Lead Lit Article Type: Read It
Results
The Coconut Wireless
I am in a workshop in San Francisco, listening to a team of teachers and administrators from Hawaii talk about the power of community networks. The superintendent of a school...
When Email Isn’t Enough
I am my most concise and thorough when I communicate in writing. Experience also tells me it is important to document and archive information. Other people feel this way too,...
Professional Learning Beyond PLCs
Professional learning communities, or PLCs for short, is a framework for professional collaboration and data analysis. The structure this approach creates allows for collective inquiry around student learning. Since coming...
Leadership Shifts
Every year about this time, I spend several hours finalizing supplemental contracts. In my district, teachers who take on leadership roles in specific curricular areas are paid a small stipend...
To Celebrate or Not
February and March are two important months for learners. Except they’re all important, aren’t they? Which pretty much sums up my conflict with Black History Month and Women’s History Month,...
Science and Literacy Units
The best way to learn about anything is by doing. Richard Branson As the second-grade teachers walked into their professional development session that afternoon, they each grabbed a container...
Better Team Meetings
In my first few years as a middle school language arts teacher, our principal required our teaching team to meet once a week. So new, so eager to please, and...
Evaluation Season
We just finished hunting season in my hometown. This is a lovely time of year, with hints of winter peeking through sunshine and crackly leaves. But there is a lot...
Coach and Principal Relationships
Clarity creates competence. Richard DuFour One of the first questions a new instructional coach asked me was “Who’s on my team?” Her question gave me pause because I was...
Build More Lingering into Coaching
I recently spent some time at the counter of my local bank. I had misplaced my ATM card and was requesting a new one. What I thought was going to...
No Substitute for Owning the Learning
I love weekends when I’m not in school because I am able to attend a water aerobics kickboxing class. The instructor is knowledgeable, she keeps the class up-tempo, we focus...
Do or Die
Don’t be shy about asking for help. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re strong. Last spring, a panic-stricken teacher I have worked with informally entered my office. His...
Be Someone Who Writes
At a recent roundtable presentation, the facilitator asked us to think about our core beliefs when it comes to literacy, teaching, and learning. Although I agreed that everything I was...
It’s the Little Things: Small Actions for Building a Healthy Literacy Culture
What is labeled as fluff is more often the stuff of leadership and culture. Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson Lately I have been trying to reflect every day for...
The Evolution of a Coaching Tool Kit
My instructional coach tool kit has evolved. When I first began, I used my wheelie cart. I thought I needed to have everything, and sometimes I did need to have...
Meeting Mind-Set
“These meetings are a waste of my time.” I frequently hear this from colleagues. Sometimes, I even think it myself. In a recent conversation a dear friend and colleague said...
Culture for Coaching Part 4: Schoolwide Coaching Cycles
This is the final article in a series of four articles about creating a culture for effective coaching. After a base of common expectations, trust, and skills have been established,...
Culture for Coaching Part 2: Resistance to Cycles
This is the second in a series of four articles about creating a culture for effective coaching. Working together as a principal and instructional coach, we took steps to build...
Culture for Coaching Part 3: Baby Steps for Launching Cycles
This is the third article in a series of four articles about creating a culture for effective coaching. After small and patient steps, coaching cycles are implemented. As the middle...
Starting a Coaching Cycle: The First Meeting
First impressions are everything. As an instructional coach, half the battle is getting teachers interested in coaching cycles. The other half of the battle is making a good first impression....
Culture for Coaching Part 1: Introduction
This is the first in a series of four articles about creating a culture for effective coaching. It begins with a problem and a brave, counterintuitive response from a principal...
