Confident Literacy Coach - A Peek Inside!, Ep. 108 Buzzing with Ms. B: The Coaching Podcast

On The Coaching Podcast, we've been discussing different types of coaches all month. We spoke with a math coach, a technology coach, and an SEL coach. On this episode, I want to share my experiences as a literacy coach and tell you about my course, The Confident Literacy Coach.

When I was first introduced as a literacy coach, we were in a big faculty meeting. I was a brand-new literacy coach and had never coached a day in my life. I was sitting next to the new math and science coach. My principal gestured to us and said, “This year, we're fortunate enough to have two new faculty members. Chrissy is our expert in literacy, and Mr. So and so is our expert in math and science”. I flinched a little at being called an expert.

When I think back to how I was first introduced, I know it was a mistake. It set me up for challenging relationships with teachers, and not in a good way.

My first year of coaching was tough and I made a lot of mistakes. But I felt like I was in the right place and that things would get better over time. And they did!

Some of my earliest challenges as a literacy coach came from the fact that despite all of us being part of the same district with the same proclaimed practices, every school was honestly doing its own thing. Even though the district spent years providing professional development, each school and teacher had a different knowledge base.

It took a lot of structure and support to slowly align our common language and practices into something meaningful that impacted students through vertical and horizontal alignment. It was a lot of work and a rough road to walk, but I learned what worked and what didn’t. I created systems and put everything I figured out along the way into The Confident Literacy Coach. 

The Confident Literacy Coach is a comprehensive program that will help you learn practices in reading and writing to support your teachers. It will also give you the knowledge, strategies, and tools you need to coach effectively in any area. Above all, it will give you the confidence to work with teachers in an impactful way.

On episode 108 of The Coaching Podcast, I share all the details of the course. You’ll learn who it's for, what’s in each module, and how it can impact your work as a coach. 

Check out the list of modules and lessons included in the course below!

List of Modules and Topics found in The Confident Literacy Coach 

Module 1: Establishing yourself as a coach

This module includes five lessons:

1. Defining your coaching role
2. Communicating with administration
3. Introducing your role to teachers
4. Creating your coaching personality
5. Building relationships with teachers

Module 2: Managing your limited time and endless responsibilities

This module includes four lessons:

1. Focusing your time on high-impact strategies
2. Identifying daily/weekly/monthly tasks
3. Selecting three big priorities
4. Planning for the week

Module 3: Building best practices in reading

This module includes five lessons:

1. Introducing best practices in reading
2. Setting teaches up for success
3. Coaching each part of the framework
4. Addressing common misconceptions about comprehension
5. Identifying five high-impact strategies

Module 4: Building practices in writing

This module includes five lessons:

1. Introducing best practices in writing
2. Setting teaches up for success
3. Coaching each part of the framework
4. Addressing common misconceptions about the writing process
5. Identifying five high-impact strategies

Module 5: Coaching individual teachers

This module includes five lessons:

1. Introducing the coaching cycle: pre-conference
2. Conducting observations/visits
3. Modeling lessons
4. Co-teaching lessons
5. Preparing for debriefing conversations

Module 6: Coaching teams of teachers

There are five lessons in this module:

1. Identifying group dynamics
2. Creating norms and agreements
3. Looking at student work together
4. Digging into data together
5. Planning collaboratively

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