After years on the hardwoods — both as a player and one of the region’s toughest high school girls’ basketball coaches — Flandreau’s Megan Severtson has become known for her mental toughness and ability to build strong teams.
She is invested in her players, working to build them up not just athletically, but personally as well. She and her family are also invested in supporting and growing strong relationships across the community.
It is perhaps why she was considered a perfect fit for a new coaching role in the Flandreau School District this year.
“I’ve really worked hard to define myself as a strong teacher; and while in coaching there is a lot of teaching, my first passion is the classroom side.”
Severtson is the new Instructional Coach for Flandreau Public Schools, a role designed to build teacher capacity and raise student achievement through collaboration. In a district with high turnover, especially among young teachers looking to gain experience and then move on, Severtson will serve as a mentor. Her goal is to support these teachers, help them grow, and ideally, encourage them to remain part of the district’s team.

“My current focus is working side-by-side with first year, second year, and new-to-the-district teachers where I meet with them weekly and visit their classrooms during instruction. Later this fall, I will have the opportunity to partner with any teacher in the district to co-plan, co-teach, and co-assess their unit or lesson of choice,” Severtson said, now about a month into the job.
“I am also leading a number of district-wide professional development sessions for our staff and acting as assessment coordinator.”
The position was approved at the May school board meeting.
More schools across the country are adopting similar roles. Federal data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that in the 2023-24 school year, a majority of the 4,000 U.S. public schools surveyed employed instructional coaches.
The duties vary. According to a recent article in Education Week, some coaches focus on leading professional learning communities, while others help teachers integrate specific academic resources. Experts say instructional coaches often act as “translators,” helping teachers apply current research and best practices to their classrooms.
Leaving her role as a 5th and 6th grade math teacher was difficult for Severtson, but she is excited about the challenge ahead.
“I have had a lot of grief since leaving. It is hard to not have that classroom family environment to be a part of each day. At the same time, I am looking forward to the challenge. I have led and been a part of a number of state-produced professional development opportunities where I enjoyed working with adult learners. As someone who plans on being in Flandreau for life, I saw this as a chance to positively impact the entire district.”
Severtson emphasized that everything she does will remain student-focused, with a clear goal of improving achievement.
“Like many teachers here in Flandreau, I love our school. I hope that at least part of my job provides more opportunities to showcase and celebrate the great work of our teachers. I want to be a part of a school that retains teachers and builds strong educators who are proud of the product they produce each day.”