How Elizabeth School District is pioneering Steplab drop-ins

Just outside Denver, in the friendly town of Elizabeth, Colorado, sits a small but determined public school district with four schools and one big ambition: to make excellent teaching the norm. We’ve begun a steady journey toward explicit instruction and high standards of behavior. Now, we’re taking the next leap - using Steplab drop-ins to make professional feedback part of everyday life.

In many American schools, teacher feedback is limited to two formal evaluations a year, typically using a generic rubric that tries to summarize performance in a few broad strokes. In Elizabeth, we wanted something different - a living, breathing culture of growth.

As Kim puts it, “Our teachers deserve ongoing professional development that’s personalized to the contexts they’re teaching in. They should be getting feedback that’s relevant to today’s lesson, not just a summary well after it’s happened.”

Teachers need frequent, bite-sized feedback that celebrates what’s working and offers clear next steps for growth. That’s where drop-ins come in. Short, snappy, and focused, drop-ins allow principals to visit classrooms often, capturing small moments of great teaching and quick opportunities for improvement. With Steplab, every drop-in ends with feedback that’s immediate, granular, and actionable - supporting teacher professional development through real-time, in-the-moment coaching.

Even though we’re still in the early stages, we’re already seeing how great drop-ins can help schools achieve three powerful outcomes.

As drop-ins become a regular part of school life, feedback begins to feel supportive rather than evaluative. Teachers are starting to look forward to conversations about their practice, knowing that drop-ins are designed to recognize strengths as much as to identify next steps.

Principals are becoming more intentional about noticing moments of excellence and reinforcing them, while also providing a clear step for refinement. This balance of recognition and precision makes professional learning both motivating and practical - and it strengthens instructional coaching across the district.

Even in these first few months, drop-ins are helping leaders see patterns across classrooms, celebrate bright spots, and plan professional development that directly responds to what teachers need most.

One early decision proved essential: every drop-in would include a step, not just praise. This wasn’t about being critical - it was about ensuring feedback had direction. Teachers here are hungry for growth, and principals are matching that energy with goal setting that’s positive, specific, and constructive.

A drop-in might give a shout-out for a teacher’s strong active vocabulary lesson, followed by a practical next-step suggestion like:

“Take a look at my suggested step and see what you think. Adding a quick choral read of each word to teach pronunciation may help boost students’ vocabulary, along with the strategies you are already using. Check out the video, and I’d love to come model this for you when you have a moment.”

Importantly, the feedback doesn’t stop there. Action steps create opportunities for follow-up in professional learning communities (PLCs), staff meetings, and professional development sessions. Over time, these small, actionable steps accumulate into visible improvement - making teacher coaching and professional development in schools more continuous and effective.

Elizabeth’s goal this semester is ambitious: each principal will complete eight drop-ins with next-step feedback for every teacher before Christmas. With busy schedules, that’s no small feat - but it’s a challenge we’ve embraced.

Our journey began with a focus on student behavior and explicit instruction. Now, drop-ins are strengthening that foundation, ensuring that good teaching habits don’t just start - they stick.

As we gather more data from drop-ins, we’re beginning to identify teachers ready for deeper coaching. Over time, we’ll grow the number of teachers receiving ongoing coaching and peer feedback, building a community where professional growth is continuous and intentional.

Elizabeth School District is showing that with the right tools and the right mindset, a small public district can lead big change. Drop-ins have given us a way to make feedback consistent, positive, and actionable - a daily part of how we teach and lead.

If you’d like to learn more about what great drop-ins look like, book a Steplab demo.