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 Topic: Phase 3: Grow Community

The Task: Share your artifact and a written reflection on your learning during this phase.

What were your key “aha” moments during Phase 3: Grow Community?

During ‘Seeing Yourself as a Leader’ I ask a teacher and administrator to respond to how they see me as a leader. I think it was important to see if how I see myself is aligned to how others see me. My ‘aha’ moment was actually my realization that the hard work that I have put in is actually paying off and is felt/seen by others. I also learned the importance of sharing out with others how I see them as leaders.

Teacher said:

I see you as a leader in our school community because of the time and care you put into building and fostering relationships with everyone in this building. Your knowledge you bring to all PD’s and meetings are useful and easy to apply. You lead by example, and show a love for what you do in all areas.

You absolutely have demonstrated leadership qualities in the work that you do. Speaking from personal experience, you have a very deep understanding of content, instruction, and application of such. You are incredibly well prepared for each meeting we have had and are very quick to respond to be available at any time! You are very good at allowing others to feel like they are equally part of the learning. The knowledge and thinking you bring to all meetings comes across as an equal, not that of a superior. This is something I noticed right away from our first meeting. Your ability at inviting others into the conversation, whatever that is, is special.

Assistant Superintendent said:

Your leadership is a huge asset to the District. Even though you are technically a K-5 math coach, your leadership impacts the district in K-12 ways, whether that be through book clubs, professional learning you facilitate and/or share, or word of mouth. It’s great to see your push for Building Thinking Classrooms truly take off at the elementary level, for example. You make others feel safe trying out new things, knowing they will be supported in their work. You do everything you can to make the work easy for someone and remove barriers, while still teaching that person how to fish instead of handing them a fish, so to speak. (You’re also really great at identifying the barriers – easier said than done sometimes!) You’re awesome at bonding with others, and getting others to open up to you. I’ve seen you take note of personal information about a teacher so that you can try to help them as a person, before digging in with them as a coach.

During this part of Phase 3, I learned that we should…

• Find “your people” at each grade level to share back to the team – so you’re not speaking to each teacher individually. (I asked my lead teacher for grade 4 to participate in my artifact video for Building Thinking Classrooms).
• Help other teachers see their potential to share, by being a transformational leader and empowering them to see themselves as a leader too. (After receiving feedback from this teacher about how he said me as a leader, I asked if we could follow-up with a deeper conversation about himself as a leader. You will see him highlighted several times in my artifact because he now sees himself as a leader.
• Advocate and share this great work with your leadership team so they can see the larger scale impact coaching is having on teaching & student learning. (I will be sharing my artifact with my admin team on Monday.)

Did you face any obstacles during this phase of the program? How did you overcome them?

The obstacle that I faced was creating my artifact. I had never created a video before and so there was a learning curve. My coaching partners have all done this, so I could have asked for help, but after hearing the feedback I got above from a teacher and admin, I felt empowered to figure this out for myself. It’s hard to not want it to be perfect. However, I finally reached a point where it had to be good enough, go.

What artifact did you choose to create and share?

I created a VIDEO to share with all stakeholders about implementing building thinking classrooms.

Why did you choose to create this artifact?

I wanted to share teacher videos, audio, and students’ pictures and videos to share information and experiences to help others feel empowered to start their own journey with BTC.

What did you learn in the creation of this artifact?

I learned how to make a video, edit audio and video, etc. It was time consuming, but I can’t wait to share it on Monday with my superintendent and supervisor of curriculum and instruction. I will share with them my plan for how I intend to share with stakeholders.

How has this artifact moved you closer to growing a community in your coaching role or program?

I know this video will encourage teachers to start their journey with BTC. When I share it out with buildings, I will encourage them to begin implementing at the same time as their teams so they have a support network right in their buildings. This way, I can then meet with teams to coach them through the process and make a greater impact in less time.

What are the next steps you need to take to further grow your community in your coaching role or program?

My next step is sharing my video with all stakeholders: school board, families, teachers and administrators. Hopefully, this helps others see the work I’m doing and the impact teachers and I are having.  Hopefully they ask questions and we build a larger network of teachers implementing right in our district.

Read more from The Coach participants as they share their learning from the certificate & mentorship program…

Tracey: Tracking Coaching

Amber: Conversation Resources

Nicola: Coaching Cycle Roadmap

Tracy: Coaching Menu

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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!