STAR Coach - FAQs

Have you ever considered becoming a STAR Certified Coach? Becoming a coach allows you to support your fellow teachers and other instructional staff in implementing evidence-based practices throughout your school or district. As a coach, you’re a go-to guide for all things STAR and/or Links, with the opportunity to host trainings throughout the district on effective strategies and practices. It requires support and approval from your administrators, so we've provided some answers to frequently asked questions below and a justification letter to help you start a conversation with your instructional and administrative team about whether becoming a coach fits into your plans.

What does a STAR Coach do?

STAR and Links Certified Coaches support individuals within their district or region to implement the evidence-based practices associated with the STAR Program and Links Curriculum.  This support generally takes the form of in-class hands-on coaching of teachers and paraeductors.  To name just a few activities, coaches may model lesson plans, support assessment and scheduling, and provide guidance and room setup and arrangement.  Coaches may also provide mini-presentations to new implementers.

Who can become a STAR or Links Coach?

STAR and Links Certified Coaches are generally certified staff members (such as teachers, speech pathologists, BCBAs, etc) who have implemented the STAR and/or Links Curricula with fidelity.  They have been observed on implementation and coaching of others by a STAR Autism Support Trainer® and have achieved fidelity across a variety of areas on the STAR/Links Fidelity Checklist.

How do I become a STAR or Links Coach?

The certification process is flexible to meet the needs of your district or region.  However, generally there are two steps.  First, at least one local training site is identified.  A training site is a currently implementing program site that can be trained across all staff (teachers, related service staff, pareeductors) to implement with fidelity.  Coaches are trained alongside classroom staff to implement the programs with fidelity, prior to learning the specific coaching strategies.  Training sites serve the purpose of providing a location where new implementers can come to observe fidelity of implementation, as well as practice implementation prior to returning to their program to get started. 

Once at least one training site has been established and a coach has met the competencies to implement STAR and/or Links with fidelity, the coach is trained to support others in implementation of the curricula.  At this time the coach is also provided many tools to help with their coaching role! 

What do I get?

STAR Coaches are provided a variety of resources and tools to assist in their role including:

• Access to the STAR/Links Coaching folder on the STAR Media Center
• Fidelity checklists
• Getting started and program quick guides
• Data collection and progress monitoring tools
• Mini-powerpoints to support early implementers

How long does it take?

The coach certification process is not a one-size-fits-all approach.  The focus of the process is on implementer and coach fidelity and the training is similarly focused on achieving these goals.  All educators have different levels of experience with the strategies found in the STAR Program and Links Curriculum and that experience will be critical in developing their skills.  Historically, we have found that it takes a typical implementer between 8 – 11 days of training before they are able to implement the programs fully with fidelity

How do I get started?

Contact your dedicated account representative to begin discussions about how to host a training in your district and discuss pricing. (Maybe we should create a survey or form to identify who is eligible?)

I'm a teacher, but will need approval from _____ in order to move forward. What can I do?

Talk to your administrators about why you think becoming a coach is a good idea! You can share this FAQ page with them or download this justification letter template to help you get started. Inviting them to a webinar or starting a conversation with your account rep is the best way to discuss your specific needs and how becoming a coach can build capacity and fidelity across the district.