A Day in the Life

Each summer, Breakthrough hires eight outstanding professional classroom teachers to train and support our college-aged Teaching Fellows (TFs). TFs bring energy, idealism, an extraordinary work ethic, and a willingness to learn. Instructional Coaches round out the equation, bringing experience, a vast repertoire of effective strategies, a commitment to equity and excellence, and a desire to prepare the next generation of teachers.

Instructional Coaches attend a number of training sessions in San Francisco in late spring of each year. During our teacher orientation week in mid-June, they lead workshops on lesson plan design, assessment, classroom management, and other essential topics. Throughout the six week summer program that follows, from late June to early August, they review lesson plans and observe TFs in action on a daily basis. Each IC supports four TFs in a specific department – science, math, or English/Language Arts.

Instructional Coaches build extremely close relationships with the Teaching Fellows they’re supporting, helping them persevere through challenges and modeling the habits and perspectives of highly effective teachers. They have the opportunity as well to work and collaborate with the seven other ICs on site. Coaches often report that they grow themselves and end the summer rejuvenated, excited to try out new ideas and techniques in their own classrooms.

A Day in the Life