What Do You Do?

Whenever I meet someone new and they ask what I do for a living, I typically respond, "I'm a high school teacher currently working as an instructional coach." Even for people in education, this doesn't really answer their question. The position of instructional coach is relatively new in the field, and differs greatly depending on the district. So, in addition to a weird look, the next question is usually, "okay, but what do you do?" And, the emphasis is often on a different word, depending on the person. Actually, many in our own district are often fuzzy on "what we do."

What Do You Do?
The "what" usually depends on the day, for me and my fellow six coaches. In addition to the more traditional one-on-one, confidential coaching with teachers, we also group coach professional learning communities (PLCs) and other teacher teams. Alongside teachers, we develop curriculum for Spanish Immersion, Chinese Immersion, our Gifted & Talented program, and K-12 Common Core alignment. We work with principals, teachers, and paraprofessionals on initiatives such as Strategic Teaching to Accelerate Reading Success (STARS), Response to Instruction (RtI), and the FHPS Literacy Framework. We work directly with students on literacy and environmental programs. We engage in professional learning with teachers in areas such as the Instructional Framework, consensus mapping, and collaborative learning labs (CLLs). We also provide ongoing support to our principals and Schools Success Teams (SSTs) in the critical work of school improvement.

What Do You Do?
The emphasis on the first "do" always reminds me of the 1982 Adam Ant "Goody Two Shoes" song: "Don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?" Any time a teacher is not actively engaged with kids on a daily basis, some people are suspect of them. As coaches, we certainly work differently than we did as classroom teachers. Some of our colleagues even refer to us now as "them," since we are housed at the Administration Building. This saddens me. First, because we are all on the same team - the team that is working hard every single day to do what is best for kids.  Second, because we still think of ourselves as teachers. Personally, if I ever stop thinking of myself as a teacher, it is time to quit.

What Do You Do?
For me, the best day is one that I am in one our high schools, interacting with kids and teachers. Any time I am blessed with an invitation to co-teach or otherwise engage with kids, I leap at the opportunity. That is the one downside to being a teacher who is an instructional coach - no regular classes of kids to teach and learn with. Generally speaking, my job is to support our high school teachers and administrators in any way that I can. When I was hired, the primary focus was on school improvement, but it has grown over the last 17 months. I continue to work with SSTs, but I now also coordinate our Advanced Placement (AP) program. We have an extraordinary cadre of teachers who offer courses in 24 different AP subjects, providing our kids with an opportunity to earn college credits.  I've also become involved with our ELA and math teachers as we engage in the important work of redesigning our curriculum in light of Michigan's adoption of the Common Core State Standards. I hope to continue facilitating CLLs and gaining new insights alongside our teachers. Finally, I am also shepherding long-term projects for both testing-out exams and backward design/common assessments.

What Do You Do?
I love what I "do." Since switching professions 12 years ago, I have never once dreaded going to school or the Instruction Office. How lucky I am that I get to live out my passion every single day. There are plenty of times I feel frustrated or even angry, but it does not diminish the love I have for teaching and learning. What do I do? I try to make a positive difference in the lives of kids, and I go to bed every night hoping I did so.

Romancing the Standards

You are committed to this relationship.  After all, most of you have been in it for your entire adult life.  In the beginning, it was new and exciting, and you were hyper-focused on every little detail.  But as time went on, life became hectic.  There were kids to help, meetings to attend, and a million other things that pulled at you. So, you told yourself it was okay, that your curriculum would understand.

Wait, what?  At a recent planning meeting, I suggested that we need to date our content standards, or maybe even take them on a weekend couples retreat.  Not because we don't care anymore, but because we've both changed over time.  We think we know each other, but like a human partner, we often  put them last because we know they will always be there. And, all of the other things we put first are really important, too.

My idea might seem too far out there, but bear with me.  Much like a couples therapist recommends intentional "us" time, reconnecting with our content standards is in the best interest of great teaching and learning for kids.  After all, the standards are the bedrock for everything we do in the classroom.  We identify them for each unit, we decide how we want to want to assess proficiency in them, they are the basis for our learning goals, and we develop instruction around them. They really do deserve more intentional attention from us.  And, as a district, we are moving into Domain 2 of Dr. Marzano's Instructional Framework this coming year.  Domain 2 focuses on planning and preparation, with one of the elements being "appropriate attention to established content standards."  It's a match made in heaven.

So, with all of the other demands on our time, how do we find and commit to intentional "us" time with our content standards?  First, try the couples retreat idea -- get a group of teachers together and work as a team.  Learn with and from each other in a more efficient use of time.  Second, invite an instructional coach along.  Not that we are therapists, but we can help plan the most effective use of time and resources, and we have experiences with others you may find useful.  Third, plan your time with the "date night" mentality.  Hold the time sacred and do not let anything else interfere with it.  Fourth, if you're really pressed for time, just flirt with the content standards for ten minutes every day.  It shows them you still care.