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Lead Literacy Articles & Videos (formerly leadliteracy.com)

Our lounge is your home for exploring hundreds of articles and videos for literacy coaches and school leaders. Our contributors share their best advice for working one-on-one with teachers in coaching cycles, hosting professional development sessions, and designing demonstration lessons and study groups.

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Using Metaphors and Analogies to Help Educators Shift Their Thinking and Change Their Practices

Matt Renwick shares the power of using metaphors and analogies during coaching conversations.

Transforming Our Own Professional Learning

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart were inspired by Elena Aguilar’s work about transformational coaching. They share ways to be vulnerable when trying a new coaching technique with teachers, as well as the powerful outcome of implementing new reflective practice ideas.

Ways to Support Colleagues Part 2

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk share ways to strengthen our teamwork and help lower the stress levels of adults in the school when students exhibit dysregulated behaviors. This is the second installment of a two-part series.

It’s All in the Delivery

Mary Brower offers ideas to set the stage for professional learning to reduce stress and anxiety for participants.

Ways to Support Colleagues, Part 1

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk share ways to strengthen our teamwork and help lower the stress levels of adults in the school when students exhibit dysregulated behaviors. This is the first installment of a two-part series.

Capturing Meeting Notes to Boost Accountability

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart discovered a template to help boost accountability after a planning session with a teacher.

Help! I’m a New Coach

Mary Brower confronts the reality that often coaches have more ideas than they can possibly act on. She offers a filter to organize and vet ideas.

Small Wins

Gwen Blumberg shares the struggle that since the pandemic fewer people are showing up for professional learning meetings. She helps us flip the potential negativity by encouraging us to look for small wins. Small wins are a simple way to bring joy to your work and the work of others—and that is in fact a very BIG thing.

Humanizing Data

Hannah Tills and Josie Stewart share a way to open data conversations that humanizes the process and encourages everyone to dig deeper to examine each student’s whole story.

Reshaping Data Stories

Ruth Ayres encourages us to take a second look at the data stories we are telling about students. She shares four areas to help us see a more complete picture of a student.

Re-energizing Norms with Mantras (Part 3)

Ruth Ayres takes a creative approach to making sure our norms are serving the team rather than our teams disengaging from the norms. This is the last of three installments in a series about norms.

Nuances of Norms (Part 2)

Ruth Ayres tackles the common resistance to norms. When norms seem to suck the energy out of the room, don’t make the mistake of thinking you need a new list of norms. Try one of these ideas to use norms to energize your team.

Shaping the School Culture to Encourage Professional Growth

Matt Renwick offers three suggestions for school leaders who want to shape school culture to encourage professional growth.

Teacher and Coach, Side by Side: Affirmations for Leaders in Maintaining a Supportive Presence

Heather Fisher helps her father create a pizza pie in his new outdoor pizza oven. Through trial and perseverance, they finally taste success. Heather connects this experience to the importance of encouragement and presence as instructional coaches.

Are Norms the Problem? Part 1

Ruth Ayres shares the details of developing and using norms in intentional and meaningful ways. This is the first of three installments in a series about norms.

Making a Case for Leadership Coaching

Matt Renwick outlines a four-step process to engage in leadership coaching.

Multiplier Mindset

Brian Sepe guides us in a reflective practice activity to help strengthen our mindsets as leaders who multiply and grow the intelligence of those around them. This article was inspired by Liz Wiseman’s book Multipliers.

Not-to-Do-List

Julie Cox shares a poignant twist for making a list to set the new school year in motion—a not-to-do list!

It All Counts: Getting to Know Your Teacher Candidates

Teacher Educators Teach | Suzy Kaback shares ways professors can get to know teacher candidates, as well as the research behind mattering and the important connection to building relationships as educators.

A Necessary Survey for Your School Community

Ruth Ayres and Becca Burk share a necessary survey for your school community to begin engaging in conversations about managing emotional dysregulation in students. Drawing on their extensive experiences with managing emotional dysregulation as foster parents and educators, they make a case for beginning conversations among your faculty with this simple survey.

Principals Are People, Too!

Instructional coach Mary Brower reminds us of the importance of maintaining the humanity of the administrators we work alongside. Her mantra—principals are people, too—guides us in building strong relationships.

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