ALPENA — The Alpena Public Schools Curriculum and Technology Committee on Tuesday heard how instructional coaching support in the district is going so far this school year.

Meaghan Gauthier, director of curriculum, instruction, assessment/state and federal programs for APS, said two elementary schools changed programming from a Title I teacher who provided intervention to students to a Title I instructional coach who works with teachers.

“That process has been going really well,” Gauthier said.

Gauthier said there are also secondary instructional coaches. She said APS has contracted with Michigan Virtual to solely be the support for Thunder Bay Junior High School.

TBJH has a technology goal this school year and part of that goal is that every teacher, when setting their professional goals at the beginning of the year, will set a technology goal for physical integration of technology at some level in the classroom.

Alternative Choices for Educational Success (ACES) Academy also has a technology goal this school year to implement blended learning. Gauthier said Ashlie O’Connor from the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District will be solely dedicated to ACES Academy and working with those teachers to help the process.

“Instructional coaches have to have a good relationship with the teachers that they’re working with in order to really help make a difference and having one person per building, I’m hoping will help kind of foster that relationship,” Gauthier said.

There is also an instructional coach for project-based learning teachers who will be coming next week to help the teachers tweak and improve their classes along with answering any questions the teachers may have.

“I think that coaching is one of the pieces that helps to create a sustainable change,” Gauthier said.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5688.