Instructional Coach - Department of Professional Development - 2026-27 School Year Only

Instructional Coach

Department of Professional Development

School Year Only

Are you looking to work in a school division where students are engaged in authentic, challenging, and relevant learning experiences, becoming lifelong contributors and leaders in our dynamic and diverse society?

In Albemarle County Public Schools, we work together as a team to end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children's success through high-quality teaching and learning for all. We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds. We will know every student!

ACPS employees enjoy competitive pay and benefits, including health & dental coverage, retirement, flexible spending accounts, paid time off, wellness program, discounts on gym memberships, and more. Be sure to check out our website to learn more about our Division and our Schools.

General Definition of Work:

Instructional Coaching is part of the professional development system in Albemarle County Public Schools. The mission/vision of the coaching model is to promote a culture of collaborative, public, and reflective practice, and to support the continuous improvement of curriculum, assessment, and instruction by partnering with teachers to actualize professional goals. Overall, the job of the instructional coach is to work within a team of instructional coaches to build the capacity of teachers to meet the needs of all students through implementation of the Division's three levers: (1.)

Framework for Quality Learning; (2.) Professional Learning Community; and (3.) Educator Performance Appraisal. The effective coach is seen as an equal partner with both novice and experienced teachers, spending the majority of the time collaborating around teaching practices (i.e., co-planning, modeling, observing, co-teaching, debriefing). Coaches facilitate job-embedded professional development alongside teachers to enhance understanding of curriculum, assessment, and instruction as informed by the Framework for Quality Learning.

Coaches provide support to teachers as they engage in ongoing professional learning and to groups of teachers as they work in Professional Learning Communities to analyze student work and data. The instructional coach is non-supervisory and non-evaluative. The instructional coach is assigned to a team that supports a cluster of schools and is evaluated and supervised by a centrally based Lead Coach.

Essential Functions:

• Current understanding of culturally responsive teaching practices;
• Engages in reflective conversations with teachers
• Builds and maintains professional relationships with teachers
• Collaborates with teachers through listening and questioning to formulate next steps and solutions
• Supports collaboration across schools
• Develops student-centered goals with teachers in order to increase student achievement
• Facilitates school-based, high-quality, job-embedded professional development, working with teachers (in teams or individually) to enhance their knowledge and skills through co-developing lesson plans based on student needs, observing instruction, modeling instructional strategies (including the systemic integration of technology), supporting teachers as they analyze student work, etc.
• Engages in ongoing professional development to acquire contemporary global learning knowledge and skills necessary to effectively impact the instructional practices of teachers

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

The effectiveness of the ACPS coaching model hinges on the selection of a candidate who is highly qualified as a teacher, knowledgeable in content areas, and global learning practices, and demonstrates a flexible mindset and willingness to learn the sophisticated practices of coaching. Usually there is a need to motivate, establish rapport, gain support, persuade or influence individuals or groups. Occasional debate is often characteristic of interactions and may require considerable skill in diplomacy, tact, and discretion.

• Demonstrated deep expertise in one or more of the following areas: adult learning theory, how students learn and process literacy and numeracy,…