Coaching for Equity: Conversations that Change Practice will be in your hands in mid-September. Here are a few excerpts from the introduction which we hope will get you excited to read it!
Coaching for Equity: A Sneak Peek

Coaching for Equity: Conversations that Change Practice will be in your hands in mid-September. Here are a few excerpts from the introduction which we hope will get you excited to read it!
By Janet Baird, a Bright Morning Senior Associate and contributing blogger I will go out of my way to avoid confrontation, so when I first began coaching what I feared most was the idea of a resistant client. Or even worse, one who wouldn’t meet with me at all. So of course, not soon after
By Lori Cohen, a Bright Morning Associate and contributing blogger Nils was a great conversationalist—and quite a talker. He loved talking about all things teaching, and he openly welcomed me into his classroom. As a department chair, Nils wanted to experience what it was like to be coached so he could be a model for his
by Elena Aguilar, Bright Morning President As a new coach, my number one question was, How can I coach a resistant teacher? I felt like most of the teachers I had to coach were resistant. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that this is the question I’m most often asked. In my workshops, within the
By Janet Baird, a Bright Morning Senior Associate and Contributing Blogger We talk frequently about the two essential dispositions of a transformational leader: compassion and curiosity. But why are these so essential? What is it about these ways of being that help us continue doing the work that needs to be done to create more
by LesLee Bickford, Bright Morning Chief Strategy & Program Officer I learned I was a perfectionist when I was 38. Like many perfectionists, I had up until this point rejected the notion, insisting I just had very high standards. It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Enneagram and begrudgingly accepted that I’m a One that
by Elena Aguilar, Bright Morning President Many years ago, when I was a novice coach overwhelmed by seemingly resistant teachers, my coach, Leslie Plettner, said the wisest and most memorable words a coach has ever spoken: “No one can learn from you if you think that they suck.” I was thunderstruck by the intensity of
by Noelle Apostol Colin, a Bright Morning Senior Associate and guest blogger Her eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath and blinked slowly. “I’m withdrawing. I’m not being who I need to be to make things better,” she said quietly. We stood huddled together, leaning around a tall cocktail table, inside a beautiful wooden
by Jessie Cordova, a Bright Morning Senior Associate and guest blogger The work of coaching people around beliefs is the work that must happen in order to create equitable learning spaces and outcomes. But we need to understand this: asking someone to believe something different than what they currently believeis like asking someone to cut
by Jessie Cordova, a Bright Morning Senior Associate and guest blogger First secret: Equity work is needs and beliefs work. Every action we take, every behavior we exhibitis because it serves us in some way—otherwise we wouldn’t do it. The needs we have are birthed from the belief systems we hold. A person might find they need