Designing Your Role as

Literacy CoachSetting and Achieving Professional Goals

Alexa McKenrick

Belvedere ES, Fairfax County Public Schools

Twitter: @mckenrickreads

https://iganokage.deviantart.com/art/Game-of-Phones-543672134

Least amount of email

notifications?http://www.paprikafashion.co.uk/features/notifications.html

Highest power

percentage? http://www.nairaland.com/3515742/tricks-get-good-replacement-battery

Most cracked

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Agenda, Objectives

StructuresKnowing Yourself

Sources of Information

Coaching Delivery Models

Reality Checks

Staying the Course

To consider various data points

when designing your professional

plans.

To discuss the Pros and Hurdles

associated with a few coaching

delivery models.

To share tips about synthesizing all

of these ideas into a plan that you

CAN achieve.

cultofpedagogy.com

THINK

PAIR

SHARE

My Journey...And how this idea came to be

Your Journey...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/13965306323

How do you deal with your many

hats?

What’s in a

Name?

What are you called at your school?

Know thyself.-Ancient Greek maxim

An unexamined life is not worth living. -Socrates

Sources of Information

● District Initiatives

○ What is going on now? What will be coming up in the next school year?

● School Contexts

○ Competing demands, test scores, school improvement plans

● Current Professional Learning Practices

● Current Instructional Practices

● Individual Teachers

● Teams

Literacy

Needs

Survey

Literacy Needs

Survey:

What to include

Current state of professional learning:

I am growing as a professional at

__ES.

I read for pleasure.

I write for pleasure.

Current instructional practices:

May be specific to an instructional practice

that has been studied as a team/school. I.e.

Focus Lessons

How long do your focus lesson

typically last?

My students do some guided practice

during my focus lesson

Looking ahead:

Personal interests in learning

Coaching Contexts & Delivery Methods

1. Brainstorm advantages/pros & hurdles.

2. Discuss ways to “coach into” these contexts.

3. Consider how each coaching method might

address a need you’ve identified.

Whole School

Big Picture

Data

Vertical

Articulation

Celebrations

Collaborative Learning Teams

Analyzing

Student

Work

Unpacking

Units of

Study

Mid-Unit

Teacher’s

Choice

Study Groups

Follow-Up

Coaching w/

Gradual

Release

Learning Lab

Visits Or

Labsites

Strategic

Partnering of

Teachers

Individuals

Co-TeachingStudent

Consultations

Planning &

Envisioning

Reality Checks

★Connect the Dots. Prioritize

★Write 3-4 goals.

★Consider how.

★Create actionable steps.

★Project your year.

Professional Goals for Year 1

● Start to build relationships of trust with teachers and students● Coach classroom teachers in grades 3-5 on aspects of reading workshop● Design professional development (PD) for “Writing About Reading” with

labsite AND 2-hour sessions on LA for grade-level plannings days AND CLTs as needed

● Fulfill Reading Teacher (RT) responsibilities along with C. (testing admin, book orders, etc)

Goal 1: Relationship Building with StaffPossible Action Steps:

➔ Send informal introduction video clip--explain role, hours, background

➔ Offer Read Aloud and WCC times to ALL or grade 3-5 teachers

➔ Act as a consultant (“extra set of eyes and ears”) to problem solve

individual students or small groups; teacher-initiated

➔ Work with B. to plan CLTs

Questions-What is my role during CLTs as “knowledge specialist?” What else

do I need to know about how LA/PYP CLTs work? How can I start contributing

to CLTs (work with B. and, team leaders)?

Goal 2: Coaching the RWPossible Action Steps:

➔ 3-week coaching cycle with grade 3-5 teachers; 45 minute INSTRUCTIONAL blocks for 3 days/week; 1

hour planning/week (morning or Mon/Tues or Wed/Thurs special blocks)

➔ Teachers select the aspect of RW: Focus lesson, small group (GR or BC), IRA with WCC (other options?)

➔ OR Ts select aspect of student work (i.e. WAR, writing drafts) to analyze during planning time

Question-What about teachers that might need more intensive coaching (i.e. new to FCPS, workshop models)?

Working with LA in afternoon and my schedule? What about writing workshop? What do I need to know about

teachers?

Goal 3: PD on Writing About Reading (WAR)

Possible Action Steps:

➔ Offer 2 days for PD on WAR: primary/upper (February 15 and ??)

➔ Alexa will start gathering professional readings, video clips, other

resources; reach out to Literacy Leaders at Willow Oaks

➔ Prior to Feb 15, select 1 classroom to co-teach unit with emphasis on

analyzing WAR practices (January-mid February)

Questions-will we offer primary/upper choice bc of # of ppl? Other BIG PD

happening this year?

Goal 4: Reading Teacher Responsibilities

Possible Action Steps:

➔ Book ordering (novel sets)

➔ Progress Monitoring Meetings--Dates?

➔ Assessment helper: DRA2, F&P, SOL

Questions-Other things that J. led in past years? Any other roles I need to

assume?

Goals for Reading Specialist 2016-17

1. Relationship building through humility and support

2. Interventions with the most at-risk readers and writers

3. Increase pedagogical content knowledge and decision-making

capital in Guided Reading

-

“Literacy coaching supports significant

instructional change and increased teacher reflection, which contributes to the

reshaping of school cultures.”

-Amy Boutilier, Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse 2009

1. Building relationships and trust

Humility

-Observing master teachers

-Facilitating observations of

master teachers

-Attending team meetings as

peer

Support

-Specifically ask new

teachers (side by side

modeling)

-Assessments

-Obtaining materials Coaching activities might change month to

month but will usually be informal.

2. Interventions● RTI team members:

○ Administering “extra” assessments to obtain more information about

students’ current strengths and needs

● Tier 3 teachers:

○ 3 groups

3. Coaching & PDWho? Teachers of guided reading

What? Choice of PD topic around GR (limited by coaches; e.g. Assessing,

Stages, Prompting, etc.)

How?

● Outside consultant visits

● Individual coaching cycle (pre, observe/model, post)

● Group coaching* (like labsites/learning labs)

● Wednesday learning cohorts, based on choice of topic

Reality Checks

● Connect the Dots.

● Write 3-4 goals.

● Consider How?

● Create Actionable Steps.

● Project your year.

Staying the

Course

Stick to your roadmap

Share with administration

and team

Post key words.

Revisit goals each quarter

with yourself and

administration to check on

progress.

Please fill

out your exit

slip!

Thank you

for

attending.

-Alexa