Adair Elementary School (AES) sits at the heart of Adair County, Kentucky, a tight-knit rural community where relationships matter and every instructional minute counts. Serving K-5 learners within a K-12 district, AES employs 50 teachers and maintains a strong 15:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Each educator is paired with an instructional coach, reflecting the district’s culture of continuous improvement.

The Challenge

Even with strong coaching structures, leaders saw two stubborn bottlenecks:

Slow cycles meant missed opportunities: by the time feedback reached a teacher, the teachable moment had often passed.

Enter Education Walkthrough

AES adopted Education Walkthrough’s mobile app and web dashboard at the start of the school year, focusing on three features:

1. Pre-built & custom templates – Coaches could switch from a reading-block checklist to a Kagan Cooperative Learning template in seconds.
2. One-tap submission with real-time email – The moment an observation closed, the teacher and coach received an identical report.
3. At-a-glance analytics – Principals viewed school-wide trends to prioritize PD and coaching cycles.

“The minute my coach would leave my room, I’d get an email. Previously, it took 3–4 days.”

— Megan Bell, Teacher

Implementation Highlights

• Week 1: Leadership team created eight custom templates aligned to district look-fors.
• Weeks 2–3: Coaches practiced “micro-walks” (5-minute visits) to stress-test the workflow.
• Week 4 onward: Full launch—every teacher received at least two observations per week, each followed by same-day feedback.

Impact in the Classroom

“I love that I can immediately share feedback with teachers. With 50 teachers, the app lets me reach everyone and help them grow faster.”
— Debbie Bradshaw, Principal

Teachers respond faster. Immediate, specific suggestions helped educators tweak questioning strategies or classroom routines the very next period, compounding gains across the semester.

Coaches focus on coaching, not clerical work. Time once spent re-typing notes is now invested in modeling lessons and co-planning.

Principals see the big picture. Trend data surfaces school-wide strengths and gaps, guiding PLC agendas and PD investments.

Voices from Adair

“I take observations very seriously. Having immediate feedback is an opportunity to grow.”
— Kenzie Kelsey, Teacher

“The app is so convenient. Custom templates let us zoom in on what matters—like our Kagan strategy rollout.”
— Jordan Williams, Assistant PrincipalLooking Ahead

With faster feedback loops now the norm, Adair Elementary plans to:

• Expand peer-to-peer walkthroughs so teachers can observe one another using the same templates.
• Leverage trend analytics to personalize summer PD and mentor-matching.
• Pilot Education Walkthrough district-wide, bringing the K-12 continuum onto a single feedback platform.

Key Takeaway

By shrinking the gap between observation and action from days to minutes, Education Walkthrough turned feedback into a real-time growth engine—helping Adair Elementary’s teachers “get better faster” and, ultimately, elevating learning for every child in this rural Kentucky community.