Lead Lit Topic: Coaching Support Structures
Some literacy leaders receive extensive training for working with adult learners, but most of us do not. As you move between the stances of coach, collaborator and consultant, you’ll need support structures in place for defining your role, communicating with administrators, advocating for your position with a school board and more. Here you’ll find reflections and how-tos that respond to the question, “Who coaches the coach?”
Results
Share, Learn, Grow: The PD Bulletin Board
A friend of mine opened a restaurant several years ago, and I remember him telling us how hard it was to wait for people to discover it. He knew he...
Getting Books into the Hands of Teachers
Schools are very busy places, and classroom teachers have exceptionally long “to-do” lists. With everything on their plates, they may not have enough time to search the book room or...
Building Effective Literacy Teams
When our kids were little, I don’t know where I would have been without my husband. I can’t imagine having to make tough parenting decisions alone. We both brought different...
Creating a Digital Footprint
Have you ever Googled yourself? You know, just to see what would come up? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do just that. Put your name in Google, put...
Where the Magic Happens
Jeff Wilhelm was a new faculty member at the University of Maine when I enrolled in his graduate course called Teacher Research many years ago. The signature assignment in this...
Six Ways to Empower Teachers to Write
If we want to teach students to write, then we must understand how writers work. The best way to understand how writers work is to write! When teachers write, their...
Defining Your Role as a Coach
After eight years, my husband and I have settled into our marriage. Balancing the demands of our relationship, our full-time jobs, our two children, and everything else means we have...
Meeting Debrief: Coaching Literacy Coaches
Heather Sisson and Amanda Adrian debrief after leading a professional development session for literacy coaches on the Pause Paraphrase Probe strategy.
Coaching Connections
Recently I attended an intensive weekend yoga retreat. I spent a full day out of my comfort zone, pushing my limits doing things like boat pose in the air while...
Coaching Tool: Evernote
Each time we meet with a group of teachers, leave a classroom after a coaching session, or finish a workshop, we think, I need to remember ______. Inevitably, we think...
Engaging Not Blaming: Increasing Parent Involvement
“Why don’t we have a good turnout at curriculum night? Don’t our parents care about their child’s education?" It’s human nature, unfortunately, to resist holding up the mirror when our...
Master Class: Mentoring New Coaches
Recently I went to see the play Master Class. The play is based on the life of famous opera singer Maria Callas—specifically, a snippet of her life when she taught...
The Importance of Creating a Literacy Room (Instead of a Tiny Office)
This past spring, I was asked if I would be willing to return to a literacy coaching role in my school. I was in that role for three years before...
Becoming a Literacy Coach: Principles and Mission Statements
When I think back to becoming a literacy coach, I can remember worrying about many parts of my new career. How do I develop my schedule? How do I get...
Coaching Minute: Baggies
Melanie Meehan shares her bedraggled baggie—the essential tools she carries with her when she confers with students.
No Cutting Corners in Coaching
Recently, my husband and I decided to give our bedroom a much-needed makeover. We bought our current home about six years ago, and every summer I have chosen one room...
Coaching Minute: What’s in My Bag
Melanie Meehan opens her coaching bag to share her favorite on-the-go resources.
Autobiographical Listening
I recently attended an excellent three-day leadership conference that was by all measures a success: I met some great people, got some much-needed inspiration, and came back with a notebook...
Transcribing Conversations During Instructional Walks
As a principal in a high-poverty, low-resource elementary school, I do not have access to an instructional coach to work with our teachers or with me on our schoolwide literacy...
The Leading Edge
Learning curves come in all varieties, don’t they? Sometimes, the path to learning is straight and quick. Other times, the learning curve is long and steep. The steepest learning journey...
On Being Coached
My daughter Maddie does not properly pronounce her L sound. She uses a W or Y sound instead. She “yikes” the color pink, she “yuvs” her “wittle” sister. Cute, but...
