A coach in Seattle writes the following: This is my first year as a literacy coach in a large elementary school. I’m being asked to do all kinds of jobs that have nothing to do with coaching including doing lunch supervision, putting up bulletin boards, translating and testing coordination! The hours I have for coaching […]

Read More… from When Coaches Are Stretched Too Thin

Here’s an email I received a few weeks ago from a coach who wishes to be anonymous: I’m a high school literacy coach in a large urban district. I work across a dozen sites that are considered our worst schools. The situation is dismal: inexperienced leadership, no trust amongst teachers and administrators, brand new curriculum, […]

Read More… from Letter From an ‘Angry Black Man’: Am I a Good Coach?

Jenny from Midland, Mich., writes: I have been in the middle school classroom for 20 years and have now accepted a new position as an instructional coach this year. I have three middle schools and maybe 100 teachers plus administrators to work with. Some teachers already know me, but others do not. What would you […]

Read More… from ‘How Can I Encourage Teachers To Use Me as a Resource?’

Dear Coaches, For years I’ve been craving conversations with coaches and thinking about how there must be other lonely coaches somewhere. So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when after my first post on this blog I received over 100 emails in 24 hours. They’ve continued to pour in from coaches all over this […]

Read More… from “How can I Keep Teachers Happy and Energized?”

I’m going to come straight out and confess: I’m on a mission to see effective coaching programs in all schools. I dream of seeing coaches supporting teachers, principals, and superintendents, of coaches working with educators at all levels of an organization. This mission is driven by my belief that coaching might just be the secret […]

Read More… from Instructional Coaches: An Invitation to an Advice Column