Across the country, education leaders are finding that when they lean into the CLASS framework and leverage the right professional development tools for their staff, the results are transformative.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how three Head Start programs grounded their efforts in improving teacher retention, program quality, and compliance with CLASS–and the impact each experienced.
Personalized Growth with On-Demand Support
Lance Reed, Executive Director of United Children and Family Head Start in Michigan, needed a way to focus and prepare for federal visits while ensuring his staff and the children remain motivated and engaged. He and his team realized that to see real change, they needed a way to provide personalized, continuous support that worked within the busy schedules of their educators.
By implementing the myTeachstone platform, the program’s curriculum coach was able to align real CLASS scores with weekly, on-demand digital professional development, which fit into staff schedules. According to data analysis from the program’s leadership, this intentional yet flexible approach led to higher literacy scores in the classroom and strengthened staff retention.
Furthermore, the program extended its CLASS strategies beyond teaching staff to include the policy council, board of directors, and the wider community, ensuring a consistent high-quality environment for every child.
Achieving Long-Term Proficiency
For the team at Lafourche Parish Head Start in Louisiana, the journey to excellence was built on five years of sustained effort. Brooke Toups, Education Manager, noted that since implementing CLASS, their coaching model has allowed educators to progress from ‘approaching proficiency’ to achieving ‘high proficiency’ and ‘excellent’ scores.
Toups and the program’s coach gained valuable implementation insights by attending the InterAct Conference, where they were first introduced to myTeachstone. Today, they use the platform regularly for data collection and analysis, while educators engage with video resources for professional development.
This consistent engagement has not only improved classroom scores but has also built teacher confidence and capacity, with some of their educators completing Teachstone’s Child Development Associate (CDA) with CLASS efficiently through the platform.
Boosting Confidence in Instructional Support
When St. Mary/Vermilion Head Start in Louisiana saw a need to focus on improving scores in the Instructional Support domain, the team adopted a more strategic approach to professional development.
Dana Comeaux, Education Supervisor, and the team implemented short, engaging workshops that utilized trivia games and lighthearted incentives to encourage staff participation. One of their most effective strategies involved training educators as if they were CLASS observers. This shift in perspective, combined with practicing observations using the Teachstone video library, allowed staff to deeply understand the behavioral markers that define high-quality interactions.
As a result, the program saw a significant improvement in their Instructional Support scores during the next observation cycle, exceeding the re-competition threshold and moving well above the lowest 10 percent. More importantly, the effort led to more meaningful classroom interactions that support critical thinking and language development for children.
Sustained Support, Sustained Success
Each of these Head Start programs took a different approach to delivering professional development but these stories reinforce a central truth: with focused professional development, engaging staff support, and a clear understanding of CLASS, meaningful growth is not only achievable—it is sustainable.
Connect with a Teachstone representative to discuss how CLASS can support your team in harnessing the power of meaningful interactions and build an environment where they and children can thrive.