A great pre-kindergarten teacher isn’t born—she’s made. As the pre-k system expanded in New York City, education officials said one-on-one coaching was critical for teachers' growth and they expanded the program.
“It’s important with a system as big and diverse as ours,” said Sophia Pappas, the director of early childhood education at the Department of Education. She said good coaches could catch issues early, in the classroom, as well as train principals and program directors. But all of this takes dedicated time with teachers. Critics told WNYC there were not enough coaches to ensure quality across the board.
Officials have hired 30 new coaches this year, bringing the city’s total to 70, which translates to one counselor supervising 45 pre-k teachers, many of them new to their jobs or working in brand-new programs.
School districts with the best records of improvement invested in a more intensive engagement between coaches and teachers, said Hiro Yoshikawa, an education professor at New York University. The key, he said, was to develop a strong relationship over time.
Yoshikawa studied the system in Boston, where coaching contributed to boosting teachers’ and students’ performance. One coach oversaw up to 12 teachers, and coaches spent half a day with each teacher every two weeks, said Jason Sachs, an early childhood administrator in Boston.
In the early years of New Jersey’s Abbott districts—low-income areas where a court required the state to provide pre-k—each coach worked with about 15 teachers.
Sabrina Silverstein, who oversees the pre-k coaching program in New York City, said she’s always looking to improve the coaching system and plans to hire more coaches next year when the pre-k program is set to expand again.