As a third year instructional coach, I was elated to hear that the Madison Metropolitan School District would hire Diane Sweeney, to support us in establishing and refining existing coaching practices. Up until this year, school-based coaches worked in varying capacities at schools across the district. A coach’s role was often tied to several ‘busy’ … Read more
I am often asked how to get started with Student-Centered Coaching. How might a district prepare coaches, teachers, and principals to make the most out this critical investment in student and teacher learning? What should we be aware of? What are some common pitfalls? While no two districts are alike, and you may need to … Read more
It is tempting for instructional coaches to sort teachers into two groups, those who have a ‘growth mindset’ and those who don’t. We celebrate teachers who are quick to implement. Teachers who are open and reflective. And we ponder those who aren’t. We wonder, ‘Where is the transfer? Why isn’t there any evidence of growth? … Read more
A Study Guide for Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals As teams and districts explore Student-Centered Coaching (Sweeney, 2010), a few have requested a study guide to support their dive into the processes and tools that are focused on throughout the book. I thought that a blog post might be a good … Read more
When Michelle’s position changed from math interventionist to coach, her first reaction was, “Yes!” She had wanted to coach for some time and craved the opportunity to work with a variety of grade levels. And with the adoption of the Common Core, she felt confident that she would be able to help move students towards … Read more
Bonnie Campbell Hill has touched the lives of teachers and students the world over, and we were sad to hear of her loss against liver cancer at just 56 years old. In Bonnie’s style, she created the Bonnie’s Big Idea Campaign in her final months, working with teachers to raise $500,000 for libraries and scholarships … Read more
So often we pull teachers together to collaborate but never set norms regarding how they will interact, communicate, and learn from one another. This is particularly ironic since as teachers, we know to do this with our students and spend countless lessons teaching them these precious skills. Many of you are familiar with the Seven … Read more