Your work matters.

You’ve done the research. You’ve applied the suggested approach. You’re doing everything you’re supposed to do! So why isn’t it working?

Context. The dictionary defines context as the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.

In education, CONTEXT MATTERS. The only way to fully understand our work is to understand the setting in which we work. What might be part of our educational setting? Our school/district culture, our community perspectives, the resources we have, the politics in our area, etc. All of this paired with what we learn from research and trusted experts informs the decisions we make as leaders. If you’re blindly following a process or system, you might be finding that you’re trying to make a square peg go into a round hole.

Simply implementing “the thing” isn’t enough. We need to carefully consider the other factors at play to decide what is right for us. ELA teachers do this when they teach the “classics” - building historical context about the time during which the text was written. Understanding what was happening at the time helps us better understand the author’s message. The same is true for our work.

What might this look like in practice? I recently followed up with a client about the results of their district literacy curriculum audit. They shared that they were pursuing adopting a new literacy curriculum that better aligns to evidence-based practices. We discussed some of the options available, then used CONTEXT to narrow the focus. Which curriculum would provide texts that provide diverse experiences while also fitting within the community’s culture? Which curriculum is manageable given teachers’ planning time? Using questions like these, we were able to find a good fit and move forward.

Understanding our context makes us better decision-makers. Are you being a thoughtful leader?

Leadership Moves:

1. Look to research and trusted experts to choose proven processes.
2. Ask questions about the process, given your current context - is this a good fit for us?
3. Give yourself lead time so that you can be thoughtful in your decision-making.

What does this mean for me?

Your context matters and not everything will be a good fit, even if it’s been proven to work elsewhere. Be a critical consumer on behalf of those you lead.

Where have we been?

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This month, I presented at two virtual conferences! I presented live at the Mind Your Coaching Institute and shared a recorded workshop at the Simply Coaching Summit - Crafting the Path of Least Resistance in Coaching Conversations.. These two conferences are focused on supporting instructional coaches of all levels. I let my geek flag fly a little by using Star Wars references to drive home my coaching process. We all work with resistant people and using this process helps to combat that in coaching conversations. Want a preview? Grab the preview PDF of the workbook from my website and learn the four steps I suggest using to lessen resistance.

I had the honor and privilege to facilitate a panel discussion for The Reading League North Carolina following the screening of the Right to Read film. The panel shared their own literacy experiences, what is happening in our community with evidence-based reading instruction, and how we might all come together to address the literacy crisis both locally and at the state level.

I also facilitated a discussion for The Reading League Cafe: May/June Journal Issue. The author of the article, Dr. Kay Wijekumar joined us to answer questions and deepen our understanding of it’s focus: Knowledge Acquisition and Transformation (KAT) Using Text Structures. You can learn more about The Reading League Journal here.

Where can we connect? Bold font shows events at which I'm presenting. ​ 9/29 - Create a Coaching Map | Register here​ 10/8 - 10/10 The Reading League 9th Annual Conference | Learn more here​ ​ Check out my calendar Would you like me to join an upcoming event? Please reply to this email and let's plan something!

Let's Work Together

Do you have professional development funds to use this school year? I’d love to support you. Here are some available workshops I can provide:

• Building an Instructional Coaching Team from the Ground Up: In this session, participants will learn how to build an Instructional Coaching team that will support & guide teachers to make an impact on student achievement outcomes using effective resources and processes. Participants will leave the session with a clear plan to design their own Instructional Coaching team.
• The Coach’s Role in a Professional Learning Cycle: In this session, we will explore the parallel stance a coach takes when teachers are in a PDCA cycle and how to teach, support, reflect and advise to impact professional learning outcomes. A key takeaway will be how to use these stances to create a safe and supportive learning environment while also holding teachers accountable for implementing professional learning. Participants will leave this work session with a coaching cycle plan that is applicable to any professional learning outcome.
• Mirror Mirror On the Wall, Who Will I Be for Those I Coach?: Mirrors show up in many stories. So what type of mirror will we be as instructional coaches? In this facilitated discussion, participants will consider the mirror metaphor for our roles as coaches based on famous mirrors to highlight how we might respond in different situations.
• Crafting the Path of Least Resistance in Coaching Conversations: In this session, we will discuss how planning that includes clear goals, carefully designed questions, anticipated responses, and objective artifacts can smooth our paths with teachers. Together, we will work through case studies to hone our skills and leave feeling empowered with a planning tool that supports our planning process.
• Knowing Better Doesn’t Always Translate to Doing Better: During this session, participants will - Strengthen knowledge of reading research (Example: Scarborough’s Reading Rope and the Four-Part Processing Model) and its application to instruction; Examine how to identify evidence of settled reading research in instructional practices using look-fors and aligned tools; & Consider how to support teachers/colleagues in connecting professional learning to instructional practices by discussing case study examples.
• Elevate Your Coaching Impact: In this session, we will apply this unpacking process to our work as coaches to create strategic learning plans for those we coach. Participants will learn how unpacking teachers’ goals into the KUD can strategically improve our impact. Participants will also receive an editable template that guides their planning.

Let’s get something on the calendar so I can save room for you this year! Simply reply to this email to connect.

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