With funding from two federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants, New Teacher Center worked with school and regional partners across six states to test better ways to provide ongoing professional growth opportunities for teachers.
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Initial findings from a third-party evaluator (SRI International) indicate that NTC’s approach had a demonstrable impact on student achievement in mathematics and English Language Arts.
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SRI identified the following NTC strategies as pivotal:

• Building strong instructional leadership with aligned priorities and professional learning
• Identifying and providing time, resources, and support for leaders to create the conditions for effective coaching and coaching-based PLCs.

Key findings are based on interviews with district staff, principals, instructional coaches, and teachers.

Alignment with school/district improvement priorities

NTC effectively positioned coaching as a strategic lever to meet pressing district needs.
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We worked with leadership up front to design how PLCs and 1:1 coaching should be integrated to meet identified goals/challenges (rather than adding another initiative on top of existing efforts).
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SRI findings:

• Districts were more likely to embrace coaching when it addressed immediate needs and emerging priorities, such as supporting an influx of alternatively certified teachers, filling a gap left by the discontinued induction program, or new curriculum rollouts.
• Schools that integrated coaching with existing structures like PLCs or SEL frameworks demonstrated stronger engagement and coherence between coaching activities and broader school improvement goals.
• In some schools, PLC-based coaching was an effective within-school scaling strategy while also bolstering specific school improvement priorities.

“Coaching was framed as a strategy, not a separate initiative.”

Leadership buy-in and promotion

NTC provided explicit supports to build principal advocacy and develop instructional leadership.
We provided tools and opportunities to help leaders at the district and school level actively message, plan for, engage in, and protect coaching/PLC time as part of instructional leadership responsibilities.

SRI findings:

• District champions ensured coaching was embedded in strategic plans and allocated resources accordingly.
• Principals who actively promoted and created space for coaching helped integrate it into school cultures and routines.
• Strategic planning sessions and learning walks deepened understanding and alignment between coaching goals and school priorities.

Dedicated time and clear roles

NTC helped define the most effective school-specific implementation approaches.
We provided time-mapping guidance and role clarity for coaches/PLC facilitators. High-implementation sites stayed focused on instructional improvement because they had clear expectations and dedicated time and structures to support teachers embedded into school routines.

SRI findings:

• Protected, regularly scheduled time for 1:1 and PLC-based coaching was key.
• Clear expectations for coaching activities – like conducting coaching cycles and using structured tools – helped standardize and improve impact.
• Leaders intentionally secured early release days or built coaching into PLC blocks using a structured three-week plan–teach–reflect cycle in high-implementation sites.

Professional learning for lead coaches/PLC facilitators

NTC provided ongoing PL through in-field coaching support to build sustainable capacity.
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We encouraged districts to invest in lead coaches and trained PLC facilitators with targeted professional learning and ongoing coaching to develop expert practice. In both studies, coaches, principals, and other school leaders described these staff as pivotal.

• Coaches and PLC facilitators benefited from consistent training and ongoing feedback via in-field coaching from NTC, who then provided real-time, constructive support to other site coaches.
• Additional learning was tailored to site needs and specific interests (e.g., supporting alternatively certified teachers), boosting overall engagement and sustainability.

We look forward to sharing additional findings on the impact on student achievement as the evaluation continues.