In our previous blog, we defined coaching as a process to improve performance by finding the strengths of each individual and shaping them into the best version of themselves possible. I also said that every school should be coaching and provided description of the coaching phases and a few, sample questions. If you missed that resource, then click here.
How can coaching work in a school setting? The easy answers turn to how instructional coaches work directly with teachers for pedagogical shifts or how a principal invests in their assistant principals to prepare them for advancement in school leadership. While those are solid examples, deeper connections to the school community are missed.
For example, has your school implemented a coaching protocol:
• For the mentor teachers to work with brand-new ones?
• So that a grade level team or PLC could use the process to resolve common issues?
• To use with data analysis on an individual or whole grade level?
• With extra-curricular sponsors – including sports – to refine their influence on students?
Those ideas may have sparked some thinking – as least I hope so – but I wanted to close with a few additional ideas. Here are specific ways that coaching can be used to involve parents and students:
• Grades K-5: host a special parent night where coaching ideas are the central theme. That way, parents are taught to become learning coaches in the home to help their students process through content or circumstances at home.
• Grades 6-8: create a symposium where you identify 8th graders who can become a coach for new students that join mid-year and struggle with adjusting to the new school setting.
• Grades 9-12: share coaching strategies with all teachers and pair them with counselors to focus on coaching students in danger of not graduating or facing truancy issues.
Reach out and let us know how you are going to implement coaching at your school.