VHCS looks to hire instructional partners

With all of the “amazing” work teachers do in the classroom, Vestavia Hills City Schools wants to do its part to support them, said Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Aimee Rainey.

If the 1Rebel 1Future initiative passes, the school system will look to hire one instructional partner in each school, Rainey said. An instructional partner would help teachers analyze data and use it to improve their teaching, she said.

The school system would use the Alabama Coaching Framework, which sets standards for coaches, and the Best Practices Center training. The instructional partners would be equipped with knowledge and skills to support teachers, Rainey said.

While administrators play an important role, an instructional partner will spend time both in class and out of class helping teachers develop their skills and better reach their students, Rainey said. The schedule for training would be built in collaboration with the teacher’s schedule.

Partners can model a lesson or teach different strategies, depending on the teacher’s needs, Rainey said. They can help create action plans and understand standards. It will make instruction time more “targeted and beneficial” for the teacher and students, she said.

The partner will have demonstrated “exceptional skill” in the classroom themselves, Rainey said.

“This would be a ‘master teacher,’” she said.

Other opportunities for help might come by co-teaching with the teacher, Rainey said, or pulling data for the teacher.

The concept of instructional partners is not a new one in Alabama, Rainey said, with several other systems using them.

The vote on whether to pass 1Rebel 1Future is tentatively set for May 9, contingent on approval by both the state legislature and Governor Kay Ivey.