Leaders Lounge

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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A PLC Planning Template to Help Focus Work with Teachers

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share a PLC planning template they created to help focus their meetings to be relevant and clear. Included are links to download the template plus two completed templates to see how they worked in action.

Stay Sharp with Professional Reading

Kate Mills and Tara Barnett share ways to stay sharp with professional reading.

Yes, and . . . A Collaborative Philosophy

David Pittman explains the improv roots of the phrase “Yes, and . . .” and applies it to a coaching conversation that will lift professional conversations to a new level.

Let’s Upskill: How to Revive and Transform Instruction to Serve Today’s Learners

Jen Schwanke offers clear and practical steps teachers can take to modernize how to meet the needs of today’s students. Following these steps will help ward off the risk of being too comfortable in old routines.

Coaching Minute: Creating Conversations to Anchor Professional Relationships

Instructional coach Jen Court takes advantage of the early days of a school year to be present with classroom teachers and create conversations that begin to anchor meaningful professional relationships.

Remaining Connected as a Coach

David Pittman offers practical advice and inspiration for instructional leaders to intentionally connect to students on a school-wide scale.

Coaching Minute: Set-Up Coaching Plans

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills share an important first step for instructional coaches to help teachers feel invited into the coaching relationship: Make shared coaching plans.

Coaching Toward Independence: Using an Instructional Framework to Guide a Principal-Teacher Conversation

Matt Renwick shares how leaders can use an instructional framework to bridge discussions that will honor teachers’ professional learning journeys.

Coaching Minute: Welcoming Students as an Instructional Coach

David Pittman reflects on ways instructional coaches can help create an atmosphere of belonging for students.

How to Respond When Books and Curriculum Resources Are Challenged

Jen Schwanke addresses the fact that educators, books, and curriculum resources are under increased scrutiny. She offers practical and wise steps to take when resources are questioned by concerned stakeholders.

Changing Positions? How to Rethink Your Community (Download)

Cathy Mere offers practical steps to finding a new community when you switch positions. Download a copy of a guided reflection to intentionally seek a new community.

Reshaping Personal Narratives with Awareness, Reflection, and Support

Matt Renwick shares a candid personal story of his own diagnosis of ADHD, and then encourages us to consider the way the narratives we create about who we are and who we might become are based on how we perceive our pasts. Matt challenges us to resist these narratives and reshape them with awareness, reflection, and support.

Five Books to Launch Discussion About the Coaching Role

Stephanie Affinito recommends five picture books to launch discussions about an instructional coach’s role. This helps ensure success by giving all stakeholders an opportunity to define and understand the role of a coach.

 Ridiculously Amazing Schools

Jen Court shares how the staff book study of Ridiculously Amazing Schools by Tracey Smith and Jeff Waller transformed their ability as a staff to engage and build meaningful relationships.

Transcripts as a Coaching Tool

Suzy Kaback shares a process to use transcripts as a coaching tool. Tips from her own experiences and several resource links will have you using this tool, too.

Leading Literacy: What to Expect the First 5+ Years

Matt Renwick has compiled a guide for new principals to follow to intentionally become effective literacy leaders.

Books for Literacy Leaders

Jen Schwanke suggests five books that will enrich a leader’s skills by solidifying their approach to the important work of evolving our instructional practices.

Professional Books that Make an Impact

Stella Villalba shares her top professional book recommendations. These titles will make an impact and widen your lens for meeting the needs of students.

A PLC Idea: Planning Scaffolds for Upcoming Units of Study 

Tara Barnett and Kate Mills create space for teachers to think about charts more strategically in a PLC meeting. The reality is that thinking about charts can feel like one more thing, especially when premade charts feel like they get the job done. Kate and Tara make chart-making valuable and collaborative.

Combating Leadership Loneliness

Gwen Blumberg addresses the issue of loneliness in literacy leadership. She offers a variety of ways to create connections that will nurture and sustain leaders.

Professional Learning Accountability Partners

Jen Court offers a strategic way to create and support professional learning accountability partners in schools.

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