Latest Content
Developing a Principal and Coach Partnership

Matt Renwick explains how he works as a principal to build a relationship with the school's literacy coach, including scheduling weekly meetings and sharing responsibilities in whole-staff meetings.

How Principals Can Help Build Teacher and Coach Connections

Principal Lee Snider explains why it is important for coaches to schedule in-class time with every teacher, and how principals can help in supporting this work.

When Email Isn’t Enough

Jennifer Schwanke finds that sometimes email can't take the place of face-to-face interactions. She explains why she doesn't let a quest to save time override consideration of when meetings are needed.

Professional Learning Beyond PLCs

Matt Renwick shares three alternatives to PLCs that are less time intensive and can be integrated into existing meetings and routines.

Learning and Leading Through Teaching

If you want to understand the real concerns of teachers, you have to teach children. Not only in demonstrations, and not only collaboratively, but solo with the constraints any teacher faces. Matt Renwick explains how these experiences are invaluable for his work as a literacy leader.

Using Digital Tools for Instructional Walks

Matt Renwick avoided using digital tools during classroom visits in order not to intimidate teachers. He shares how over time his practice changed when he saw the power of some tools for expanding and extending his communication with colleagues.

Preparing Teachers for Reading Over Breaks

Stephanie Affinito shares strategies for helping teachers build plans and excitement for reading over holiday and summer breaks.

Conferring Matters: A Coach’s Perspective

Ruth Ayres shares strategies for building teachers' conferring skills. This article is part of a new occasional series, Expectations and Nudges, where Ruth Ayres and Lee Snider will explore the same topic from the perspectives of a literacy coach and a principal.

Conferring Matters: A Principal’s Perspective

Lee Snider explains how he builds interest and conferring skills in writing workshops.

Reading Invasion

"Imagine roughly 400 people—staff and students—walking out into the green space on your school campus. Now imagine every one of them with a book in hand. Next, they all take up a space that feels comfortable. Then, they read." Brian Sepe explains how a "reading invasion" is a simple, fun, and powerful way to promote a reading community.

It’s the Little Things: Small Actions for Building a Healthy Literacy Culture

Matt Renwick explains how everything from symbols to basic cleanliness in schools affects the climate for literacy.

DIY Notebooks for Literacy Coaches

Stephanie Affinito turns her on-the-spot demo notes and scrawled sticky notes into a more carefully constructed coaching notebook.

Coaching as Inquiry

Cathy Mere builds a coaching community through focusing on inquiry all year long. She lists some of her favorite resources for introducing an inquiry stance.

Can Anyone Be an Instructional Coach?

When it comes time to hire a new literacy coach, Matt Renwick finds himself focusing on three simple and essential qualities every coach must possess.

Culture for Coaching Part 4: Schoolwide Coaching Cycles

In the final installment of this four-part series, Ruth Ayres explains how she systematically expanded coaching cycles teacher by teacher until they were a schoolwide norm.

Bringing Order to the Bookroom

Shari Frost visits a school bookroom and discovers many issues with organization and use. If you have a school bookroom, summer is the perfect time to rethink its purpose and procedures for checking out books.

You Say Tornado . . .

Suzy Kaback shares the power of taking time to honor results late in the school year with teachers in professional development settings.

The Power of a Plastic Frame

Melanie Meehan shares her favorite tool for leaving a bit of her coaching behind in classrooms, one student at a time.

Building Self-Evaluation Skills: What’s Your Signature Move?

Signature moves are developed over years, not days. Gretchen Taylor explains how they can define literacy leaders in positive and negative ways.

“There Are Words All Over Our Hallways!”

Jennifer Allen shares a practical strategy for building vocabulary and interest in word study throughout a school.

Finding a Coaching Model That Works

Student centered? Teacher centered? Dana Murphy finds that one of her most important jobs as a literacy coach is defining her role.

Choice Literacy Membership

Become a member for full access to Articles & Videos plus member-only Product Discounts


Membership

Explore More
Getting Organized
Guiding Teachers
Working in Classrooms

Choice Literacy Membership


Articles

Get full access to all Choice Literacy article content

Videos

Get full access to all Choice Literacy video content

Courses

Access Choice Literacy course curriculum and training


Membership Options

Loading...