Katy ISD is reducing the number of instructional coaches at the district’s secondary campuses, effective for the 2024-2025 school year. The decision has not been announced publicly but came to light in social media posts at the end of March, as campus leaders informed existing ICs of this decision on March 21. Also during the public comment session at the March 25 KISD board meeting, Amy McConnell -- a teacher at Cinco Ranch High School -- implored the board to reconsider the decision to reduce the number of instructional coordinators in the district.

According to emails obtained by the Katy Times, the number of instructional coordinators at each secondary campus is being reduced from four positions to two, due to budget constraints. The job description for the remaining IC’s is being modified to change the program model from “content-specific” to “instructional non-content specific.” The two IC’s remaining at secondary campuses will “provide classroom support on instruction/classroom management” and assist all teachers and teams with instructional strategies, per the emails.

The emails further state that the existing IC’s will be employed in the district “in some capacity” and that the move would reduce the number of teaching positions available in the district.

The district’s secondary campuses include ten high schools and 18 junior high schools, including the two new campuses opening in 2024-2025 – Freeman High School and Nelson Junior High.

The district also employs “instructional coordinators” – a position that is often confused with the “instructional coach” job – but the coordinator positions are unaffected by the staffing changes, said the district in an email to the Katy Times.

After McConnell’s comments were referenced in a March 28 Katy Times article about the school board meeting, the district responded directly to the newspaper with an emailed statement.

“The state has not funded public schools’ basic allotment per child since 2019,” said Nick Petito, KISD’s general manager for media relations in an email to the Katy Times. “Insufficient funding from the state is requiring districts like Katy to make challenging budget decisions that include strategically modifying some program models while prioritizing the retention of all of our teachers and staff within the district.”

“The instructional coach (IC) model will be restructured next school year in a manner that continues to support the needs of all classroom teachers,” continued Petito. “Some current ICs will remain in an IC role, while others will transition into other necessary teaching and learning capacities across campuses and district, be that as a classroom teacher or other instructional support position. Departments and campus administrations began communicating this transition to affected staff earlier this month.”

“The district continues to review program models to ensure every teacher receives the needed professional support, and schools remain in the position to deliver high quality educational experiences across every classroom,” Petito concluded.