Coaching Highlight: Granite City Community Unit District #9
Meet Kristen Novacich-Koberna
Kristen Novacich-Koberna is the Executive Director of K-12 Curriculum and Professional Development for the Granite City Community Unit District #9 in Granite City, Illinois. GCSD9 is located in the southern part of the state about ten minutes east of St. Louis, Missouri. Over the past 24 years, Kristen has served the district as a director of elementary education, a principal, an assistant principal and a middle school teacher. She has been integral to the work of continuous improvement for Granite City schools within each role. She also manages the Title I and II, LIEP, 1003a and serves as a principal mentor.
What has the coaching experience been like for your district so far?
In 2018, GCSD9 began its journey with the IL MTSS Network as a partner in a time where data gathering was at the forefront. Our goal was to become more consistent and purposeful with how we gathered and used data across the district. This partnership led to large changes in curriculum, selecting reliable and evidence-based interventions and employing new progress monitoring tools. Working with the IL MTSS Network has created structure and interconnectedness to these efforts by working as building level and grade level teams to review and problem solve around data. This has resulted in stronger instructional practices, improved learning opportunities for students and the addition of SEL resources to support academic instruction, thus providing more comprehensive supports for all students. Along the way, information about these improvements has been shared and shaped through ongoing collaboration.
Do you have any advice for districts embarking on journeys to implement MTSS?
Our ongoing partnership with IL MTSS is like parenthood. It feels like tough love at times, when you look at data that you don’t want to see. The data can be difficult to believe, but in the end, the benefits we see in the improvements of our students once new systems are in place are worth the growing pains it takes to make those gains.
