Growing Excellence: Expanding Faculty and Leadership Support

Strong teaching doesn’t happen by chance. It grows through reflection, collaboration, and continuous practice. At Breck, this belief has guided a series of programs that strengthen both teaching and leadership. Between 2020 and 2025, 139 faculty and staff logged over 700 hours of one-on-one support through Innovation Coaching, laying the foundation for our next chapter. In 2025, our coaching support is evolving to better align with the Breck Instructional Framework. At the same time, Breck is expanding support for Middle Level Leaders, Leadership and Instructional Fellows, and teaching assistants to ensure consistent and sustained support across all divisions. 

For decades, Breck has recognized that the most meaningful professional growth comes not from one-size-fits-all workshops, but from personalized support that honors the individuality of each educator. This approach is grounded in the work of the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, and reflects Breck’s long tradition of valuing community, care, and curiosity in equal measure. In today’s shifting educational landscape, these commitments are more important than ever. Middle Level Leaders are receiving the tools they need to navigate complex responsibilities in independent school life, while teaching assistants are developing reflective practices that strengthen their work in classrooms. These efforts continue Breck’s tradition of embedding professional growth within a culture of care and connection.

Breck Instructional Coaching is now designed to serve all faculty and leaders by focusing on Teacher Cultural Awareness, Intentional Learning Environments, and Deeper Learning Experiences. The Middle-Level Leader program, led by the Melrose and Peter Clark Centers, is launching in 2025-26, anchored by Leadership: Essentials for Leaders, an online course co-created by Dr. Julie Kallio and Global Online Academy. The course is designed for leaders to master five critical skills—communicating, facilitating human-centered meetings, systems thinking, aligning vision to tactics, and making decisions in uncertainty—to ensure their leadership effectively reflects their school's vision and values. Leadership and Instructional Fellows in the Middle and Upper Schools create embedded leadership opportunities that advance the work of the Breck Instructional Framework. In the Lower School, the new Instructional Leadership Team facilitates curricular and instructional alignment and supports teaching assistants through non-evaluative goal setting and reflection. Together, these opportunities strengthen teaching and leadership at every level of the school, building a shared culture of growth.

Breck is deepening its commitment to teaching and leadership by embedding sustained support at every level of the school. From Middle Level Leaders to teaching assistants to instructional coaches, and beyond, Breck educators are working within a shared framework that strengthens teaching and leadership in service of students. By aligning this work with the Breck Instructional Framework, Breck is building systems that expand faculty teaching and leadership coaching programs while setting a high standard for professional learning in independent schools so that faculty have the training and resources to remain on the forefront of research-based educational innovation.