The coaching roster is getting deeper at the Chinook School Division.
"We've had math and literary coaches for a long time," said Angela Hermanson, Deputy Director, Chinook School Division. "Now something that we've brought in this year is an English as a second language coach and student service coaches."
Those coaches can help students become classroom-ready.
"Helping build the students' skills and capacity around things like self regulation in the morning," Hermanson said. "What skills do they need to be successful in a regular classroom so that they're ready to learn."
This initiative lines up with the focus the school division is putting on mental health over the next two years.
"All the different things our students are dealing with in their lives," Hermanson said. "Social media is having a big impact on our students and our families as well. If there's a way that we can give them a positive place where they feel connected and they feel supported, we really want to help equip them with strategies to work through."
She noted the individual they hired to be the ESL coach had already been hired as a student service coach.
They will work in that capacity until January, when they make the switch to the ESL job.