Leadership Coaching
Leadership is "second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school" according to the report Wallace Foundation report How Leadership Influences Student Learning by Kenneth Leithwood, Karen Seashore Louis, Stephen Anderson and Kyla Wahlstrom. Leaders for tomorrow’s schools, though, are in short supply, ill-prepared, and often unsupported as they face the many challenges of leading education in our complex world today. Leadership Coaching is a powerful vehicle to provide the individual support many new principals need during their first few years on the job while they are still learning their role.
Teachers21 Leadership Coaching provides that much needed support for beginning administrators. The uniqueness of our model, which is based on reflective coaching to build internal capacity, supports principals as they address the issues facing them in their own building and district. With the guidance of a coach, administrators are supported as they tackle the challenges they meet in a leadership role and increase the body of knowledge and skills needed in these high demand/high profile jobs. This culture of on-going support and active reflection increases the likelihood that leaders will be successful and remain in the job.
Many districts are experiencing great turnover and many new principals are entering the field. The likely person to mentor the new principal/administrator is often new him/herself. Time and resources are missing in far too many districts, and isolation and failure often result. The uniqueness of the Teachers21 Leadership Coaching model brings an experienced leadership coach to provide opportunities for individualized support in a confidential and growth oriented manner. Together, the coach and new administrator analyze school and district-based issues and apply a wide repertoire of skills including active listening, probing questions, problem solving, and increased communication to promote more successful student learning. This embeds the coaching into the realization of the district and school goals thus maximizing resources and time. This continual investment in new leaders parallels the support required for new teachers so both have greater success and increased retention.
Support does not always need to be for remediation or only for someone new to the field. Veteran administrators benefit greatly from coaching as well. Through collaborative conversations, co-planning and active reflective inquiry, leadership coaching offers growth oriented feedback to all administrators. By working closely with a professional colleague, leaders can test ideas, shape directions and
Teachers21 coaches customize their work to meet the unique needs of each administrator and district. By working as a collaborator, facilitator and instructor, coaches help each administrator become a leader of learners. Opportunities to co-run faculty meetings, deal with difficult parents issues, walk through and process classroom observations and strategically plan for staff professional development and increased opportunities for student success are only a few of the concrete ways in which leadership coaching can provide the deep and sustained support and learning for a school leader to serve as a catalyst for continuous school improvement.
Dick Flanary, director of the Office of Professional Development Services, National Association of Secondary School Principals supports school districts obtaining and keeping “good principals by facilitating their success and growth as leaders. School districts that collaborate with principals and support principals’ work provide the kind of environment that allows principals to build their capacity and in turn build the capacity of their school to provide successful opportunities for student success.”
Teachers21‘s learning lab model of Leadership Coaching works to do just that!