(by Don Meador, Public Relations Coordiantor, Allen County Schools)
For veteran educator Sherry Long, the start of the 2016-17 school year will find herself in a new role at the James E. Bazzell Middle School. Long has moved from teaching seventh-grade Language Arts to the recently created position of Instructional Coach.
“Over the years we have seen that the most important factor in student-learning is the teacher,” explained Bazzell Middle School principal Melissa Towery. “This (instructional coach) position will be a teacher’s resource, a teacher’s advocate, a teacher’s mentor, or coach. Mrs. Long will be there to help teachers find resources and articles, work with teachers on best practices and help them tweak what they are already doing. She will also be helping new teachers along and easing that transition. I think the most wonderful thing about this position is that all the teachers in the building will have someone that they can go to and say this is what I would like to do in my class, do you have any ideas?”
Towery adds that Long’s role is to “improve instruction” by helping teachers enhance what is already being done in the classroom. The position is new for the middle school but not necessary new for Long.
“Teachers would come to me and ask what I thought about something they wanted to do and I would make suggestions but I wasn’t always able to help them get the resources they might need,” Long pointed out. “I think this new position is an extension of some things I have already been doing.”
Long started her educational career supporting the work of the Bazzell Middle School prior to actually teaching from the classroom.
“I think I have been a part of this middle school since my kids were here,” Long explained. “I volunteered, I was part of Site-Base, and I was on committees. When I had enough (college) hours, I began subbing. I have been here forever and I love this building and all the teachers I work with and that’s one reason I’m so excited.”
Upon completing her undergraduate work at Western Kentucky University, Long was hired as a Language Arts teacher at the school. Looking back, she recalls her own experience and explains that she could have benefited from someone serving in the role she now finds herself in.
“I could have used an instructional coach,” Long said. “I would have wonderful ideas but not enough time. I never had enough time to get the resources to make my ideas completely happen. I’m hoping I can now help teachers make some things happen in that way.”
Towery explains that Bazzell students will also benefit from the school having an instructional coach.
“Mrs. Long’s primary focus will be working with the teachers but she is also going to have a lot of interaction with kids as well,” Towery said. “What we also see her doing is co-teaching. She will be in a class and actually teach a lesson with the regular teacher. Another way that she will have an impact with students is with data. She will be really looking at data analysis. Mrs. Long will look at STAR testing results and scrimmage results and be able to identify students that just might be on the border. Then she could go to teachers and say look at what these kids have done and ask what we can do to bump their scores up.”
Long points out that the education environment is ever-changing, as evident by the way data is now being used to look beyond assessment results.
“The last few years we have implemented data analysis and its one of the best things we have done,” Long added. “It either supports what you are doing is working or it shows that something else is needed. Looking at the data and being objective helps guide a teacher. I hope I can do that for teachers. It takes time to analyze and look at the areas of strengths and other areas in which you may need to do a little work.”
Towery calls Long a “master teacher” and points out that the move will be a benefit for each of the 435 students expected to be enrolled this year at Bazzell.
“We are going to miss the impact she had in Language Arts but now she will have impact with the whole school,” Towery said. “We are going to take the expertize she has developed and her reputation in the school and in the district and increase the impact to the whole building. That is so exciting.”
Long adds that she looks forward to helping teachers engage their students.
“It’s all about the kids and it’s about getting kids excited about learning,” Long explains. “It’s about getting kids engaged.
Long will began her new role with the start of school on August 4.