The Life of a Literacy Coach

The Life of a Literacy Coach

Coaches have been around since time immemorial. Today we think of coaches typically in the athletics. Recently coaching has been implemented in schools throughout the nation (and world) in school setting to work with teachers. The need to reflect and receive feedback is critical for professional growth. Coaching is focused upon improving the participant to maximize their abilities. Coaching is different from an evaluation that may be conducted by a job supervisor. While evaluation and support are not mutually exclusive the role of the coach is not punitive in nature when supporting teachers.

One of the great ideas from Liz Hanson, a literacy coach, is a Literacy Team Meeting. During these Team Meetings, teachers work together with a coach to discuss data and practices to develop more effective practices. This can be a very powerful exercise while being low stress because teachers are working with other teachers. GO TEAM!

A sense of urgency vs a sense of crisis?

Do you work in a culture with a sense of urgency or a sense of crisis? What is the difference? Jim Collins, author of

Good to Great

, briefly describes the negative impact of working with a sense of crisis. In a sense of crisis, organizations run from one solution to the next wildly grasping at “silver bullets” to “save” the organization. A sense of crisis focuses upon avoiding impending doom. Over time this creates cynicism rather than purpose of action. A sense of urgency emphasizes the need to get things done to be the best.