In #coachbetter episode we’re talking about how to help your school leader understand the value of coaching. 

This is a highlight from one of Kim's favorite episodes from a previous season. If you’re a longtime #coachbetter listener, you know Kim almost always ask school leaders how coaches can help their administrators understand the value of coaching, and the responses are always so insightful. This clip is another great example of that, featuring LaTyia Rolle, currently Elementary School Principal at the International School of Brussels.

If you’ve been coaching for any length of time at all, you know that your school leader’s understanding of coaching can make or break your program - and that understanding and support can change anytime you get a new administrator. Being able to articulate, in leadership language, what makes coaching so valuable is an essential skill for all instructional coaches. 

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode Kim chats with Brenda Lee, Grade 4 teacher at Al-Bayan Bilingual School (BBS) Kuwait. 

We're excited to share this episode with you because it’s a topic that’s been requested by you! We received a request to hear from educators (rather than coaches) about their experiences with coaching. 

In this conversation with Brenda, they talk about 

• How instructional coaching has supported her growth as an educator

• How instructional coaching fits within the context of educator professional growth

• What classroom teachers need to know to opt in to coaching

• How she makes time for coaching in a busy teacher’s schedule

• Why some teachers resist coaching

• How coaching works for her as a classroom teacher

• Why she’s hoping to make the move from classroom to coach

This episode is a fantastic example of why teachers chose to opt-in to coaching - and how you can articulate the value of coaching for your prospective coaching partners!

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode, Kim talks about the additional complexities involved in instructional coaching in an international school setting. 

Of course, this does not mean that instructional coaching is not complex in other settings, or that any of these factors are not present in other settings, these are just five layers of complexity that are often the norm in international schools.

However, when we are working in international schools, there is often even more complexity involved in the role, which may go unrecognized by school leaders, or even coaches themselves because this complexity is our “normal.” 

At the recent EARCOS teachers conference, Kim and participants unpacked some of those complexities in one of her sessions. 

In their conversation, they identified five key factors that make instructional coaching highly complex in the international school setting - and she's going to share those 5 with you in this episode!

Find the show notes for this episode here.

This #coachbetter episode is another in our series of coaching case studies, with one of Kim's amazing clients, Tina Bhatia, Second grade classroom teacher at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi. Tina is a graduate of The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program, working with Diana Beabout as her mentor - and when we recorded this episode she was almost finished with her coursework.

These case study episodes are designed to share the story of a coach, and the development of their coaching program and practice in their unique setting. 

We are so excited to share this episode with Tina with you because it’s always wonderful to hear about a classroom teacher who is inspired to become a coach - and it’s important to unpack all of the different aspects to consider when moving from classroom to coach. Tina learned a lot during her time in The Coach, and she is so ready to make the move!

In this conversation Kim and Tina talk about: 

• What attracted her to coaching

• What coaching looks like in her school setting right now

• What she’s thinking about as she’s considering the move from classroom to coach

• What teachers need to know to opt-in to coaching

• Her advice for teachers wanting to move into a coaching role

• Some “aha” moments she’s had over the past academic year, learning about being a coach in The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program

Find the show notes for this episode here.

This is a highlight from one of Kim's favorite episodes from a previous season. If you’re a longtime #coachbetter listener, you know that Joellen Killion is Kim's instructional coaching superhero, and her episode from a few seasons ago was a masterclass in all things instructional coaching. 

This episode is a perfect introduction to thinking about, and reflecting on, the type of coaching support you’re providing to your coaching partners. So many of Kim's clients get stuck in the “advice trap” or constantly feeling like they have to prove their worth to potential coaching partners by being on demand for resource support. This conversation with Joellen highlights an essential mindset shift for instructional coaches. As Joellen says: Results can build relationships as relationships can build results. 

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode Kim chats with return guest Steve Barkley, Executive VP PLS 3rd Learning, author of many books about instructional coaching, and Advisor Executive Committee of AAICIS, the Association for the Advancement of Instructional Coaching in International Schools. 

Kim is excited to share this episode with you, not only because Steve is amazing and one of her coaching superheroes, but also because he was one of our first ever guests on the show - so it’s especially interesting to hear first-hand how his thinking has evolved over time since that conversation.

In this episode they talk about:

• Systems for coaching success - especially when starting from scratch

• What leaders need to know about the long term impact of coaching - especially when talking to their school board

• How to make coaching sustainable

• What experienced coaches can do to continually refine their practice

• Trends in instructional coaching in international schools

This episode is a gold mine for coaches or school leaders looking to build successful and sustainable instructional coaching programs! Steve works with so many schools, and has such a deep understanding of how coaching works - you don’t want to miss this episode!

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode, Diana unpacks the flow of a coaching conversation, so you can think about, or reflect on, the way you structure conversations  with your coaching partners. 

It can feel really intimidating to start having coaching conversations because we know we want them to feel purposeful and meaningful, but we also want them to be comfortable enough to feel like a safe space to be vulnerable and take time to process (and not like a formal meeting you might have with a supervisor). So how do you find just the right balance?

Diana shares the framework we use in The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program so you can see the way we structure those conversations. SO many of our participants come into the program having seen overly complicated and complex coaching meeting templates and they are so relieved when they find our simple process because it’s easy to implement right away - and adapt as you use it and find your own unique voice as an instructional coach.

Find the show notes for this episode here.

This #coachbetter episode is another in our series of coaching case studies, with one of Kim's amazing clients, Kelly Esposito, K12 Instructional Coach at Phoenixville School District in Pennsylvania USA. Kelly is a graduate of The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program, and Kim's been working with Kelly (and the rest of the coaching team at her school in Pennsylvania) for several years.

These case study episodes are designed to share the story of a coach, and the development of their coaching program and practice in their unique setting. 

 In this conversation they talk about... 

• What coaching looks like in Kelly's school setting right now

• How her role has, and the coaching program at PASD has, evolved over the years

• A big “aha” moment Kelly had in The Coach around equity and math instruction

• The success of implementing Building Thinking Classrooms at PASD

• How she’s refining her practice over this academic year

• What she wish she knew when she started coaching

This episode is a fantastic example of how successful instructional coaches are always intentional about growing their skills and refining their practice over time.

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode we’re talking about the repeatable processes that coaches can repurpose year after year to keep their coaching program thriving. 

This is a highlight from one of Kim's favorite episodes from a previous season. If you’re a longtime #coachbetter listener, you know how valuable it is when we get to hear from current school leaders who have formerly been instructional coaches. This conversation is from one of those very special episodes, with Samantha Olson-Wyman and Stephanie Cifuentest, both former instructional coaches, and currently senior leaders. This episode shares insight into the work that the instructional coaches at the American School in Guatemala do every year to continue to grow the success of their coaching program.

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode Kim chats with Leigh Miller, Deputy Head of School at Munich International School. 

In this episode they talk about:

• Leigh’s extensive experience with instructional coaching, in particular what has made it successful in previous schools, 

• the systems and structures that need to be in place for coaching to be successful and then sustainable, 

• the importance of developing a program and not just hiring a coach, 

• measuring the impact of coaching, 

• specific challenges for international schools, and 

• what school leaders need to consider when building a coaching culture. 

This episode is a gold mine of specific actions schools can take to develop and sustain a coaching culture, especially in an international school setting! If you’re curious about what makes coaching work - based on evidence from a variety of schools, and through a leaders perspective, this episode is for you!

Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this #coachbetter episode,  Kim talks about the 3 elements necessary for instructional coaching to thrive - and be sustainable over time. 

It’s easy to think that once coaches are hired, and a coaching program is established, that a coaching culture will grow, but if you’ve been coaching for any length of time, you know that it doesn’t really work like that. It takes a lot of intentional and strategic work to grow a coaching culture - and you need to build in systems and structures to make it sustainable over time.

Kim will share about how to do exactly that - following The Thrive Model for Sustainable Instructional Coaching.

Find the show notes for this episode here.