly: Best Practices and Big Ideas” and could choose two other sessions that aligned to their individual contexts and school needs.

CMS principals also had the opportunity to sign up for four sessions of leadership coaching, to give them a space to workshop problems and create back-to-school plans — 113 principals participated.

Principals focused their coaching on creating flexible PD, promoting best practices for remote learning, and supporting staff and students’ social-emotional needs. Some of the most popular strategies that principals covered with coaches include:

• Create a Define-Explore-Build Workshop
• Self-Regulation Strategies
• Marzano’s Self Assessment Rubric
• Learning Walks: A Tool for Administrators to Take the Temperature of Learning

In 5 out of the 6 Virtual Workshops offered, more than 80% of participants reported being very or extremely satisfied with the delivery and support provided, and the majority reported being very or extremely confident in implementing what they had learned.

Based on their positive experiences over the summer, several school leaders opted to use discretionary funds to continue personalized coaching in the next school year.

Participant Feedback from Summer 2020 principal support:

“The BetterLesson consultation helps me to be a more reflective and thoughtful leader. I simply can’t imagine how I would grow and thrive as a leader without such coaching support.” – Principal

“I walked away from this PD with tangible next steps I can use with my leadership team as well as my teachers.” – Principal

“I gained a new perspective for equity-centered leadership during these uncertain times.” – District Leader

Supporting District Curriculum Specialists

In 2020–21, the focus of the partnership has shifted to supporting district curriculum specialists, in order to continue building capacity around the relatively new, rigorous curricula (OUR Math and EL Education, the district’s chosen new ELA curriculum), build instructional leadership skills, and do so in the context of the new remote and hybrid learning models.

Over the course of this school year, 28 district specialists are participating in biweekly, 30-minute, 1:1 virtual coaching sessions coupled with a series of Virtual Workshops on topics like:

• Deep dives into the EL and OUR curricula, as well as other ELA and math curricula used at the high school level
• Foundations of Coaching
• Facilitating Collaborative Professional Learning
• Actionable Feedback and Observation
• Supporting Strategic Planning at the Unit, Lesson, and Task Level

For the Workshops delivered in the fall of 2020, participants reported an average 9.3 out of 10 in response to whether they would recommend the PD to a colleague, with 75% saying they are very or extremely confident in their ability to implement what they learned.

In post-Workshop surveys, participants often report that they plan to follow up on a new strategy or resource with their coach—thus creating a cycle of introduction to new material, followed by individualized coaching to answer questions, adapt approaches, practice, and reflect on progress. This job-embedded, virtual PD support system thus also provides a model for how specialists can work with teachers.

The Value of Long-Term Partnership

From BetterLesson’s early days of working with individual schools in 2016, to the districtwide partnership to adopt a new curriculum, adapt to a new teaching model, and build instructional leadership, CMS and BetterLesson have collaborated to focus on the big picture of what teachers and leaders need. The partnership has evolved through multiple phases:

1. Proof of Concept (2016-2018): Proving the model at the school level, three Title I schools demonstrated measurable impact on student achievement through 1:1 teacher coaching

2. Districtwide Partnership (2019-2020): Targeted PD supporting districtwide curriculum adoption with 250+ teachers

3. Critical Response (Spring 2020): BetterLesson coaches and facilitators engage rapidly pivot to support 800+ educators with distance learning for teaching and leadership capacity

4. Leadership Capacity Building (2020-2021): Investment in 113 principals and 28 district specialists to create sustainable internal expertise

Throughout this journey, CMS and BetterLesson have worked together to responsively meet every new challenge so that every school has a great curriculum and supports for teachers, leaders, and ultimately—students.

Like every district, CMS has evolved its approach to instructional excellence, and having a long-term professional learning partner who understands the district’s context, goals, and capacities has proven invaluable in building a flexible and sustainable approach to educator professional learning.