Pioneering Developer of Early Childhood Education Assessment Unveils New Platform to Provide Educators with Low Cost, Research-Based Video Coaching

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachstone, developer of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) included in 23 states' Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and used by Head Start programs nationwide, has unveiled a new, easy-to-use, on-demand platform that will allow experts to provide research-based video coaching to educators seeking to improve their practice—no matter the setting.

The platform, called myCoach Connect, was developed as part of a strategic partnership with Torsh Inc., the company behind TORSH Talent, a leading professional learning platform serving the professional development and coaching needs of educators nationwide.

"Now, more than ever, as we continue to navigate the global pandemic and its effects on teaching and learning, it is critical to equip educators with the guidance and resources they need to foster the high-quality, engaging, positive learning environments we know result in students' academic and life success," said Teachstone Co-Founder and CEO Bridget Hamre. "It's also critical to do so in a way that is both affordable and accessible. We are thrilled to partner with Torsh Inc. on this exciting new product launch."

Torsh CEO Courtney Williams added, "Although technology is a critical component of myCoach Connect, what really sets this product apart is the experienced and highly trained coaches deployed by Teachstone to support programs and teachers across the country. We are honored to embark on this journey with a mission-driven organization like Teachstone."

myCoach Connect enables early childhood education programs to:

• Drive results with a scalable, sustainable research-based coaching solution.
  With myCoach Connect, programs can bring a practice-based coaching model to their teachers through an innovative all-in-one platform. Teachers can connect live with a certified coach that is experienced in driving results.
• Bring practice-based coaching to life, even without a coach on staff.
  myCoach Connect allows educators to upload classroom videos, identify the areas they seek support, schedule a coaching session with a certified coach, receive time-stamped feedback, and engage in a live video-conference.
• Connect with a live, smart-matched, expert coach. With myCoach Connect, educators schedule to meet with a certified coach compatible with their needs.
• Overcome the coaching challenges of today, and prepare teachers for tomorrow. myCoach Connect helps to overcome the cost and capacity issues associated with hiring coaches on staff.

"As a longtime partner of Torsh, I have relied upon their platform to help expand my capacity and streamline my approach to training and supporting our early childhood staff," said Melinda Cabral, education manager at Triumph, Inc. in Taunton, Mass. "As a Head Start Ed Manager, I understand the need for educators to have access to expert coaching and am excited about the opportunity that myCoach Connect brings to the coaching world."

myCoach Connect debuted at Teachstone's annual InterAct CLASS Summit. The annual summit, taking place virtually March 23-25, brings together hundreds of leaders across the educational landscape to focus on the interactions that matter most for children's development and learning.

myCoach Connect is now available for purchase through the Teachstone and Torsh websites.

About Teachstone
Teachstone® was founded in 2008 to deliver the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® nationwide and around the globe. Developed through years of research, the CLASS® observation tool measures interactions between teachers and children, which have been shown to drive learning and lifelong achievement. CLASS, adopted as part of the federal Head Start monitoring protocol in 2010, is used to assess the effectiveness of teacher-student interactions. Teachstone's CLASS tool is making a difference in classrooms in 50 countries worldwide. For information visit www.teachstone.com.

About Torsh
Founded in 2012, Torsh launched TORSH Talent which began as a video observation platform that has since evolved into a full-service professional learning platform serving educators' professional development and coaching needs nationwide. The platform facilitates classroom observation, virtual coaching, data capture, and management of coaching and learning artifacts. TORSH Talent also seamlessly integrates with third-party platforms like zoom, Canvas, and Salesforce. TORSH Talent is HIPAA- and FERPA-compliant and serves tens of thousands of educators in over 2,000 schools, universities and organizations in the United States. For more information, visit https://torsh.co.

SOURCE Teachstone