Get Better Faster Summary

In Get Better Faster, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo argues that teacher improvement follows a predictable sequence and that school leaders must coach against that sequence rather than offering generic feedback. The book’s central framework is the “scope and sequence” of instructional skills, which organizes coaching priorities into four phases: Phase 1 focuses on foundational routines like making the most of every moment through strong pacing, clear directions, and effective entry routines, while later phases move into rigorous content delivery, independent practice, and deeper intellectual engagement. Bambrick-Santoyo contends that school leaders should not try to fix everything at once; instead, they should identify the highest-leverage action step for a teacher’s current phase and practice it through specific techniques like “see it, name it, do it,” where coaches model a skill, let the teacher rehearse it in a low-stakes setting, and then observe it in the classroom. Drawing on his work with Uncommon Schools and other high-performing charter networks, he emphasizes that feedback must be concrete, measurable, and tied to student learning, not personality. The book also details how to run effective coaching meetings, use video analysis, and build a culture where teachers expect and welcome frequent, precise feedback. Rather than claiming great teaching is innate, Bambrick-Santoyo presents improvement as a manageable, step-by-step process that any school can systematize.