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Having grown up and lived in Marion County, South Carolina most of my life, I know this area is brimming with potential. Unfortunately, though, that potential is not always reflected in the Marion County School District’s student achievement data.

As the district’s superintendent, I believe that the number one factor in student achievement is a high quality and effective teacher.  As a result, my first step in improving student learning is improving teacher practice. Being in a rural area, however, that’s not as easily done as said. Rural districts face a slew of challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers relative to our suburban and urban counterparts. Our tax base, and thus the salaries we’re able to offer, is lower than in our neighboring counties. Housing can be an issue. Fewer employment prospects for teachers’ spouses may limit our candidate pool, and geographic location and the social isolation that sometimes goes with it can make working in rural districts less appealing.

We may not be able to directly impact those things, but we can create an environment that educators want to be in, where they feel supported and see leadership building capacity and working to create opportunities for growth. And those things matter to teachers -- a 2016 study found that effective leadership that promotes professional development was “among the more important factors for teachers remaining in positions.”

With that in mind -- and the knowledge that you have to do things differently to achieve different results -- we decided to make some changes to our instructional coaching program.

To read the full article, visit SmartBrief.