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Explore By Role: Literacy Coach

• What’s the role of a literacy coach?

  The literacy coach is a leader who works collaboratively with teachers, administrators and other school staff to maximize student achievement in literacy.  Reading specialists also may serve in this role in many buildings. The responsibilities of the literacy coach (or reading specialist) may include overseeing the administration of assessments, data collection and reporting, and coordination of building literacy initiatives. This is a big job!  That’s why it’s important for the literacy coach and building principal to meet regularly to monitor progress, set goals, and establish plans to ensure success.  Weekly or bi-weekly meetings help with collaboration and shared decision making, and provide times to discuss situations where the coach needs the principal’s backing.  
  
  Download this sample job description for a literacy coach’s position.
  
  
  

• How can I gain the support of my teachers?

  Many of the best-trained, most knowledgeable teachers comment on how much they’ve learned from a strong mentor or literacy coach who has provided job-embedded professional development, peer coaching, and modeling of teaching strategies. For this to occur, a coach’s relationship with teachers has to be built on mutual respect and shared goals.  Teachers trust a coach more easily when the guidelines for the role are clear, especially that coaches are not asked to evaluate a teacher’s performance. One landmine is when coaches try to gain support in all the wrong ways, such as doing a teacher’s job or buying loyalty through means other than instructional support. Don’t let the desire to “win over” teachers interfere with achieving the specific goals of improved literacy skills for all students. 
  
  
  
  

• What topics should I cover in grade level team meetings?

  Grade-level team meetings have been transformed in the past few years. Whereas they used to be a forum to discuss administrative details such as field trips, parent nights, and classroom volunteers, now the agenda focuses on examining data and student achievement as well as instruction to support improvements in achievement. Because collaboration time is limited, what is covered in grade-level team meetings plays a key role in the success of the school’s literacy initiative. Preparing agendas for these meetings keeps the focus where it should be and allows you to cover the important topics. Providing teachers with documents designed to track interventions, such as intervention logs, can also facilitate discussion in these meetings. 
  
  
  
  
  

• What are some good sources of information about literacy coaching?

  In the past, it’s been a challenge to find reliable information about literacy coaching.  As a literacy coach, you are a member of a field that is continually growing and changing as best practices evolve.  Being aware of these best practices will help you and your principal continue your professional growth as the literacy expert in your building. 
  
  Download this resource list that includes professional literature and web information that may be helpful to you.
  
  
  
  

• How do I help my principal be a literacy leader?

  Schools that achieve strong literacy scores often have both an effective literacy coach and a principal who is a strong instructional leader. This is an area where your knowledge and expertise can extend to support your principal. Take the time to help your principal understand literacy terms that may not be as common to her as they are to you. Request frequent meetings to share data and discuss student and staff needs as a result of the data analysis. Share your knowledge of what good intervention instruction should look like in your building. Your principal may need some help identifying whether the instruction in a given intervention is effective or needs improvement. Doing some walk-through observations together can help to facilitate this.
  
  Download a Snapshot of Effective Instruction form that will give you a great starting point.
  
  
  
  
  

• How can I support the teachers in my building?

  If your professional journey began in the classroom, you most likely will relate to the anxiety of being observed. It seems no matter how it is approached, some colleagues view any classroom visit as evaluative. Because the role of a literacy coach is designed to be supportive rather than evaluative, setting that tone from the start is important. Conversation is always a great beginning. Ask teachers questions such as:
  
       How are things settling in this year?
       Which programs are the most enjoyable or rewarding to teach?
       Which strategies are most effective for your students?
       How can I support you?
  
  When setting up an observation suggest to the teacher if there are parts of the lesson where she’d like you to model. Discuss the Snapshot of Effective Instruction form. During your first visit offer to model the lesson while the teacher follows along using the observation form. Then use the completed form to springboard a post-lesson discussion. 
  
  Download a Snapshot of Effective Instruction form.