Instructional Coordinators

Summary

What Instructional Coordinators Do About this section

Instructional coordinators need a master's degree and related work experience.

Instructional coordinators oversee school curriculums and teaching standards. They develop educational material, implement it with teachers and principals, and assess its effectiveness.

Duties

Instructional coordinators typically do the following:

• Develop and implement the curriculums
• Plan, organize, and conduct teacher training, conferences, or workshops
• Analyze students' test data
• Assess and discuss the curriculum standards with school staff
• Review and suggest textbooks and other educational materials
• Recommend teaching techniques and the use of different or new technologies
• Develop procedures for teachers to implement a curriculum
• Train teachers and other instructional staff in new content or programs
• Mentor or coach teachers to improve their skills

Instructional coordinators, also known as curriculum specialists, evaluate the effectiveness of curriculums and teaching techniques established by school boards, states, or federal regulations. They observe teachers in the classroom, review student test data, and discuss the curriculum with the school staff. Based on their research, they may recommend changes in curriculums to the school board.

Instructional coordinators may conduct training for teachers related to teaching or technology. For example, instructional coordinators explain new learning standards to teachers and demonstrate effective teaching methods to achieve them.

Instructional coordinators may specialize in particular grade levels or specific subjects. Those in elementary and secondary schools may focus on programs such as special education or English as a second language.

Work Environment About this section

Most instructional coordinators work in an office but they may also spend time traveling to schools within their school district.

Instructional coordinators held about 232,600 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of instructional coordinators were as follows:

Most instructional coordinators work in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, professional schools, or educational support services or for state and local governments. They typically work year round.

Work Schedules

Instructional coordinators generally work full time. They typically work year round and do not have summer breaks. Coordinators may meet with teachers and other administrators outside of classroom hours.

How to Become an Instructional Coordinator About this section

Instructional coordinators need to be able to train teachers on the newest teaching techniques and tools.

Instructional coordinators typically need a master’s degree and related work experience, such as in teaching or school administration, to enter the occupation. Coordinators in public schools may be required to have a state-issued license.

Education

Instructional coordinators in public schools are required to have a master’s degree in education or curriculum and instruction. Some instructional coordinators need a degree in a specialized field, such as math or history.

Master’s degree programs in curriculum and instruction teach about curriculum design, instructional theory, and collecting and analyzing data. To enter these programs, candidates usually need a bachelor’s degree in education.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Instructional coordinators in public schools may be required to have a license, such as a teaching license or an education administrator license. For information about teaching licenses, see the profiles on kindergarten and elementary school teachers, middle school teachers, and high school teachers. For information about education administrator licenses, see the profile on elementary, middle, and high school principals. Check with your state’s Board of Education for specific license requirements.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Most instructional coordinators need several years of related work experience as a teacher or an instructional leader. For some positions, experience teaching a specific subject or grade level is required.

Advancement

With enough experience and more education, instructional coordinators may become superintendents.

Important Qualities

The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page.

Analytical skills. Instructional coordinators evaluate student test data and teaching strategies. Based on their analysis, they recommend improvements in curriculums and teaching.

Communication skills. Instructional coordinators need to clearly explain changes in the curriculum and teaching standards to school staff.

Decision-making skills. Instructional coordinators must be decisive when recommending changes to curriculums, teaching methods, and textbooks.

Interpersonal skills. Instructional coordinators need to be able to establish and maintain positive working relationships with teachers, principals, and other administrators.

Leadership skills. Instructional coordinators serve as mentors to teachers. They train teachers in developing useful and effective teaching techniques.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage for instructional coordinators was $74,720 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $46,560, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $115,410.

In May 2024, the median annual wages for instructional coordinators in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Instructional coordinators generally work full time. They typically work year round and do not have summer breaks. Coordinators may meet with teachers and other administrators outside of classroom hours.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of instructional coordinators is projected to grow 1 percent from 2024 to 2034, slower than the average for all occupations.

Despite limited employment growth, about 21,900 openings for instructional coordinators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

States and school districts will continue to be held accountable for test scores and graduation rates, putting more of an emphasis on student achievement data. As a result, schools may increasingly turn to instructional coordinators to help develop better curriculums and improve teachers’ effectiveness. However, state and local government budget constraints may limit demand for these workers.

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link below goes to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area. Use the dropdown boxes to select an occupation.

• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Profiles

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Contacts for More Information About this section

O*NET

Instructional Coordinators