We want to give you a peek inside our Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program. Coaches taking part in this academic-year-long journey have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program. Where possible, we have shared the course and the action task to give context for the guest post.

Watch Alexsandra’s Video

Read Alexsandra’s Reflection

At the start of The Coach program, I set two clear goals for myself. First, I wanted to establish a sustainable coaching program at my school, one that aligned with our mission and values and could thrive long term. Second, I aimed to strengthen my facilitation skills so I could make the most of the limited time I had to coach teachers, especially while balancing other responsibilities like IB coordination and leadership duties.

Each milestone in this journey played a pivotal role in supporting those goals.

Milestone 1: Find Clarity helped me recognize just how much ambiguity surrounded the role of coaching at my school. I learned that our staff held a wide range of beliefs about what coaching was, many of which were shaped by prior, sometimes negative, experiences. This milestone prompted me to create a Coaching Vision document that articulated a shared purpose and helped reset the narrative around coaching. That vision has since served as a foundation for building trust and clarity within the school community.

Milestone 2: Create Clarity had the most profound impact on my professional growth. It pushed me to move beyond defining coaching to thinking critically about how I engage teachers in the work. I applied the Rogers Adoption Curve to map staff members and identify entry points based on their readiness levels. Instead of trying to convince everyone at once, I began meeting people where they were. This differentiated approach made my coaching more relational, respectful, and ultimately more effective.

Milestone 3: Grow Community gave me the tools to step back and analyze my coaching patterns. I created and implemented a coaching log that allowed me to track the frequency and type of interactions I was having with teachers. This gave me valuable insights not only into how I was spending my time, but also into which coaching stances I was using most often. That data has been helpful for my own reflection and in communicating the scope and impact of coaching to leadership.

Through this journey, my biggest area of growth has been shifting from doing coaching to being a coach. I’ve learned that coaching isn’t just about having a conversation or providing a strategy. It’s about showing up with intentionality, aligning actions with values, and co-creating a culture of learning. I now see my coaching identity as deeply intertwined with who I am as a leader and a learner.

That said, I still have room to grow. I want to continue building my capacity to navigate challenging coaching conversations and to strengthen a peer coaching culture that empowers teachers to support one another. I also want to integrate my roles more seamlessly so that coaching, IB leadership, and school improvement function in harmony instead of operating in silos.

There have been challenges along the way. Time was a significant one. Balancing graduate school, leadership responsibilities, and coaching meant that I had to make tough choices about where to focus my energy. I also encountered resistance from some staff members, often rooted in previous experiences where coaching was associated with evaluation or compliance.

One of the most rewarding and surprising aspects of the journey, however, was how energizing it was to connect with a global community of coaches. Knowing that others were working through similar challenges gave me confidence and a sense of belonging.

If I were to do anything differently, I would start building relationships even earlier. Making space for informal conversations and trust-building would have laid an even stronger foundation before introducing formal coaching structures. I also would have documented my reflections and insights more consistently throughout the journey.

The Coach program supported me in many ways. It provided a thoughtful structure for my learning, practical frameworks like the Thrive Model and the Adoption Curve, and, most importantly, a space for deep reflection and connection. The global cohort, mentoring sessions, and learning modules helped me feel encouraged, challenged, and supported.

As a result of this learning, coaching at my school is starting to take root in new ways. We now have a shared vision, greater clarity about roles, and a data-informed coaching practice that I can confidently speak to. Coaching is beginning to be seen not as an add-on, but as a core part of how we support teacher growth and student learning.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue strengthening my skills in coaching conversations, expanding my facilitation toolkit, and exploring ways to embed peer coaching more deeply into our school culture. My ongoing graduate studies in educational leadership will continue to support this work, and I’m excited to keep growing in ways that prioritize equity, collaboration, and lasting impact.

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Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!

If you are ready to dive deep into your coaching practice, to help you #coachbetter and build a thriving coaching culture in your school, please join us for our next cohort of The Coach!

Wherever you are in building a coaching culture in your school, The Coach will give you the strategies, skills and tools you need to make coaching a success and will empower you to confidently apply instructional coaching strategies in any situation – from building a coaching program, to having coaching conversations, to being a leader in your school community. We facilitate only one cohort each academic year so we can offer individualized support for each participant.

Coaches of all levels are welcome: you’ll start the program with a self-assessment to determine exactly what the next steps are for you!