District Implementation

What is a Connection Statement?

The terms Commitment Statement and Opening Statement have evolved into something new: Connection Statement. In the December Coaches Week all three of these titles were played around with to see which one best described the first sheet handed over from the coach to the person receiving coaching.  By February Coaches Week, the decision on what to call this sheet and the purpose of it was settled on Connection Statement.

As a reminder, the Connection Statement is the first sheet that is usually differently colored from the other coaching sheets. It is the sheet where the coach states what the staff member is committed to, gives an example as proof of the commitment, and hands it off first. The purpose of this sheet is to create a connection and a bond with the person receiving coaching. You can find the resource here.

Watch for...

A Change from Connection Statement to Support Efficacy. This new addition to the coaching repitoire will begin to take the place of the Connection Statement.  All coaches trained in the 2022-2023 school year have started using the Support Efficacy. Coaches who are taking part in the Coach Refreshes will learn the new strategy and replace the Connection Sheet.

From Phases to Contexts

It used to be that, according to Catalyst, teachers went through phases while they interacted with students. The phases were Getting Attention, Teaching, Transition to Seatwork, and Seatwork. Over the years, the terms have changed and have thus settled with Get Attention, Engage, Set up for Success, and Support Success. As Nancy Burns and Jacki Brickman were thinking through the label of "phases" they decided that Contexts would be better to describe what a teacher does.

The reason behind the switch was easy: Phases indicated that they had to be done in order. In fact, all teachers go back and forth and don't neatly follow a pattern. Sometimes, you'd find yourself in Get Attention while intertwining Support Success at the same time. Because of this, the name Context was created as a way to describe where a teacher was at different times throughout the day.

If you would like to review the Contexts of teaching, please click here.