"Put me in Coach"

We survived our first few days of the new school year.  It was terrific to see the team work and effort that went in to creating a successful start.  There was a lot of information that we shared with all of you during our pre-week.  Our team theme this year emphasizes the importance of recognizing us as your coaches. When we decided on our team theme, the song “Centerfield” by John Fogerty, continued to play in my head continuously.  Coaching is such a vital component of school improvement, but often schools miss the mark completely when it comes to improving practice (of all staff, including administrators). Why does this happen?

We found a blog this weekend that hits the nail on the head about the vision we have for coaching and school improvement.  It reads as follows:  (Cain’s Corner)

Student achievement and the continued improvement of instruction should be central to your mission as the school leader. As the school leader most of your time everyday should be spent observing classroom instruction. If you have a leadership team, perhaps made up of yourself, an assistant principal or instructional coaches --- you need to have a system in place at your school that prioritizes coaching and providing feedback to teachers. Feedback is what enables teachers and school administrators to grow and improve. Infrequent drive by's into classrooms and then reacting to what you see isn't going to cut it. Focusing on your state or district mandated formal observations a few times a year isn't going to be enough. Nor is having a practice where teachers can opt out of coaching. From a sports perspective, would a MLB player opt out of batting practice before a game? Would Tom Brady or Von Miller tell their coach, nah I'm good today, I'll pass on practice? The answer of course is no. Yet, in some schools and districts it's the practice that coaching is optional. Inherently, everyone who works in education from the Superintendent of your district at the top of the organizational chart on down to the building level staff can benefit from coaching.

Instructional coaching needs to happen at your school. It should not be an option, but rather a service that is provide to everyone, including the school leader from whomever supervises them. In "Leverage Leadership" Bambrick-Santoyo says "by receiving weekly observations and feedback, a teacher develops as much in one year as most teachers do in twenty." This notion is spot on. In athletic coaching, you would provide frequent opportunities for your players to receive feedback and opportunities to practice. Find a great PE teacher and you will see this happen regularly in their classroom throughout their instructional day. Similar, we need to provide our staff with frequent opportunities to receive feedback and practice. John Wooden once said, "the importance of repetition until automaticity cannot be overstated. Repetition is the key to learning." I'd add, effective feedback that's bite-sized and precise enables the teacher to make shifts in their practice creates small wins for them and their students. Just like we would intentionally plan to support a student's growth as a Reader through focused, targeted instruction, we should do the same throughout the school year to support the growth of our staff. If your school does not have an instructional coaching system or plan in place, make it happen. Your staff, your students, and your school community will be better because you are in it together to get better for all your kids.

Hargrove (2003) said, "A masterful coach is a leader who by nature is a vision builder and value shaper, not just a technical who manages people to reach their goals and plans through tips and techniques. To be able to do this requires that the coach discover his or her own humanness and humanity, while being a clearing for others to do the same." This quote is a great reminder of heart, soul, and service to others that comes with coaching. Great leaders know the importance of adding value to others. Coaching is a vehicle to add value to others and improve outcomes for everyone in your school community.

A coach, whether it be an Instructional Coach or Athletic Coach, is in fact a teacher. Whatever your coaching role is, be a role model for those you serve. There is great value and joy in bringing the best out of a group of individuals to create a unique team that successfully works together. Set the example for those you serve, love everyone, work hard, be patient, remain loyal, and put the needs of your school community ahead of your own. Doing so will take your school and you to new heights this year. 

We know that we will have a terrific year.  We hope that this will be a year of growth, one of service, and one that we make magic happen for our communities.  Have an awesome first full week of school with our students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04KQydlJ-qc