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.

The Coach Mid-Point Reflection

The Topic: Mid Point Reflection: Around half way through The Coach program, we ask participants to reflect on their journey so far. The purpose behind this task is to help them acknowledge how far they’ve come and prepare them for the Personal Project at the very end of the program.

The Task: Create a 3-5 minute video reflecting on your journey so far within The Coach. Share your responses to the prompts below:

• What’s your role in your school? What does it look like? What does it mean to you?
• At this point, how far have you come in your learning journey?What have you learned?
• What have you been able to apply?
• How has this program supported you in your learning?
• Why/How did you choose The Coach?What’s the biggest value of the program for you so far?
• What’s different in the Coach in comparison to other PD that you’ve received or participated in?
• What made you look for this program? What made you look outside the normal resources to level up your coaching skills?
• What would you say to someone who is considering The Coach?

Watch Carrie’s Mid-Point Reflection Video

Reflection by Carrie Simpson, Induction Coach, SC, USA

I have been a middle-level educator for the past 22 years. I have an Administrative degree from Anderson University, a Master’s Degree in Education, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Lander University, was endorsed for the Gifted and Talented Programs from Converse College and is National Board Certified. In addition to my certifications, I have worked with the SC State Department of Education in the Leadership Cohort, Collective Leadership Initiative, and as a support document performance task writer.

I knew early on in my career that I had a passion for helping and working with other educators in achieving their goals.  I began working with student teachers at local universities and received mentor training to work with first-year teachers within my own school.  My desire to become an instructional-type coach grew a tremendous amount over the past 5-10 years.  For this reason, I decided to work towards a second degree in supervision and leadership.  Upon receiving District Teacher of the Year for my school district, I was given even more opportunities to work with teachers in my own school.  I have a huge passion for working with first-year teachers.  

Our district created a new position entitled “Induction Coach.” The responsibility of this position was to work with all first-year teachers across our district.  This person would uphold monthly academy  meetings to help new teachers with evaluation and survival, co-teach, model, observe and provide feedback, support, plan, and provide real in-the-moment feedback that new teachers could immediately implement within their own classes.  I was beyond excited to apply for this position and even more so when I received word that I had received the job of my dreams. I would be the induction coach to 71 first-year teachers, serving 18 schools out of our 22 schools in the district.

This year, I began an exciting new journey in my career.  I am the Induction Coach for Anderson School District Five in Anderson SC of the United States.  This position is brand new to our district and for the most part our state.  was honored to be the person chosen for this coaching role.

When I began working with the new teachers, I felt confident for the most part in the approach. Building relationships has always been paramount for me as an educator and therefore I knew would be the same for working closely with first-year teachers.  This was a brand new position that I was allowed to create and make my own.  The whole idea of this was to have teacher retention.  For the past 3 years, our district has lost ⅓ of our first-year teachers.  It was my goal to work closely with and retain as many of these new teachers as possible.  It was my goal also to better myself and be the best “coach” for these new teachers, therefore, I decided to complete the micro-credential “The Coach”

• New teachers will feel supported
• New teachers would know that they had someone they could depend on
• New teachers felt heard and valued

In order to improve my coaching skills, I am working through this micro-credential and implementing what I am learning in my one-to-one meetings with each new teacher and within my monthly group meetings.

I have grown a lot over the past few months.  I have learned how to incorporate what I have learned through The Coach micro-credential with individuals and with groups.  I learned that my approach with my students had to be different than my approaches with my new teachers. 

Coming to the end of the school year, I am now able to see that the goal of retaining teachers was met.  Over the past three years, our district has lost approximately 30% of the first-year teachers hired.  This year, our loss was cut in half at 18%. I credit this micro-credential a lot for helping me to grow as a new coach and know that I will be able to implement my knowledge in the coming year to retain even more teachers. 

---

What’s YOUR level of coaching mastery?

All coaches go through various stages of coaching mastery. Once you identify where you’re at, you can begin to build the skills needed to move to the next stage.

This quiz is based on real-life case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program!

When you receive your results, you’ll also get your matching case study from the STRIVE Case Studies to see where you fit in the stages of coaching mastery.

Ready to tackle your challenges and move on to the next level in YOUR coaching practice?

The STRIVE Model of Coaching Mastery quiz will help you identify your level of coaching mastery by matching you with case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program so you can easily see where you fit!

When you complete the quiz, you’ll get:

• Your matching case study,
• Specific strengths & challenges aligned to your result;
• Suggested next steps for each stage;

Plus the Case Study Document includes:

• Case studies leveled by coaching mastery;
• A framework to identify essential stages of professional growth & key areas to focus on in your professional learning;
• Alignment with the THRIVE Model for a Successful Coaching Culture;
• Space for you to reflect & prioritize so you can take action immediately!

You’ll go straight to the Quiz, and get the Case Study Document via email.

---

Read more from Carrie….

• What’s your role in your school? What does it look like? What does it mean to you?
  • As the induction coach,  I work with over 70 first-year teachers housed across 18 of the 22 schools in our district.  It is my job to work with all first-year teachers across our district.  I plan monthly academy meetings to help new teachers with evaluation and survival. In addition to the support from the monthly academy meetings- I co-teach, model, observe and provide feedback, support, plan, and provide real in-the-moment feedback that new teachers can immediately implement within their own classes. Teachers are able to sign up for in-person help and also for virtual meetings if in-person is not possible. Some would say this is a job, but for me, this is a true passion of mine. I love every challenge, every hurdle, and every success that comes my way working with these new teachers.  Why does it matter to me? It ultimately comes down to the students.  The students depend on educators to help them learn in life. It is important not only the content of what they learn but how they learn it.  It is like a ripple effect, as a coach I cast a stone in the water that affects the teacher and that teacher casts a stone in the water to affect the students. 
• At this point, how far have you come in your learning journey?
  • What have you learned?
    • I have learned that there are different ways of being a coach- as a consultant, collaborator, and coach.  I understand the importance of being able to truly listen to my coachees and understand which stance I need to take based on their needs.  I have seen the importance of building relationships with not only the coachees but the administrators as well.  
  • What have you been able to apply?
    • I have been able to apply all components of the coach micro-credential. How I see myself as a leader, what the role of a coach is, understanding the coaching cycle, how to have coaching cycles (this has been big!), how to work with adults and teams, and how to work through challenges as a coach- all of these I have been able to learn more about and utilize in my role as the induction coach for my district 
  • How has this program supported you in your learning?
    • I have learned so much in this program.  The resources provided, hearing from expert coaches and their successes with things that work well, and having opportunities for reflecting on my own practices as a new coach
• Why/How did you choose The Coach?
  • What’s the biggest value of the program for you so far?
    • Because this position is new for our district- I wanted to do everything in my power to make it successful.  The biggest value that I have gained from this program is self-confidence- the idea that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.  
  • What’s different in the Coach in comparison to other PD that you’ve received or participated in?
    • The main difference between this program and other PD is that it is relevant to me and my situation.  The whole micro-credential was able to be catered for me personally and not a cookie cutter, one size fits all scenario. 
  • What made you look for this program? What made you look outside the normal resources to level up your coaching skills?
    • As stated before, because this position was new to the district and me as well, I wanted to learn all that I could about how to be an affective coach- this program has given me the tools to pull from to make that happen.  
• What would you say to someone who is considering The Coach?
  • For someone considering taking The Coach- this is one of the most powerful endeavors you can do as a classroom educator, leader of educators, instructional coach, and mentor of other educators.  You will grow in ways you never thought possible. You will become empowered to help other educators reach their potential in the classroom, which empowers them to reach students and their learning. Isn’t that what it is all about?

---

Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!

If you are ready to develop your coaching practice over the next academic year, and explore topics like transitioning your work from individuals to teams, 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.

Registration for our next global cohort opens once a year – check the website for details!

Find out more at: https://edurolearning.com/coach/