Build coordinator capacity through a structured weekly professional learning community with personalized coaching and targeted assets-and-needs-assessment training¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

This strategy organizes new coordinators' professional learning around a weekly PLC with a structured scope and sequence, one-on-one coaching, and collective problem-solving, supplemented by targeted training in conducting assets and needs assessments. The report states that "To help coordinators grow into their roles, Lynwood offered a well-structured, weekly professional learning community (PLC), personalized coaching, and collective problem-solving." The PLC established consistent goals, routines, and practices while coordinators learned to make tailored decisions for their own campuses, and a district community school coordinator provided coaching and professional development across sites.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A system-level position (district community school coordinator) to lead the PLC and coaching; time for weekly meetings; training content covering listening campaigns, administrative data sources, survey design, data analysis, and presenting findings

Constraints¶

• Described in the context of a district scaling 16 new coordinator positions at once with dedicated grant funding for staffing

Target Learners¶

• Newly hired community school coordinators in a K-12 district

Target Learning Goals¶

• Coordinator capacity to lead community school implementation, conduct needs assessments, and integrate services

Related Strategies¶

• Cultivate a supportive peer community among coordinators and connect them to county and state professional development to sustain the role
• Implement BARR with a dedicated coordinator, weekly teacher-team meetings, multi-year professional development, and intensive coaching
• Implement BARR through sequenced multi-year professional development plus dedicated weekly coaching exceeding 200 hours per year
• Sustained teacher professional development with coaching and professional learning communities
• Provide structured multi-phase professional development with ongoing support for intervention teachers
• Implement Classtime with a kick-off training day plus ongoing grade-specific follow-up sessions

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Germain, E., Klevan, S., & Espinoza, D. (2026). Community schools in Lynwood Unified: Building capacity for districtwide implementation. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/947.934