Phase 1

ATTENDING TO CULTURE COMPONENT

RATIONALE: A preliminary step to implementing any coaching process is attending to the culture of the school. Teachers must feel like they are valued and their voices are heard. Communication is essential in leading people and effectively leading a school. Communicating a clear vision using protocols that invite staff into the conversation goes a long way in establishing trust and authenticity.

CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Culture is king!

• Clear communication structures

• Connection opportunities

• Clear vision and priorities

COACHING CULTURE COMPONENT

RATIONALE: A culture of coaching simply means that the school values the coaching process as a tool to improve ourselves, each other and our school. In a culture of coaching, there is an underlying belief that everyone deserves a coach. Additionally, a culture of coaching embraces building capacity in ourselves and others with the fundamental belief that each member is valuable to the community, has the capacity to grow, and the capacity to solve their and our problems of practice.

CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Values coaching

• Values growth

• Values feedback

• Believes in the ability of each member of a community to grow

• Allow for construction of meaning using anchor media or text

• Create opportunities for dialogue around coaching

PILOT PROGRAM COMPONENT

RATIONALE: "Coaching" may have a negative connotation to some staff members in a school if the assumption or a previous practice is that teacher's receive coaching because they are ineffective. Often times instructional coaches have been assigned to work with struggling and brand new teachers. For this reason, when schools begin phase 1 of building a culture of coaching it is ABSOLUTELY imperative all staff members be invited to participate in a coaching pilot program! The program is for everyone. It is not designed for the high performers, nor is it designed for the low performers. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and grow and it should be presented as such. School administrators should be forthcoming with the staff that their intention is to begin coaching all staff in the coming months after they learn from this pilot group.

CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Accessible to all

• Opportunity for preferential matching coach and coachee

• Opportunity for reflection and feedback on coaching program design and processes

COACHING RESOURCE COMPONENTS

RATIONALE: Coaching involves a major shift in thinking and time management. The administrative team might have previously visited classrooms for weekly walkthroughs weekly but only met with teachers when there was an issue or following formal observations as part of the district's Certified Evaluation Plan. To add biweekly coaching sessions with all teachers to the TPGES components will necessitate significant calendar control. Administrators will also need to plan for questions they will ask and a place to document this dialogue and follow up. Because conversation is essential to coaching, the way in which questions are asked is important. A guide to questioning techniques is provided to teach coaches how to ask questions that mediate thinking and provide opportunities for self-directed learning.

CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Maintain both autonomy and connectedness to school vision and shared priorities

• Similar opportunities for reflection and growth across multiple coaches

• Self-directed learning

• Two-way dialogue

• Reflection (coach and coachee)

• Feedback from walkthroughs

• Calendar control allows for managing multiple roles (coach, evaluator, administrator)

• Questioning techniques that mediate thinking and maximize opportunities for self-directed learning

OTHER RESOURCES phase 1 component