Having meaningful conversations with teachers as an instructional coach is key to their growth and development. Providing professional development, facilitating professional learning community meetings, and engaging in coaching cycles are the bread and butter of instructional coaching. However, teacher leaders often leave little room for authentic conversations in their support plan. These conversations can be…

Many schools host families for a Literacy Night. This is a way to build relationships with families while also emphasizing the importance of reading and writing both at home and school. During Literacy Night, many interactive activities are shared so that parents can replicate the literacy practices at home to support their children. Many teachers…

Trust means that since you consistently keep your word, others expect you will continue to do so in the future. When people trust you, they believe you. When they believe you, they listen to you. And when they listen to you, you are able to help them grow to their potential. It’s essential teachers trust…

An assembly at a school is a great way to bring an entire student body and staff together. It is a time to celebrate and learn in an engaging way. Often times, assemblies can be chaotic and disorganized. This limits the impact the learning opportunity during the assembly could have on all participants. Therefore, it’s…

Leading extra curricular activities at your school is beneficial in many ways. It provides learning opportunities outside the classroom environment for students to learn and partner together. It allows teachers to showcase leadership in new, unique ways. Most importantly, it breeds community among staff and students. Just remember, no matter what the extra curricular activity…

Switching curriculum is commonplace in schools. Sometimes funding or a contract runs out, new best practices force a change in direction for how to instruct students, or schools just want to try something new. Regardless of the reason, switching curriculum occurs on average every few years. This can be a frustrating process for both teachers…

The most common piece of advice from leadership is for teachers to build relationships with their students. The same advice is true of how the leadership team should prioritize building relationships with their staff and vise versa. Those in leadership positions often feel isolated because there are not many staff members in their role. It’s…

In the height of cold and flu season, student absences are inevitable. Especially in the post Covid era, numerous days of absences among students are common. Therefore, educators need a thorough plan for meeting curriculum expectations even while student attendance is inconsistent. The following steps are two fold. First, it will help students not get…

A coaching strategy that shifts with the seasons helps teacher leaders deliver strong support to teachers. If we only ever use one strategy for the entire year, we miss out on the opportunity to respond to the unique needs of teachers as they change throughout the school year. The previous posts in the series described:…

Teacher leaders need a coaching strategy when working with teachers in the classroom. For their support to grow the instructional skill level of a teacher, a strategy should be in place first. This ensures alignment between state/district goals, school curriculum, and teacher needs and wants. Being responsive with a coaching strategy means you cannot have…