How Tucson Unified is Building Coaching Capacity

Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) has a mission to prepare every student to become a responsible, ethical, engaged member of their community. District leaders believe strong instruction is central to that goal. This fall, they're rethinking how they cultivate this mission, launching a year-long professional learning pathway built to strengthen the coaches who support teachers every day.

From One-and-Done Professional Development to a Year-Long Pathway

TUSD has previously done traditional professional development—stand-alone services, narrowly focused, and delivered directly to teachers. Now they’re taking a different approach—investing in the people who support teachers every day, their coaches, known as Curriculum Service Providers (CSPs). This year, roughly 21 coaches will be participating in a Fall pathway, with an additional group of coaches in a Spring pathway, all channeling that work into a shared focus: Eureka Math²^®.

Eureka Math² is a PK–Algebra I curriculum built with a coherent, connected progression of mathematical concepts. Teaching it well asks teachers to see how each lesson builds on the last and sets up the next. That foundational, cumulative design is part of why TUSD is investing in sustained coach training rather than a single workshop.

Dana Islas, Program Manager of Academic Standards, put it plainly, "We know we need to build capacity, and we know that our CSPs are the boots on the ground. We need them to feel stronger and more secure in their own mathematical content knowledge and their understanding of how Eureka Math² is organized."

These coaches will engage in professional learning sessions that cover content that builds throughout the year.

TUSD is also doing parallel work with principals and site leaders, so that everyone stays aligned at all levels. Islas ties her belief in alignment to an image: a page full of arrows—different sizes, different colors, pointing in different directions, each representing a separate initiative. The arrows then shift to point in the same direction. This image serves as a reminder: the only way to truly move forward is to get everyone's arrows pointing the same way. That conviction now shapes how TUSD will navigate this pathway.

A Culture of Safety

Perhaps the most distinctive part of TUSD's approach is its focus on the learning culture.

TUSD leaders and facilitators are committing to name their own gaps out loud, framing mistakes as part of learning. If a teacher can't admit they’re puzzled by a math concept, they can’t foster that same curiosity in their students.

Looking Ahead

TUSD is early in this work, but the vision for where it leads is already clear.

"I truly believe when we're all working together in collaboration, you'll see the benefits displayed in student confidence," says Alma Carmona-Alday, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Learning.

Islas described success as: “confident mathematicians—students and educators alike—smiling, finding joy in mathematics, engaging deeply in the learning, and talking about their thinking. I can see students collaborating, learning from one another, and confidently sharing and making sense of mathematical ideas together."

That same collaborative spirit shapes how we approach the partnership.

TUSD's pathway is just beginning. Over the course of this year, the Great Minds^® Success Team will follow along as coaches, teachers, and leaders put this work into practice.

Check back in next year to see how it unfolds.

Want to learn how you can develop a pathway that fits your school or district? Get in contact with our Success Team.