Opinion: Super Bowl Players Get Expert Coaching. Teachers Should, Too

Like millions of other fans, I tuned in to Sunday’s Super Bowl and watched the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots. After the game, the accolades came pouring in for coach Mike Macdonald, who helped the Seahawks get to the big game.

In those moments, it occurred to me as an educator that when teachers talk about coaches, this role is viewed very differently. In sports, coaching signals that talent can be developed and excellence can be cultivated and sustained.

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That same assumption should guide how educators think about schools.  

In the world of education, coaching is often misunderstood and regarded with mistrust. It’s framed as support for novice teachers or for veterans who need additional help, often the last step before termination. But effective coaching is neither remedial nor judgmental. It’s ongoing professional learning that’s rooted in growth. If students are to thrive, it’s important for their teachers to receive quality coaching.

Last year, I observed my 2-year-old niece in preschool as she navigated managing big emotions. Since I’m a former preschool teacher, my sister asked me to watch the class. In school, my niece was prone to tantrums, had toileting accidents and was reluctant to share classroom materials. 

I saw there was no clear plan for helping my niece learn the age-appropriate skills of naming her feelings or redirecting her energy. Her teacher was early in her career and navigating a classroom without consistent coaching. She was not alone, and my niece, her twin sister and the other students in her class were not outliers — they represent thousands of children whose learning experiences depend on whether their teachers receive the support necessary to improve.

A 2021 analysis by EdTrust revealed that Black students across the country are disproportionately taught by novice teachers: 15% of educators in schools with most Black students are in their first or second year, compared with 10% in schools that have fewer Black students. In some states, the gap is twice as large. In Florida, at least 30% of Black students are enrolled in schools with a high concentration of early career teachers.The issue is not inexperience itself; every teacher has a first year. The issue is whether those educators receive the support necessary to improve.

Research reinforces what classrooms reveal. According to the Institute of Education Sciences, teachers who receive coaching implement academic strategies more often and more consistently than teachers who are not coached. And across multiple studies, coaching is associated with improved student learning.

Coaching can also help educators be culturally responsive, teaching them to recognize how culture shapes thinking, communication styles and student engagement. It can enable them to analyze classroom interactions, examine student participation patterns and reflect on how instructional decisions may unintentionally advantage or disadvantage students from certain backgrounds.

Coaching, when done well, builds teachers’ capacity to reflect, adjust instruction and respond to youngsters’ cultural and linguistic assets. 

Yet access to that kind of sustained coaching is uneven and inequitable.

For most of my teaching career, I either didn’t have a coach or when I did have one, I rarely saw them. And I wasn’t the only one: A national survey found that while teachers overwhelmingly find coaching helpful, most report they don’t get enough of it. And all too often, coaching is rushed, underresourced, or led by individuals without sufficient training or subject-matter expertise, leaving teachers feeling judged rather than supported. 

I was one of the lucky ones. As a first-year teacher in Teach For America. I had two coaches — one from the school district and one from TFA. Initially, I was annoyed to have two coaches. I assumed it would be twice the judgment and no real help. But their guidance became critical when, three months into the school year, I was reassigned from a third grade class to Head Start at a different school. Their consistent feedback helped me navigate that transition. They helped model strategies for supporting multilingual learners and showed me how to incorporate my students’ home languages into daily instruction. And as a result, most of my students met or exceeded key benchmarks in literacy and math. Without my coaches’ guidance, the outcomes would likely have been very different. 

State departments of education and school districts must invest in sustainable coaching and professional learning that goes beyond one-time workshops. This investment includes training coaches, setting aside time during the school day for them to observe teachers and provide feedback, and giving them time to model classroom lessons.

Development for coaches can include observing other coaches and engaging in training that allows them to observe classroom instruction in order to refine their strategies.

In sports, even the most elite athletes and programs rely on coaches. Education should be no different. If schools are serious about improving outcomes — such as ensuring that children like my niece have access to responsive and skilled teachers — then administrators must invest in consistent, high-quality coaching that treats teachers as professionals capable and deserving of continuous improvement.