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 Shawna’s Video

Read Shawna’s Reflection

What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the program?

To build confidence as a coach and have a better understanding and skill set for how to support teachers in a coaching cycle.

How did each milestone support you in reaching your goal?

Taking the time to go through all 3 phases allowed for the learning to have a solid base.

Finding clarity in my role and how I spent my time in the first phase allowed me to realize what I wanted to be spending my time doing and then I could stay focused on that when things began to get really busy and hectic.

In the second phase when we were coaching and paying close attention to our skills and reflecting on conversations, it became apparent that I needed a better way to track my meetings and have data for what it was I was doing. It was also important to formalize these cycles so that coachees can see the hard work they have put in to improve and grow! The tracker in phase 2 was my milestone and again, having time to reflect on what was helpful for my practice made a big difference.

The final phase of building community allowed me to sit down and really reflect on what I had been doing this year, what was most beneficial to teams (feedback gathered) and what that might mean for next year. Creating this artifact helped me set goals for 2024-25 and bring it to admin to have a conversation.

What has been your biggest area of growth in the program?

Confidence – feeling like I can have coaching conversations and use the tools to help someone grow.

Where do you still have room to grow?

Questioning – making sure I’m really allowing people to guide their own thinking and wondering and not jumping in to offer ideas. Recording conversations really helped, so I need to keep doing that to check in and learn more about what else I need to focus on.

What surprises and/or challenges have you had along the way?

I was surprised with ALL the new things happening that people were still willing to engage in coaching. (new curriculum, new community learning groups and a campus move). It helped show me how ready people are to engage in their own professional growth and it motivated me to learn even more about how to support them.

What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?

Take more video and photo footage! I am not afraid to be on camera, but I never think to set it up or take photos.

How did the Coach support you in your learning journey?

Having time set aside in my year to reflect was so impactful. Each week I really had a topic to dive into and think about deeply. When you’re searching for resources to improve your practice it can get really overwhelming and you easily end end up getting off course. Having a well thought out trajectory and the support of a coach/mentor along the way meant I was slowing down enough to think about one thing at a time and having time to internalize the learning and apply it to my practice.

How has your learning inside the Coach impacted your coaching practice & program in your school setting?

It has helped me have better conversations with other coaches and feel more confident to speak up. It has also helped me realize how key that foundation of schoolwide understanding is to make coaching successful.

What next for your professional learning?

To continue to put into place what I learned this year, continue to reflect and gather feedback. There are lots of tools out there, so knowing what I need to work more on is the next step for me (there’s lots…it’s just narrowing it down to what’s the priority!).

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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!