Ah, SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. It’s a classic for a reason, but let's be honest, it's not always the most inspiring tool. What if we told you there’s something a little more tailored to the unique and complex world of instructional coaching?

This is wh...

by Katie Maciulewicz 

The shift from being a classroom teacher to a new instructional coach can feel a little  isolating. You're stepping into a new role and navigating uncharted territory – and in my case, sitting alone in an all-glass office in a random hallway in the school that no one knows ...

by Katie Maciulewicz

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as the last professional development session: you walk away feeling inspired, ready to implement all the new strategies, and then… life happens. The demands of the classroom kick in, and those brilliant new ideas slowly fade into t...

Written By Katie Maciulewicz

Coaching teams of teachers can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It requires a different skill set than coaching individual teachers. Together, we’re going to think through some strategies and skills needed to work with teacher teams. 

Here’s your scenario: Yo...

Written by Katie Maciulewicz and Danae Acker

Testing season. It's that unique time of year where the school buzz shifts, students are heads-down in preparation, and teachers are laser-focused on reviews. For coaches, this can feel like an unexpected lull. But instead of letting this "quiet time" go...

As instructional coaches, our main goal is to make a difference in the lives of teachers and students every day. But we want to have a lasting effect. When we work with a teacher, we don’t want them to make a small change for one lesson or one unit and then never use that skill or tool again. We wan...

Written by Kristen Butler

The start of a new year brings a chill in the air – it’s time to warm up your instructional coaching strategies to prevent an icy reception! As tech coaches, we have cool tools, but it’s the connections you make with teachers and the impact on student learning that makes o...

Written by Torie Mollett 

Sometimes, I struggle to get out of bed and face the day. 

There have been many periods in my life when I’ve awoken before my alarm was set to go off and flittered down my stairs, full of smiles and excitement for the hope and promise of the day. Problems? Yo, I’ll solve ...

by Katie Maciulewicz

I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t really like self-help books. They can be a little cheesy – sometimes literally; remember Who Moved My Cheese? – or preachy, and they're either too simplistic or overly complicated or just unrealistic. 

So what I’m offering here is not an in...

by Torie Mollett

In education, we are often forced, or gently encouraged, to leave our in-the-wild alter-egos, our authentic selves, at the door and assume the persona of a more polished, professional, and classroom-appropriate version of us. 

Clark Kent has entered the chat.

Generally, this make...

Written by Brooke Conklin

 Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs? That pyramid we all learned about in our undergrad Psychology classes? I motion that we bring it back to consider how it might help us better understand the needs of our teachers. In working with coaches from all corners of the United...

Written by Torie Mollett

Picture it. 

You’ve been assigned a new coaching role, maybe your first coaching role ever, or your first day in a new school or district.  You’ve probably found a nice spot in your building, a home base, so to speak.  You’ve communicated via email where you are on which d...