First-year Skyridge High School teacher Thor Labrum meets regularly with instructional coaches who help him build lesson models, manage his classroom and put new teaching strategies into practice.

"They help me create models that my students can use, and have also helped me come up with ideas for classroom management," Labrum said in a district spotlight published Monday.

Labrum is one of the teachers across Alpine School District's 91 schools who work alongside instructional coaches daily. The district will mark National Instructional Coaches Appreciation Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, recognizing five categories of coaches embedded in every ASD building.

Each role serves a different need.

Professional Learning Community (PLC) coaches guide teacher teams through data analysis and curriculum alignment. Innovative Learning Coaches (ILCs) help teachers integrate technology as a classroom tool rather than a substitute for instruction. The district also employs multilingual learner coaches, special education coaches and secondary content specialists.

Ruthie Cheeseman, assistant principal at Grovecrest Elementary in Pleasant Grove, said coaches bridge gaps and provide a different kind of support to teachers than administrators can. That trust, she said, lifts a significant burden from principals and assistant principals.

Cheeseman said ILCs focus on making sure technology serves the lesson plan. Their goal, she said, is to keep students from spending entire days on Chromebooks without purpose.

Dr. Vallen Thomas, Alpine School District's director of educational services, said in a statement that coaches bring dedication and steady support to schools every day. He credited their work with strengthening instruction across classrooms districtwide.

At Skyridge High School in Lehi, which enrolls about 2,480 students according to district records, Labrum said he values the collaborative culture coaches create. He described them as always available to talk through ideas.

The district serves 86,645 students across those 91 schools. It published the recognition on multiple school websites Monday, including Skyridge High School and Mountain Ridge Junior High.