Sherman ISD Building Bearcats Magazine November 2017 | Page 11

Assistant Superintendent Susan Whitenack discusses the importance of facilities to teaching and
learning with members of the Citizens Advisory Committee during a school tour.
2. What will a student need to do so
that I can guarantee that he/she
understands?
3. What do I do to support a
s t u de nt w ho d oesn’t h av e
the prerequisites to meet my
expectation?
4. What do I do to support a student
who is advanced or has an
understanding of this lesson?
SISD Instructional coaches – staff
members who coach teachers on high-
leveraged instruction – provide data
on student achievement and facilitate
teacher collaboration across subject
areas and grade levels.
Crutchfield teacher Patricia Magee helps a student with
his work during class. Helping teachers design lessons to
support students is goal of the SISD Curriculum and Instruction
department.
“Our instructional coaches support
teachers to hone their craft by analyzing
the curriculum and determining the need of the
learner,” Whitenack said. “The data they provide gives
us points to fill in small or large gaps for each child.”
With the support of instructional coaches and a
collaborative teaching environment, Whitenack can
determine where she needs to provide resources on
a large scale and identify how the district can support
teachers to help them support individual learners.
“Overall, Sherman ISD and all of our stakeholders
want our students develop a deeper knowledge of
what they are learning,” Whitenack said. “Supporting
and developing our teachers’ deeper understanding
of their craft is the key to doing that and doing it
well.”
11