As teachers take on more responsibilities, the Bowling Green Independent School District is stepping in to help take some of the load off. 

Superintendent Gary Fields recently announced the hiring of five instructional coaches who will help support teachers facing more student assessment and evaluation responsibilities.  

“I’m really excited,” Fields said, adding the coaches “are going to help raise student achievement in all five of our elementary schools.”

All of the coaches will bring years of teaching experience to their new jobs when they start July 1. They include: Kristie Downing at T.C. Cherry Elementary School, Tracie Crabtree at Dishman McGinnis Elementary School, Christi Morel at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School, Leigh Anne Littlefield at Potter Gray Elementary School and Carla Vigil at W.R. McNeill Elementary School. 

Fields said the opportunity to create the new positions was possible by redirecting money from obsolete positions or those that remain unfilled. 

“I’ll be just basically a support system for the teachers and the principal,” said Vigil, who currently works in a similar job as a “cognitive coach” for the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative. She described her current job responsibilities as helping teachers personalize learning for students and introducing new teaching techniques. 

Before she started her current job in 2013, Vigil was a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at Munfordville Elementary School in Hart County for 12 years. She took the job at W.R. McNeill Elementary because she wanted one school to call home and devote her energy to. 

“I think it will add a new level of opportunity for teachers, opportunity for students, to be empowered,” Vigil said, adding she’ll work with the other coaches across the district as a team. 

After 19 years of teaching, Downing sees her new job at T.C. Cherry Elementary School as a new beginning. She’s currently teaching at Rich Pond Elementary School in Warren County Public Schools.

However, she didn’t want to take an office job. She said part of her job will involve reaching out to both struggling and gifted students to help them succeed, which has been challenging to do as a teacher responsible for large classrooms.

“It’s easy to teach to the middle, but it’s so hard to reach the kids on each end,” she said. 

Jennifer Davis, BGISD’s director of elementary and secondary programs, said the district wants the coaches to spend most of their time in classrooms. Part of their job responsibilities include helping teachers analyze data and look at each student’s needs. 

Davis emphasized the coaches will help teachers reflect on their teaching rather than stepping in and telling them what to do. 

“We’re kind of hoping this will take us to the next level,” she said. 

— Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.