ICInstructional Coach
IC
Career

Instructional Coach

By the numbers
Typical pay
$77,440 / yr
Education to start
Master's degree
Future demand
+1.3% by 2034
People in this job
228K
Figures shown for ·1 O*NET occupation
The work
A day, hour by hour
07:30
Prep & data review

Scan student assessment data before school — spot which gaps to raise today.

08:10
Pre-observation chat

Quick check-in with a teacher before sitting in — align on what to watch for.

08:30
Classroom observation

Sit in on a live lesson, scripting exactly what the teacher says and does.

10:00
Feedback conference

Deliver specific, honest feedback — read the room first, then push or hold back.

10:45
Model lesson

Step in and teach a strategy yourself while the teacher watches from the side.

12:15
1-on-1 coaching cycle

Meet with a different teacher to set goals and review last week's progress.

13:30
Lesson plan workshop

Run a small-group session — teachers build targeted plans around the data gaps.

15:00
Debrief & notes

Log observation notes and flag one concern: coach quietly or loop in the principal?

15:45
PD planning

Draft next week's workshop agenda based on patterns spotted across today's visits.

Things you do
  • Sit in on live lessons and watch exactly how a teacher teaches.
  • Give teachers honest, specific feedback after observing their class.
  • Step into a classroom and model a teaching strategy yourself.
  • Meet one-on-one with teachers to set goals and track their growth.
  • Plan and run workshops that help teachers learn new skills together.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this teacher ready for honest feedback, or do I need to build more trust first?
  • Should I push back on this teacher's approach, or let them try it and learn from it?
  • Is this teacher struggling because of skill, or is something else going on?
  • Should I model the lesson myself, or coach from the sideline this time?
  • Do I flag this concern to the principal, or keep it between me and the teacher?
Education Pathways · how you get there
100 in 100 went the college route · 0 in 100 found another way in 5 years or more, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:Instructional Coordinators · 97% related
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