OXFORD — Caitlin Dailey has been named Maine Instructional Coach of the Year by the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association. Dailey has worked as the math coach Oxford Elementary School for the last six years.

Caitlin Dailey, Oxford Elementary School’s math coach, has been named Maine Instructional Coach of the Year by the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

Dailey was nominated by OES educator Melissa Guerrette.

“In her role as the Math Coach, Caitlin provides support in all directions,” Guerrette wrote in her nomination letter. “Through weekly meetings with our building administrators and the Literacy Coach, Caitlin collaboratively reviews data to improve instruction and set goals for the school that often inform her coaching program and plans.

“Caitlin’s coaching program includes coaching entire grade-levels, as well as individuals. Sometimes she coaches in a short-term project, like the design of a mathematical context or creation of learning targets; in other instances, she engages in full coaching cycles with goal setting, demonstration lessons and uses the gradual release of responsibility to transfer ownership of the learning and instruction back to the teacher being coached.”

Dailey has established herself as a dedicated supporter of students and teachers alike. At times she will work one-on-one with educators based on their instructional goals. Others, she will partner with teachers to work with students on concepts and problem-solving.

“It’s like job-embedded professional development,” Dailey explained. “I support all the grades [at OES] from Pre-K to sixth. When I go into the classroom, we use different ways to support the class.

“I will prepare with the teachers before then, and I might be co-teaching, meaning I take on parts of the lesson, and they will [take on other parts]. I may work with a small group of students or conferencing with the kids. Then we look at the data on how the lesson went and reflect as we continue.”

Dailey said she was good at math when she was a student but did not necessarily enjoy it, in part because some of her teachers did not seem to be good at it. Once she became a teacher she recognized that she had some short fallings herself and determined to conquer them.

“It would drive me nuts because I wanted to know why it worked,” she said. In high school, I just wanted to take as much math as I needed to get out of school.

“I went to college for elementary ed, and I planned to just take the minimum for math. But I got out of school I realized I needed to teach this really problem-based conceptual math that I had no idea how to approach. It would be doing my students a disservice. So I went back and got my master’s degree in K-5 mathematics. I realized how it all worked together.”

Dailey said that it has only been in the last 10 years or so that research of math and education has emerged as a discipline based in concepts and problem solving.

Rather than rote exercises most adults remember from grade school, today’s mathematics involves applying theories with the possibility that there are many ways to arrive at a problem’s conclusion.

“We do collaborative work, giving each other feedback,” she said. “We’ll do work on chart paper, and talk about different strategies and the most efficient ways. At each grade level there is a fluency [to achieve].

“I’ve seen it move from where it was ‘here’s a worksheet’ and you got it or you didn’t. Now [we] celebrate mistakes and teach the kids that mistakes actually make the brain grow. We talk about what we can learn from misconceptions, which helps a whole class grow as individuals. It’s huge, and I think it’s why more kids love math now, and use it.”

In addition to her immediate responsibilities within the walls of OES, Dailey is involved with instructional coaching strategies in the district, working with other elementary, middle and high school colleagues on professional development for educators.

She also serves as a multi-tier support specialist, implementing professional development, data collection, assessments, planning, organizing, and coordinating academic and/or behavioral interventions.

“I think the exact moment I knew Caitlin was deserving of recognition was while sitting in district professional development and observing her delivery of material while also being relatable and tailoring the work to teachers across the career continuum,” Guerrette told the Advertiser Democrat.

“Observing the way other district colleagues interacted with and responded to her made me think about how special Caitlin’s talents and skill set are. She approaches her coaching work in a way that instills confidence which helps us (teachers) feel like we can be successful.

“Caitlin has helped me further refine my practice of developing a trajectory of learning objectives for students to work towards grade-level standards. Our work together has allowed me to break down overarching goals into smaller steps along the way, considering what successful growth looks like and what evidence I might be looking for along the way. As a result, I’ve been able to be clearer with students about what they are doing and why it matters.”

“If it’s good for kids and teachers, then it’s good for me,” Dailey said. “That’s what I want to be. I want to support the growth of our school and the district, to make sure students and teachers feel supported.”

Before joining Maine School Administrative District 17, Dailey worked in the Augusta and Lewiston education systems. She lives in Paris with her husband Matt and son Everett.