When someone outside of education asks Jen Weisbarth what she does, she doesn't lead with her job title: Instructional Coach.

"I typically explain the role and then say the title because not too many people are familiar with the job," she explains. But at Shaker Schools, plenty of Middle School teachers are more than familiar with Weisbarth. Every day, she works alongside them both inside and outside the classroom, sharing best practices and instructional strategies with the goal of increasing student growth and achievement. She is a teacher to teachers, helping them co-plan lessons and, occasionally, co-teach. While her role is technically one of embedded professional learning, her work as an instructional coach produces better teachers and, in turn, better students.

Erin Herbruck, Ph.D, Director of Professional Learning, says this model of professional learning is particularly effective because it builds a cycle of collaboration, observation and feedback and because it empowers teachers to become leaders. "The coaches are right there with teachers--they're peers--ready to observe and give feedback. It's all very organic and a powerful support tool," she says. Currently, the District has a team of four Instructional Coaches to serve the PreK-8 faculty. (The High School has no Instructional Coaches because Department chairs serve in a related role.)

Weisbarth, who started at the District in 2009 as a 7th grade math teacher, says one of the things she likes best about her job is that she's still very much connected with the students. Since part of her job as an Instructional Coach requires her to observe in the classroom and sometimes, to co-teach, she still has plenty of interaction with students. "Every day is a new day and a new start [for Middle School students]. The kids are adult-like, but they're still 12 and 13, so you can help mold them into the adults that they want to become," she says.

Now that Weisbarth seeks out innovative strategies for teachers to implement in the classroom, she can't help but reflect on her days as a teacher. "If I knew then half of what I know now, I would be a completely different teacher," she admits. She wishes, for example, that the Daily 3 and Daily 5 framework for literacy and math was available when she taught. "I would have loved to have had the opportunity to incorporate that into the math structure...[because] it teaches students independence through the choice of rounds," she adds.

Still, Weisbarth is very happy in her role at the District. In addition to being a teacher and an Instructional Coach, Weisbarth previously worked as an assistant principal at Woodbury and a math coach, just prior to transitioning to an Instruction Coach. She also coaches volleyball at the Middle School. "I enjoy optimizing the learning experience for students with different ways of instruction," she says.