A team coach is assigned to visit the team at their school one day each semester before the MACUL Conference. The focus of the visit is to support, encourage and help team members integrate new skills learned during program training and to fulfill program requirements. Substitute teacher reimbursement is not available through the grant for the onsite visit teacher release time.

Coach responsibilities include:

• Following up and reviewing each team member's lesson plans according to objectives from the Summer Training. Coaches record completion of this requirement.
• Helping team members (if needed) identify an online course or workshop that will meet the program requirements. Coaches record completion of this requirement.
• Reviewing, possibly re-teaching skills from the summer training and suggesting ways to integrate the new resources.
• Encouraging the team members to support each other through their interactions in the program.
• Introducing new skills or information to some team members based on their expertise of integrating technology into curriculum.

Scheduling onsite visits:

The coach will email the team contact person to begin the communication process. This communication generally happens at the beginning of the school year after teams have completed their Summer Training 2-day session. The team & coach identify available meeting times that work for their schedules. It's important to establish the onsite visit times with the coach as soon as possible.

There are several options for scheduling the onsite time. Optimal success occurs when the team is able to work together with support of the building principal to achieve program and school technology goals. Teams that are able to schedule only partial days for the coach visit may be able to meet as a team at other times and include other online communication with the coach that adds up to one day of visitation per semester.

• Entire Day: Many building principals have scheduled release time for the entire team to have the entire day to work together with the coach. Options include a PD day prior to the beginning of the school year or during the year. A full day gives time to complete program requirements, master new skills, create a team synergy for on-going support of each other and establish building technology goals that positively impact student learning.
• Half-day: Some teams are only able to get a half-day release time to work together. The coach may be able to review lesson plans & the online learning requirements during individual team member release time or online, reserving the half-day for the team to work and learn together.
• Partial day & after school time: Some teams receive release time for a 2-hour period and are able to stay after school for another hour. Again, the coach may be able to review lesson plans & the online learning requirements during individual team member release time or online, reserving the time for the team to work and learn together.

Onsite Scheduling Guide:

The information in the  Onsite Scheduling Guide is intended to be used only as a guide to help the team develop what content will be most helpful for the coach to focus on during the onsite visit. It is important for the team to identify for the coach what their needs are for achieving the most success in integrating technology in their curriculum.

Finding your team's coach email address:

If a team member or building principal needs the coach contact information, please email

Judy Paxton, MI Champion Coach Coordinator.