We would like to introduce you to one of our graduates of The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program! With over a hundred graduates since 2019, educators taking The Coach come into the program with different backgrounds, experiences and goals. Because the program is designed to be flexible and practical in nature, each graduate is able to customize their learning experience for exactly their needs – with the support of a mentor and the global community the whole way!
The Coach follows the Thrive Model for Sustainable Instructional Coaching, a proven framework for success in developing your coaching practice – for you as an individual coach and for your coaching program in your school. These educators have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program.
Meet Lana
Lana joined The Coach because she had recently been working in a school with a robust coaching team, and as a classroom teacher, she absolutely loved the experience.
She says…
I was looking for opportunities to grow and the coaching team was ready to support me, and point me in the direction of growth. They supported me with individual coaching conversations and coaching cycles, feedback was given to me. I felt so safe, so supported. I never felt so safe and so supported in my teaching life, in my career. That’s when I realized, this is exactly how I want to feel, and how I want my colleagues to feel: safe, secure, eager to learn, eager to grow, eager to bring it into the classroom.
So, when Lana had the opportunity to move to a new school, she brought coaching with her – as a grade 4 classroom teacher. Lana spent her time in The Coach working to build a coaching culture on her team, while working full time as a classroom teacher!
Despite the challenge of balancing what became essentially TWO full time jobs in her new school, Lana was hugely successful in building a coaching culture on her team.
She says…
It wasn’t magic, people were still doubtful, so the first two supporters were instrumental. They worked with me for a few weeks and then they started sharing with other team members, because they found it valuable. Without any extra effort two more people came to me, one of whom was in a middle leadership position. This was an indicator that the coaching culture was growing.
What made the impact in Lana’s setting was the clarity she gained from The Coach. She says…
I was very clear about what coaching is about. You hear a lot of people talking about coaching and “everybody becomes a coach”. People have different ideas of what coaching is about. The first thing I had to do was clarify that for everyone on the team. I was very clear from The Coach, I was able to be clear in my head so I could tell it to others. I take coaching everywhere I go to try to bring clarity to what is coaching.
Watch Lana’s Learning Journey Video Reflection
The Learning Journey Video Reflection is a chance for you to reflect on everything you’ve learned and/or discovered throughout this Certificate Program. You will create an 8-10 min video sharing on the goal that you set, documenting the process of working towards your goal, reflecting on your achievement and sharing the process/outcome with our learning community. The most important part of your personal project is that it’s relevant to you, and you can demonstrate, through documentation and video, the impact your work has had on your school.
Now that she’s graduated, Lana says…
The 3 C’s of the Coach are my superpower: Clarity, Consistency, Community.
I was very clear about what coaching is about. I was consistent in my practice and building of relationships. I focused on building community and creating a safe space for my colleagues to learn.
Individualized support is essential. We have a lot of whole-school PD, but if we start asking people questions about those sessions, the responses are not always connected to teacher professional goals. Those sessions are great, but they’re not always what teachers need or want. Individualized support from a coach means your specific needs, goals for growth are considered and applied.
People consistently highlight that the support I provided was individualized. I made their instructional practices more data-driven. We looked at their actual classes and the data, and that’s what helped them improve their instructional practices.
It’s not only about the teacher growing, it’s transfers to student growth, student engagement and student achievement as well. When you’re looking at data together, that transfers to the achievement in your classroom. We’re here for the children. We can see the connection, if teachers are happy and growing the culture of continuous learning and growth spreads everywhere.
Coaching empowers teachers. As they gain more knowledge and skills, their confidence grows. Helps them navigate the pressures. They have a safe space to share when they are struggling. Helping them to deal with the pressures and the stress. Growth will be accelerated if people are happy.
Coaching gives an understanding that the educational landscape is always changing. Giving your teachers an opportunity to see that and be able to adapt to the new things as well. Change is never easy, but if I have the tools as a teacher, that’s when I can flourish and grow.
Watch Lana’s Learning Journey Video Reflection
The Learning Journey Video Reflection is a chance for you to reflect on everything you’ve learned and/or discovered throughout this Certificate Program. You will create an 8-10 min video sharing on the goal that you set, documenting the process of working towards your goal, reflecting on your achievement and sharing the process/outcome with our learning community. The most important part of your personal project is that it’s relevant to you, and you can demonstrate, through documentation and video, the impact your work has had on your school.
Now that she’s graduated, Lana says
The power of 3Cs is my superpower now. Milestone 1 brought clarity about coaching, what it offers and its goals and benefits. Milestone 2 supported my growth as a coach by providing various instruments for implementing coaching cycles effectively and consistently- personally, for me, it was keeping up-to-date detailed records of my coaching sessions and analysing the data ( the impact of coaching). Milestone 3 kept my focus on relationships and building a positive coaching culture. All three milestones have given me opportunities to grow as a coach.
The Thrive Model is clear and all the resources and activities support a smooth transition from one phase to another. Having personal coaching sessions with Kim was my best experience of coaching! Every session was an amazing, valuable learning experience.
Watch Lana’s Learning Journey Video Reflection Here!
Learn More About Lana’s Experience in The Coach
Lana was recently featured on the #coachbetter podcast in a Case Study episode.
These case study episodes are designed to share the story of a coach, and the development of their coaching program and practice in their unique setting. At the time of recording, Lana had just graduated from The Coach. In this episode we talk about why coaching was so impactful for her as a classroom teacher, how she decided to make the move from classroom to coach, how she’s been building a coaching culture in her 4th grade team, what prepared her to be ready to build a coaching culture in a teaching role, why coaching is so essential in a high pressure school environment, if coaching is sustainable as a full time classroom teacher, and all the steps it took her to build a coaching culture on her team. If you’re curious about what classroom teachers can learn in The Coach, and how they might bridge some of their work in the classroom into coaching, this episode is for you!
Want to Learn in a Community Like This?
If you can see connections between your story and Lana’s please join us for the next global cohort of The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program. Registration will open in early September and the program will run from the end of September – May.
The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program is a comprehensive academic-year-long professional learning experience designed for experienced educators who are ready to be intentional and strategic in their instructional coaching role so they can build a thriving coaching culture. This course on the essential foundations of instructional coaching and building an instructional coaching program.
In The Coach we’ll support you in developing your coaching practice and program following the Thrive Model for Instructional Coaching success.
Not only will you learn everything you need to be successful as a K12 instructional coach, with an entire academic year of curated coaching content, but you’ll also get the support of a mentor to adapt your learning to exactly your needs & experience level for the entire program!
The program is truly personalized – because we know you’re coming to The Coach with your own experience and expertise. So wherever you are in your coaching journey, we can support you in taking the next step forward.
Plus, inside our private community, you’ll learn with a global cohort of coaches from schools around the world, so you can see how coaching really works in other schools – and build your network of coaches!
Our global cohorts open only once a year (and it’s coming up soon!) – get all the details and join the waitlist for our next cohort at edurolearning.com/coach
If you’re not sure if The Coach is right for you, send me a DM at EduroLearning on social media and let’s talk it through! I’d love to support you on your coaching journey!
Find out more at: https://edurolearning.com/coach/
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