Illinois Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) launched the Illinois Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program in fall 2020 with support through the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, as part of the COVID-19 relief package approved by Congress. Implemented through a partnership between the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), the program aims to help early career educators build their professional practice, acculturate to their school and district community, become familiar with local policies and expectations, and increase their desire to stay in the profession. Program implementation began in January 2021 and with the recruitment efforts of IEA, IFT, and CTU, the program has matured to include over 2,300 participants across the state in 2022–23 (Year 3).

The Illinois coaching and mentoring program uses several key strategies to support new teachers and clinicians (e.g., counselors, nurses, social workers, speech-language pathologists). Each participating teacher and most clinicians receive in-person support from a building mentor whose role is to facilitate their integration into the school. In addition, the program matches each teacher and clinician with a virtual coach based on shared teaching or professional assignments (same subject area, grade level, or clinical profession) to receive content-specific and pedagogical coaching. To support virtual coaches and mentors in their respective roles, the program offers virtual forums or webinars facilitated by each union and resources across a range of instructional topics hosted on an online platform.

In the 2023–24 school year, the program is entering its fourth year of implementation, with Digital Promise continuing as the independent research and evaluation partner.

The Illinois Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program targeted the following key outcomes:

For participating new teachers and clinicians (e.g., counselors, nurses, social workers, speech-language pathologists):

• Effectiveness and confidence in their professional practice
• Acculturation into their school or district community
• Intention to stay in the profession

For participating virtual coaches and mentors:

• Increased effectiveness as coaches and mentors

Overall, we found that participation in the program led to positive results for the educator groups in various ways. Below we highlight some key findings at the end of Year 3 and over the course of three years of program implementation.

• New teachers and clinicians reported being well-matched with their virtual coaches and mentors across a number of dimensions: grade level, subject area, race/ethnicity, and other affinity groups.
• New teachers and clinicians consistently relied on their virtual coaches and mentors for support across a wide range of topics spanning instruction and school and district culture and policies, often drawing on both roles for support in related areas.
• Teachers and coaches found the support provided by their coaches and mentors to be beneficial for their instructional/professional practice and integration into their school or district environment.
• New teachers and clinicians reported a decreased sense of isolation when facing challenges and a heightened level of confidence in their teaching, practice, and classroom management. Participating in the program helped them feel better in their role, get through the school year, and foster a desire to continue working in the profession to a moderate or great extent.

     Program Participation Helped New Teachers and Clinicians

Source: Evaluation of Illinois Virtual Instructional Coach and Building Mentor Program teacher and clinician surveys, May 2023.

“Getting someone’s undivided attention and perspective to work through problems and workshop solutions, hearing that you’re not alone and others have done this before… makes things more doable. Being able to do this program has helped keep my head above water.” —New Teacher

• Virtual coaches and mentors felt they were effective in supporting new teachers and clinicians at the end of Year 3. Over 80% coaches reported feeling sufficiently equipped to support their assigned educators without requiring further training

For more details, see the reports for each evaluation year:

• 2020–21 (Year 1) evaluation report
• 2021–22 (Year 2) evaluation report
• 2022–23 (Year 3) evaluation report

Learn more about the ELP Pilot Mentoring and Coaching Program:

• Home
• Educators Leading the Profession (ELP) Pilot Program