I apologize in advance for yet another gym/yoga-related analogy, but this is my current life! During a recent workout session my trainer exclaimed, “I cannot believe how flexible you are!” He asked me how long it took for me to be able to do a certain stretch. At first, I didn’t have a clue how to answer. My response became something about my regular yoga practice over the last six months helping improve my flexibility tremendously.

This made me think about the importance of progress monitoring. My trainer monitors my progress through my weight, body fat percentage, and ability to do more- lift more, move faster, etc. He plans out how often he will measure my progress and keeps track of it in my file. Without this monitoring, I would have spent way too much time stressing out about numbers on the scale in isolation, instead of being able to see the big picture of my health improvements.

Progress monitoring in the classroom is equally important. Knowing what we want our students to learn, and then checking if they’ve learned it is crucial. This information also drives differentiated instruction and intervention supports.

But what does progress monitoring look like when you are a leader, working with adults? As a coach, supporting improved instruction? Or a principal or district leader, ensuring quality teaching and learning for all students?  How do you monitor progress within your leadership team?  How do you support leaders in setting goals and monitoring their own progress?

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