New platform findings from the opening months of the 2026–27 school year show 82% of feedback emailed through the platform was sent within an hour of the walkthrough.
-- A classroom walkthrough is a short, informal visit by a principal or instructional coach. Education Walkthrough released findings showing that feedback emails from those visits were sent in a median of five minutes, with 82% sent within one hour. The findings cover July 1 through October 16, 2026, and show teachers hearing back while the classroom experience is still fresh.
The speed figures cover the 13,603 walkthroughs where feedback was emailed through the platform, reaching 6,442 teachers. This subset measures the timing of emailed feedback; the broader walkthrough totals below include all completed visits during the reporting period.
Research points to why that follow-through matters. Teachers who feel unsupported by their administrators are more than twice as likely to leave their school as those who feel strongly supported, according to the Learning Policy Institute’s A Coming Crisis in Teaching? The report most consistently associates administrative support with teachers’ decisions to stay or leave. A teacher who hears back the same afternoon knows someone was in the room and paid attention. That is what support looks like day to day.
The stakes extend to school budgets and students. The Learning Policy Institute’s 2024 turnover cost update estimates that replacing a teacher costs large districts nearly $25,000 on average. Research by Ronfeldt, Loeb and Wyckoff published in 2013 found that teacher turnover harms reading and math achievement, with disruption extending beyond the classrooms of teachers who leave. These studies show why support and continuity matter; the platform measures feedback activity, not teacher retention or student achievement.
“The thing people love about Education Walkthrough is that you can go into the classroom, do the observation, and click a button as you leave the classroom to email the feedback right away. We hear from customers that teachers really appreciate it because they get immediate feedback and can adjust what their lesson plan looks like for their next class,” said Adam Russek-Sobol, Founder and CEO of Education Walkthrough.
The findings also show that walkthroughs are recurring practices for many educators. Across hundreds of schools in 42 states, plus school networks in Mexico and Ecuador, Education Walkthrough recorded 22,379 completed walkthroughs involving 8,456 teachers during the same reporting period. Fifty-six percent of teachers had two or more walkthroughs, and 15% had five or more. Those repeated visits give leaders opportunities to follow up, recognize strengths, and provide support beyond a single observation.
A teacher visited five times in eleven weeks is not being evaluated. She is being coached.
A 2018 meta-analysis by Kraft, Blazar and Hogan of 60 causal studies found that coaching improved instructional practice by about half a standard deviation, an effect the authors describe as comparable to or larger than differences between novice and experienced teachers. That evidence concerns coaching programs broadly; it does not establish the impact of walkthrough frequency or this platform.
Schools are also adjusting what they look for as the year progresses. A comparison of the same schools in August and October found that the share of walkthroughs addressing student engagement and participation increased from 22% to 34%. The share addressing classroom environment, culture, and climate declined from 50% to 40%. Leaders set up the room first, then turn to instruction. The tool follows the school year instead of a fixed checklist.
At a high school in Pasco County, Florida, the principal said her school typically hires 35 to 40 new teachers each year. This fall, after a year of using Education Walkthrough, it hired 15. She said staff responsible for hiring confirmed the figures. The account is her report of a change in hiring, not evidence that the platform caused it.
“We can’t say the platform caused that,” Russek-Sobol said. “But teachers who feel supported stay, and that is the whole point of the work.”
Education Walkthrough allows schools and districts to customize those forms around instructional priorities, subject areas, and stages of the school year. Leaders can document focused classroom evidence and email feedback to teachers directly through the platform.
The point is not that the feedback is fast. It is that teachers hear back at all, and often.
About Education Walkthrough
Education Walkthrough is a Chicago-based education technology company that helps K–12 instructional leaders turn classroom walkthroughs into actionable feedback and professional growth. Its cloud-based platform provides customizable walkthrough tools, immediate teacher feedback, and instructional reporting.
Education Walkthrough supports principals, instructional coaches, superintendents, and regional leaders in identifying instructional trends, strengthening teacher coaching, and making evidence-informed decisions.
Contact Info:
Name: Adam Russek-Sobol
Email: Send Email
Organization: Education Walkthrough
Address: Chicago, IL
Phone: +1 (414) 909-9937
Website: https://educationwalkthrough.com/
Release ID: 89208729
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